What Bill Self Said About Kansas' Disappointing Offensive Performance

The Jayhawks struggled offensively against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday night.

Jan 11, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self works the sideline against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Kansas basketball head coach Bill Self didn’t shy away from addressing his team’s struggles on offense following their 54-40 win over Cincinnati.

Despite securing their third straight victory, the Jayhawks’ shooting woes were evident, particularly from beyond the arc, as they made just 2 of 21 attempts.

“We got to figure out a way to get the ball in the basket,” Self said. “But, you go back and look at it. Of the 21 threes we took, I could be wrong, I’d say 16 probably were shots that we want to take, and of the shots we want to take, we probably made one. So we can certainly play a lot better offensively.”

Kansas also struggled to score in transition, an area where the team usually excels. Self noted that their transition points primarily came from turnovers rather than missed shots.

“I don’t know if we scored on transition off of missed shots. I think all our scores in transition were probably off of steals or deflections and whatnot,” Self said. “So we had five steals for the game, but they came at great times.”

Fouls—or the lack thereof—also played a role in the game’s tempo. Self pointed out how few fouls were called for much of the contest.

“They didn’t commit their first foul against us until they contested a dunk and AJ missed it. So we shot two free throws in the first half on AJ’s dunk. And then they didn’t foul again the first eight minutes of the second half. So we went 28 minutes with them fouling only once, but they went 28 minutes with us fouling only four or five times,” Self said.

Despite the offensive challenges, Self found positives in his team’s defensive effort, particularly over the last three games.

“Officials let both teams play, and it was ugly offensively, but certainly one of the better ones we’ve had. And the defense that we played the last three games is encouraging,” he said.

Kansas will look to address their offensive issues as they prepare for their next conference matchup against No. 3 Iowa State on Wednesday.

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