LAWRENCE – Kansas basketball’s schedule during the 2023-24 season has had no shortage of challenging opponents, especially during non-conference games.
Before the start of Big 12 Conference play, the Jayhawks played Kentucky (neutral), Marquette (neutral), Tennessee (neutral), UConn (home), Missouri (home) and Indiana (away). In those games, KU coach Bill Self’s team went 5-1 – with the only loss coming against Marquette. And one of those teams Kansas defeated, UConn, went on to win a national championship.
A lot of time has passed since the Jayhawks beat the Huskies in a 69-65 victory inside Allen Fieldhouse. This was in early December, when it looked like Kansas might be a team that could make a run similar to what UConn made. But Self, who noted that his team beat the Huskies “as much as we could,” certainly remembers that and had high praise for UConn on Thursday when he spoke after the Jayhawks’ team banquet.
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“I actually think this team should be recognized as one of the best, maybe — I thought Villanova in ’18 was the best team we ever played against,” Self said, referring to Kansas’ opponent in the Final Four of the Tournament of the NCAA in 2018. “But I think this team should be considered one of the three or four best teams of this century. I thought they were great. It showed how good we could be when we played well.”
UConn guard Stephon Castle didn’t play in that game, but Kansas did well defending center Donovan Clingan and guard Cam Spencer. The Huskies’ biggest boost that day came from point guard Tristen Newton, who finished with 31 points. After going into halftime with a seven-point lead, the Jayhawks had to hold on until the end as the visitors tried to win.
Kansas saw point guard Kevin McCullar Jr., forward KJ Adams Jr. and center Hunter Dickinson finish in double figures in scoring against UConn. Jayhawks freshman guard Johnny Furphy also hit some significant 3s. Over the course of last season, few games in Lawrence achieved the same level of energy in the building that this one provided.
Adams revealed Thursday that he watched UConn’s victory in the national championship game against Purdue. He said he didn’t expect to be as emotional as he was, considering he thought he and his teammates could be in that position this season.
But he added that he hopes they can be there next year.
“They deserved it,” said Adams, whose team was one of three to beat the Huskies during the season. “They did really well in the tournament and got to where they needed to be. But hopefully we can do what they did next year.”
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association Sportswriter of the Year for the state of Kansas in 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal: Here’s what Kansas basketball coach Bill Self said about UConn
