The Kansas Jayhawks felt the weight of defeat in a quiet Allen Fieldhouse locker room on Saturday night. They’d let go of a six-point lead with 1:31 left in regulation, then another six-point lead with just 18 seconds remaining in overtime. Kansas’ hopes for a win faded in a heartbreaking 92-86 double-overtime loss to No. 7 Houston and head coach Bill Self seems to know just the moment the Jayhawks fumbled.

Addressing the media post-game, Self emphasized how the team seemed to have relied on just two players– Flory Bidunga and Hunter Dickinson. In their absence, the Jayhawks suffered massively on offense, staying stagnant.

“You know when Flo or Hunt came out of the game, we had no offense. The ball just stops. I mean it just stops. And that’s when you got to rely on others and you get to move it and everything. So that was very disappointing that we didn’t help, or cover for Flory and Hunt when they weren’t in the game because we became very still and stagnant,” Self says.

Without star player AJ Adams, Bidunga led the team with a career-high 19 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the field to go with 7 rebounds. Dickinson followed right after, with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Though two more would score in double-digits, their final second stumble took the game away. The Cougars rallied from a 73-79 deficit to tie the score as Dajuan Harris Jr. missed a free throw, Zeke Mayo recorded a turnover, and the visiting team hit 2 3-pointers.

The Jayhawks would not recover from that in the 2nd overtime. They went from a 99% win prediction to losing their 3rd conference game.

Kansas finished the game with 12 turnovers, and Houston capitalized by scoring 17 points off them. Meanwhile, the Cougars only allowed eight points from their five turnovers. The Jayhawks also struggled at the free-throw line, shooting just 17-for-30 (56.7%), failing to capitalize on Houston’s 14-for-25 (56%) performance.

For the second time this season, Kansas has lost a game at home that they had every chance to win. Kelvin Sampson, his team one of the best in the country, admits to having entered the game a little under-confident. “I don’t think we were ready. I don’t think we were in a position to beat them,” he says. But a team with tremendous experience, talent, and in favorable conditions, surprised big time.

Nonetheless, it is not the end of the season yet, as Bill Self reminds.

Bill Self holds hopes, star player to make a return soon

The Jayhawks have been without one of the starters, AJ Adams for three games now. He’s been averaging 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds this season, bringing the energy and leadership the team needs. A shoulder injury he suffered against Iowa State, however, feared the senior would be sidelined for weeks. But the head coach was all positive of Adams’ recovery. “We’re optimistic that he’ll get back sooner than anybody else with the same injury could get back because he wants to play so bad,” the coach conveyed via Hawk Talk last week.

Now, there is a further update on the return. Adamas is expected to take the court by Feb 1st, playing first game against Baylor. They have just one more game, against UCF, whom they have previously defeated 99-48, before that. Having had a close run without the senior, against a team like Houston, which is undefeated in the conference and on a 12-game winning streak, Self is still proud of his team, leaving him optimistic about the road ahead.

“If people think this is the frickin’ end of the season, it’s not at all,” Self said after the game. “We played right with maybe the best team in America tonight without one of our starters.” Houston and the Jayhawks face each other yet again in March, just before the regular season ends.