Bill Self and Kansas, No. 4 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, touched down in San Diego on Wednesday ahead of their first-round matchup with No. 13 Cal Baptist, the WAC tournament champion, on Friday night.
Meeting with reporters on Wednesday, Self entertained several topics, including Bryson Tiller‘s absence from the second half of last week’s Big 12 semifinal loss to Houston in Kansas City, Missouri, as the team gets prepped for Friday. Tiller was just 1 of 5 from the floor against the Cougars for two points.
Bill Self on Bryson Tiller
Tiller Self already touched on the subject of Tiller’s physicality following the TCU game, and with Tiller missing action this late into the schedule, it’s no surprise Self caught the question again upon landing in San Diego.
“I’ve talked to Bryson and once again, you know, not going to make something out of nothing, but the bottom line is I just decided to play different guys that day,” Self said. “And he knows that, and we’ve talked, and his attitude’s been fantastic and he’s had a good week.”
It’d be hard to imagine Tiller misses any time in Friday’s tournament opener, and the Jayhawks, as a whole, are tasked with turning over a new leaf after exiting a disappointing finish to Big 12 play and the subsequent league tourney.
Bill Self on Cal Baptist
Of their opponent, Self tabbed CBU, escaping overtime with Utah Valley on a missed dunk by Isaac Davis in the WAC final, as a team within the ballpark of surprise despite Kansas checking in as a 14.5-point favorite.
CBU was picked as the WAC preseason regular-season champion, won instead by UVU on its way out the door to the Big West. Rick Croy‘s 160-43 home mark is slightly in play, as his team travels roughly 90 minutes south from Riverside, California.
WAC Player of the Year Dominque Daniels Jr. (23.2 ppg) is the key Lancer to watch on Friday. The senior guard goes head-to-head with one of the best guards in the country, Darryn Peterson, who’s also making his NCAA tournament debut this weekend with Daniels.
“It’s a strange league,” Self said. “They play each other three times. Everybody plays – I’d never seen that before because there are only seven teams, so they’ve got enough games in, but depending on where you play, the best teams twice would be an advantage, and they finished a game out because, in large part, they had the disadvantage because they didn’t lose at home… They’re capable, they’re more than capable.”
Health-wise, Kansas enters Friday with its full complement of talent after completing much of the regular season without Peterson, who faced immense criticism from fans and media alike while battling lingering cramps.
“I feel fortunate that all 16 guys have been out there practicing for the last week or whatever,” Self said. “I don’t see any issues whatsoever from a health standpoint because you know, a lot of people do have things that go on right now. We certainly have been somewhat derailed by going into the tournament with you know, Joel (Embiid) not being able to play or whatever the case would be, and we don’t have that, which is good.”
Friday’s contest pits Kansas against a top-50 defense holding opponents to around 67.6 points per game. The Big 12 is stronger than the matchup’s opposing league resumes, and the Jayhawks must prove that ahead of a potential second-round matchup with Rick Pitino and No. 5 St. John’s.
