Watch: Bill Self, Shaka Smart Get Heated at Maui Invitational
No. 4 Marquette handed top-ranked Kansas their first loss of the season on Tuesday night, a 73-59 decision in favor of the Golden Eagles.
Jayhawks’ big man Hunter Dickinson was held to his lowest output of the year with 13 points and went cold in the second half after a hot start. Now, Marquette will take on No. 2 Purdue in the Maui Invitational Tournament title game. Meanwhile, Kansas will face Tennessee in the third-place game, which should be a fun matchup.
Despite the big win for Marquette, one of the biggest storylines in this game was a heated discussion between Bill Self and Marquette head coach Shaka Smart.
As halftime approached, Kansas’ Kevin McCullar Jr. appeared to bark at the Marquette bench after hitting a shot. That led to an exchange between Smart and McCullar, leading both benches to clear and a heated exchange between Self and Smart at half-court, leading to both coaches receiving technical fouls.
After the game, Smart spoke on the incident and didn’t appear to back down whatsoever.
“The one thing I’m going to make clear is: we don’t take a backseat to anyone,” Smart said. “That’s how we go about things and that’s the only way you beat Kansas.”
Self and No. 1 Kansas are back in action against No. 7 Tennessee at 1:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
