Bill Self: ‘When We Got Our Ass Kicked, We Shook Everyone’s Hands’
Bill Self and Kansas exacted revenge on their in-state rivals Tuesday night in Allen Fieldhouse, dominating Kansas State to the tune of 90-68.
Since K-State upset the Jayhawks in Bramlage Coliseum exactly one month ago, KU had dropped four of six games and hasn’t looked like the dominant program we’ve seen run the Big 12 for the better part of the last two decades. To say the least, it was a much-needed victory for Self and the Jayhawks, who improved to 22-8 (10-7) with the win.
However, the loss dropped Jerome Tang and the Kansas State Wildcats to 17-13 (7-10) on the season and put what might’ve been the final dent in their chances of making the NCAA tournament.
Nobody is happy about losing or getting blown out for that matter, but it sounds like the K-State staff might’ve even crossed the line into being sore about it.
After the game, Coach Self said that his opponent did a “fly-by” in the handshake line, which he didn’t take too kindly.
“He just didn’t want to shake hands; he just did a fly-by — that’s fine,” Self said. “I will say this: When we got our ass kicked there, we shook everyone’s hands and did a handshake line. So I guess it was different here today.”
After Tang’s Wildcats bested KU early last month, the K-State head coach joined the student section in the stands to celebrate. He was happy to shake Self’s hand then, but now with the tables turned, that wasn’t the case.
Coach Self wasn’t the only notable member of the Kansas basketball program who noticed K-State’s celebrations and was ready to flip the script on Senior Night.
“I saw how excited they were after they beat us, and I think that definitely kind of stuck with some of us,” said senior Hunter Dickinson. “Usually people are excited to beat us cause it a rare occasion, especially for them.
“I think we felt a little motivated coming in tonight knowing that it was Senior Night, knowing that we wanted to send the seniors out with the right note.”
KU will hit the road to close out their regular season with a trip to No. 1 Houston on Saturday.
