Until 2019, it was fair to assume KU would just “figure it out”.

Something changed then though.

2019 fell apart due to injury. Ended with an early exit.

2020 was great but Covid.

2021 was bad. Really bad. Ended with an early exit.

2022 was a Natty. Nice to have 3 NBA wings.

2023 had no bench and ended with an early exit.

2024 was painful and ended with an early exit.

KU is no factor in the conference at this point. Recent history suggests an early exit too.

I hear ya, but what happens if KU beats Iowa St and / or Zona at home? They would factor heavily on who wins the conference. They're too good not to have a say in how it turns out. That's all Im saying.

Obviously in terms of season implications it doesn’t mean much but I was referring to it as a singular game. You can’t have a bigger collapse than that.

And KU won’t be a factor with this core group if we are talking about contending. Beyond their obvious flaws (particularly when KJ plays), their problem is literally every team they play wants it more. College basketball has a habit of turning into shitfests where grit matters more than talent (look no further than Auburn/UT tonight) and KU isn’t equipped to play that style.

The simplest way to put it is that KU is less than the sum of its parts.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Up 6 with 18 seconds left and going to the line to shoot 2 free throws and they lost inside of Allen Fieldhouse</p>&mdash; Braiden Turner (@bturner23) <a href="https://twitter.com/bturner23/status/1883338320270508473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Flory was averaging 13 minutes per game before KJ Adams got hurt. <br><br>Flory played 36 minutes tonight and was great.<br><br>And Bill Self points to THAT?! <a href="https://t.co/lanWmVPft0">https://t.co/lanWmVPft0</a></p>&mdash; Mike Vernon (@M_Vernon) <a href="https://twitter.com/M_Vernon/status/1883351589127442537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

We are so cooked

Ok. I get your point about the collapse...
Great line - "Where grit matters more than talent." I understand that also. Auburn sure has grit, as does UH and Iowa St... They're all equipped to play that style. You're right in that KU is built differently...Im just saying that KU is very talented and will be a factor in who wins the conference. They may not win it themselves, but they're totally capable of beating all of the contenders.

I flew into KC area for the KU vs. UK ass whoopin' at AFH... and the Bengals @ KC AFCC in 2022... then I got food poisoning from eating the leftover Jack Stack cheesy corn.

Not a great weekend.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Didn’t recover this fumble and didn’t win this game. <br><br>2024-2025 Kansas sports experience has been BRUTAL <a href="https://t.co/9cYBA1odov">pic.twitter.com/9cYBA1odov</a></p>&mdash; RRinehart (@RRinehart2012) <a href="https://twitter.com/RRinehart2012/status/1883372764998090876?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The propensity for end-game choking of both teams despite high talent levels is certainly similar

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Per KenPom, Houston had a 0.4% chance to win when Kansas had the ball and a 6-point lead with 20 seconds remaining in 1st OT.<br><br>That makes Houston’s eventual win the most unlikely in any of the 1,487 games between AP Top-25 teams over the last 15 seasons.</p>&mdash; Jared Berson (@JaredBerson) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaredBerson/status/1883367416895525252?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Only 99.6%, it could have been worse

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This probably doesn&#39;t even account for the fact that Kansas actually got to the line shooting 2 on that possession <a href="https://t.co/tO4nDCytpB">https://t.co/tO4nDCytpB</a></p>&mdash; Bart T��rvik (@totally_t_bomb) <a href="https://twitter.com/totally_t_bomb/status/1883369276322828382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Oh so it actually was, in fact, worse per Torvik

:LOL:

Jalon Daniels and Dajuan Harris are problems.

You can’t have an idiot at QB. You can’t have an idiot at Point Guard.

No matter how much talent you have around them, they put a ceiling on what a team can achieve.

Couldn’t even get us a shot at the end of regulation and the sad thing is nothing about that play was surprising.

Nonetheless how you don’t try to get the ball to your best player in the post is sort of incredible to me (Houston doubles immediately which leads to a shot for someone) but they have never utilized Dickinson as much as they should.

If you had to create a version of Jalon Daniels playing point guard, wouldn’t tonight pretty much be it?

That awful turnover then clanking both free throws to give Houston life.