KU-Oklahoma State: "We Sucked"

"We sucked"--That was the quote from Bill Self in the post-game and, once again, I completely agree with him. He tells it like it is, win or lose. If there is one thing we know that pisses Bill Self off to no end it's when his teams don't play tough. He said they were a soft team today and you could tell he was fired up. I'm guessing he lit into them pretty good in the locker room. And they deserved it. Every bit of it.

*This is exactly the game I've known was coming was coming. I've been talking about the potential of this all year long because I've never been blinded by how KU's record has masked some of their deficiencies. That said, if I had to pick a game to lose...and a time to lose....this is the perfect time. The Jayhawks learned today that they can be beaten when they only play well for a total of about 10 minutes (which they have done in several games this year). That has sufficed most of the season, but it caught up with them today. This is why I've been looking for holes in this team....to find those things that could cause them to lose in the postseason. Today, we saw exactly the type of game that could happen during the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully they got it out of their system just in time.

*Let me be clear. I'm not pissed about this loss. Again, I felt like this has been coming for weeks now and I really sensed this team was starting to believe they were invincible. This loss will get their attention. And I guarantee you that Bill Self will get their attention. I expect a very focused team on Wednesday vs. KSU (and Saturday vs. MU) and I'm eager to see how they bounce back from an ass-whoopin.

*Oklahoma State, who was undersized in the paint compared to KU, outrebounded the Jayhawks 36-26. THAT is the most telling stat of the game. That is about effort. That is about energy. That is about toughness. That is about playing with passion. And, for a team of KU's caliber, it is inexcusable.

*Sherron Collins was horrible in the first half (reminded me of some of his shooting spree games last year where he kept shooting and shooting and the rest of the team sat around waiting for him to take over the game) and recovered very well in the second half. (18 pts and 4 of 5 from 3 pt range)

*Officiating....don't get me started. It's hard to win on the road in the Big 12. It's even harder when you have to deal with a crew like that.

*I thought the overall energy of the team was horrible. Our body language was as bad as I've ever seen.

*We shot way too many 3's early. Going into the game, we were projected to have an advantage inside and for some reason we ignored it. That is mindboggling to me.

*Bill Self needs to utilize the fullcourt press more often. I know he likes to pick his spots, but he needs to pick more of them...because when we press, we force turnovers. Doing something with those turnovers is another story, however.

*KU had 6 points off turnovers to 18 pts off turnovers for OSU. (As a reminder, against OU we had zero pts off turnovers). Not being able to convert off of turnovers is something to keep an eye on heading into March.

*I thought our entire team looked hung over today. Flat. Flat. Flat.

*I'm really starting to wonder if Sherron will be on the All Big 12 first team. He has not had a stellar Big 12 season...and a lot more people than just me are talking about it.

*Keiton Page did his best Jerry McNamara (Syracuse...National Championship game...2003) impression today. It made me sick to my stomach to watch that little munchkin nail 3 after 3.

*I can't believe KU only made 2 fewer (8) three pointers than OSU did (10). It seemed like OSU hit about 30 of them.

*Our defense was horrible today. OSU definitely hit some tough shots, but ended up shooting 60% from the field and 52% from the 3-pt line. I'm guessing both are close to the best percentages a team has ever shot against a Bill Self-coached KU team.

*OSU fans stormed the court again (they also did it in 2008 when they beat KU 61-60 in Stillwater). It's a compliment that fan bases feel the need to storm the court anytime they beat KU. That said, it's also pretty sad for an OSU program that has a solid basketball history. I guess I can understand, though. That is OSU's first win over a #1 team in 20 years.

*Cole Aldrich regressed tonight. A passive (5 rebounds) effort and more touch-less shots than I cared to count.

Oh well, moving on to K-State this Wednesday. A huge game for both teams. My money's on the home team, in spite of what happened today. Sherron Collins will not allow his last game in Allen Fieldhouse to be a loss.

Here's hoping there's a players-only meeting at Henry T's very soon. We need all of the 2008-karma we can get our hands on.

Keep Rockin and Chalkin,

Mic