KU hearkens Self’s words, wards off Duke challenge

INDIANAPOLIS– In practices leading up to No. 6 Kansas’ 69-64 win over No. 7 Duke at the Champions Classic on Tuesday, Expense Self informed his group to play selfless basketball.

“I think the greatest thing [he stated] was to ensure we play as a team,” stated Jalen Wilson, who led the Jayhawks with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists.He included that Self likewise told his players that the Champions Classic matchup was not about the individual talent on the floor but about”Kansas vs. Duke. “That mindset assisted the

Jayhawks keep their composure down the stretch without their head coach on the sideline as Duke took the lead late in Tuesday’s game, which ended around midnight regional time following Kentucky and Michigan State’s double-overtime affair.Self is serving a school-imposed four-game suspension

, together with assistant Kurtis Townsend, as part of the fallout from a 2017 federal examination into college basketball corruption. The case against Kansas has actually been stuck in an independent evaluation procedure for years, so the school self-imposed the charges rather than continue awaiting a resolution. 1 Related Both will return for next week’s neutral-site game against NC State.Although he can’t coach the Jayhawks, Self has actually been

leading them in

practice. “He’s been training them actually hard,”stated Standard Roberts, the acting head coach throughout Self’s suspension.Down by 4 points at halftime, Duke rallied and took a 51-45 lead with 12:01 to play after freshman Kyle Filipowski (17 points, 14 rebounds )changed the tone with a strong effort.

But the fist-pumping and celebrating stopped as Kansas grew more persistent on defense.Gradey Cock (14 points ), the five-star freshman who has actually worn pink shoes in his first three games(“I think it’s simply style,”he stated), scored 8 points in three straight belongings over an 80-second span that

assisted Kansas seal the win.”He was terrific,”Roberts stated.”We didn’t understand where he was. He was a missing out on individual in most of the 2nd half. This was the very first big young boy game he played and I believed he truly reacted well at the end.”Cock said playing beside Wilson and Dajuan Harris(6 points, 10 assists)– 2 players who assisted the Jayhawks win the 2022 national championship– assisted him remain focused after a rough start. “Probably our biggest benefit as a team is that [Wilson] and [Harris] have been [to the championship game] when no one else has actually been,”he said.Duke coach Jon Scheyer stated his team wrestled with its emotions after taking the lead midway through the 2nd half and then surrendered it. “I thought they made us work harder on defense than we made them work,” he stated.