Kansas gets back on track, Bill Self continues ridiculous Big Monday streak
By SAM LANCE
Bill Self and Kansas don’t lose at home on ESPN’s Big Monday — ever. The Jayhawks rolled past Iowa State, 69-52, extending Self’s perfect record in those games to 38-0.
Kansas needed this one after an embarrassing loss to Baylor this past Saturday, where the Jayhawks held a 21-point lead at halftime but were outscored 60-30 in the second half to fall on the road, 81-70. Heading into Monday night, Kansas had lost two of three and barely squeaked by UCF at home.
“I still think we got another run in us,” Self said on SportsCenter postgame. “We’ve been so inconsistent. When we’ve been good, we’ve been terrific. But when we’ve been bad, it’s been a free fall. So we just have to bottle up the good and keep grinding and try to get a couple guys to come through and be a little more consistent.”
A crazy sequence in the first half exploded Allen Fieldhouse and gave Kansas a ton of momentum. Self called it “the play of the year” for Kansas on postgame radio.
going to be thinking about this one for awhile pic.twitter.com/UAQgYohW68
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) February 4, 2025
Similar to the play above, everyone on the roster contributed to the win. Senior guard Zeke Mayo led the way in the scoring column with 17 points. Senior big man Hunter Dickinson followed with 14 points and nine rebounds, while senior guard Dajuan Harris tallied 12 points and four assists. Junior wing AJ Storr scored eight points.
The story, though, was Kansas’ defense. Iowa State was held to its lowest scoring output of the season and just 31% shooting. The Cyclones are a top-10 offense on Kenpom. Kansas especially imposed its will in the first half.
KU MBB: @KUHoops held #8 Iowa State to 19 points in the first half. That is the lowest point total in a half allowed to an AP Top 10 team by Kansas since at least the 2013-14 season.
— Kansas Stats & Info (@KUStatsInfo) February 4, 2025
For Iowa State, this is now three-straight losses. The Cyclones dearly miss sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic, who is still out with an injury to his left hand. Luckily, the schedule eases up over the next four games with Iowa State’s opponents having just a combined 10-30 record in Big 12 play.
Kansas has a similar schedule coming up and have a chance to climb in the conference standings.
Final. #KUbball: 69@CycloneMBB: 52
— Sam Lance (@slancehoops) February 4, 2025
The Jayhawks really needed this result. Great team win. If you look at the schedule, KU doesn’t play a team over .500 in league play over its next six games besides BYU.
Good chance to stack some dubs upcoming.
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