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SportsPulse: Saturday was mostly reserved for chalk. Ja Morant and Murray State retired from the tournament. Trysta Krick recaps the action and turns to Sunday's slate.
UNITED STATES TODAY & # 39; HUI
SALT LAKE CITY – It is not uncommon for the No. 1 pre-season team to finish the lowest ranked year.
But you were eliminated in the second round of the tournament by a team ranked below you? This is not quite the case for the team once ranked at the top.
That's the way the Kansas Jayhawks lost 89-75 to Auburn, the No. 5 seed in a match that was not as close to the final score. Auburn led by 26 at halftime. His biggest advance was 27.
"I was surprised how excellent they were, even though I knew they were good," said Kansas coach Bill Self. "Their guards dominated us, they made us so unbalanced, we played young tonight, especially in the first half."
The Tigers are on the right track after winning the SEC tournament last week. They continued Saturday night in the home of Utah Jazz, eliminating 13 players and shooting 52%.
Youth, meanwhile, finally caught up with KU decisively.
On Wednesday, Self joked that having started recruiting four freshmen had led him to buy hair dye, because learning from so many newcomers had made him to become grayer than he would like. On Saturday night, in the second round, the Jayhawks did not return to their defense (Auburn scored 34 fast break points) and returned the ball more than 16 times.
Kansas coach Bill Self did not like what he saw against Auburn on Saturday. It was the end of a long season for the Jayhawks. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez, Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
More: Morant, Murray State's Ja Morant impresses again in what could have been his last college match
More: Brandon Clarke sets record with No. 1 Gonzaga at Sweet 16 with Baylor win
Now, Self and his staff are entering a dead season full of uncertainty. An imminent investigation by the FBI is not going to go away any time soon and there are questions as to whether Self will be back as the main coach. Although he insisted the local media do not go anywhere, the findings of a federal inquiry could still change things.
In what could be said of less in the NCAA tournament, the season was tumultuous for Kansas (26-10). Their series of holders of at least a share of the Big 12 title in the regular season ended 14 years later.
The Jayhawks have decided to rely heavily on their youth after Lagerald Vick, their guard in shootout, has mysteriously taken a "lack" of the team. Vick's mother told the media that her son needed to go home to Memphis for family problems.
Self was mom from Vick, but it was an absolutely unexpected loss. Same with the end-of-season injury of junior center Udoka Azubuike, who ruptured a ligament in his right hand in early January.
The season was long for the Jayhawks, although it ended earlier than expected.
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"We had a very good race in time," said Self.
"It was still a good season, I do not think we were too successful, I do not think we were less successful."
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