Bill Self’s season endured to crawl away Wednesday night.
Cincinnati held on to knock off Kansas 72-52 in the 2nd round of the Huge 12 match Wednesday. Whereas both Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar weren’t on hand attributable to injuries, the loss marked the fourth in Kansas’ closing 5 games in what’s turning out to be a frightful stretch at the worst time for the crew that was once ranked No. 1 in the nation to birth the season closing drop.
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Cincinnati — which needed to rally from a 16-point hole in the 2nd half to beat West Virginia in the hole round of the match at the T-Cell Center in Kansas Metropolis on Tuesday night — flew forward of the Jayhawks magnificent earlier than halftime in the 2nd round of the match. The Bearcats prone a nice 14-1 bustle boring in the first half to briefly get rid of a 17-point lead, and they held Kansas to magnificent two field dreams in the final 8: 26 of the hole length. That gave them a 13-point lead at the ruin.
Whereas Kansas cut the deficit to magnificent two aspects out of the ruin after rattling off a 13-2 bustle to birth the 2nd half — eight aspects of which came from Good ample.J. Adams — that was once as shut because the Jayhawks purchased. Cincinnati mercurial pushed relief forward and simply held on to bewitch the 20-point purchase.
Dan Skillings Jr. led Cincinnati with 25 aspects and seven rebounds while taking pictures 10-of-23 from the sector. John Newmann added 12 aspects and 10 rebounds, and Simas Lukosius carried out with 10 aspects and 6 rebounds. Cincinnati will now map to the quarterfinals of the match to get rid of on Baylor on Thursday.
Adams carried out with 22 aspects for the Jayhawks in the loss, despite the truth that he was once potentially the most straightforward player to hit double figures for Kansas. Dajuan Harris added eight aspects and 5 assists, and Jamari McDowell added seven aspects off the bench. Kansas shot magnificent 3-of-20 from the sector as a crew, and was once out-rebounded by 11.
Dickinson dislocated his magnificent shoulder in Kansas’ loss to Houston on Saturday, and McCullar has been battling a bone bruise in his left knee. Each and every were dominated out of the Huge 12 match, nonetheless the opinion is for both of them to be on hand for the NCAA match.
Whereas they are gentle very safe to fetch it in on Preference Sunday — ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Kansas slated as a No. 4 seed in his most up-to-date mock bracket earlier than Wednesday’s sport — right here’s referring to the worst that it is probably you’ll per chance perchance have faith reach for the Jayhawks to enter the postseason. They’ve misplaced their closing two games by a blended 50 aspects.
If Dickinson and McCullar aren’t on hand for the NCAA match next week, Kansas may perchance per chance additionally very simply be facing but one other immediate exit. That’s something that didn’t seem like a loyal risk magnificent about a months previously.
