PERSONAL: Jayhawks postmortem, part two

I did this last year, so here goes again.

Nothing really seemed right from the beginning. The turnovers. The three-pointers dropping everywhere for the opponent. The six straight missed free throws within the first eight minutes.

Turnovers, three-pointers, free throws: lose the battle of three of these, you lose the game; lose all three, and, well, you lose by 10.

There are many reasons why Kansas lost this game. I'll do this in no particular order, and with no particular animus directed at anyone...

Markieff Morris had six turnovers in the first half and, when KU was down just two in the second half, somehow stepped on the end line before throwing the ball to Josh Selby. Did I mention six turnovers? I don't know how you can not be shaving points and still turn the ball over six times in less than 20 minutes of play. When he picked up his third foul -- a bad call by the ref, by the way -- I considered it a blessing in disguise.

There was Mario Little, whose one possession in the first half resulted in him stepping out of bounds. Here's how it happened. He dribbled up to the baseline ... and stepped on it.

There was Tyrel Reed, who played about 20 minutes more than he should have. I said at about the 17 minute mark of the first half -- that is, 17 minutes to go -- that he should be removed from the game. This is true, I said that. With about five minutes to go in the game, I asked rhetorically, "What does he do for you?" What does he do that Elijah Johnson or Josh Selby doesn't. Oh, get good grades. That's right, he will be graduating this year. I get that. Still. Still... and this is the harsh sports commentator speaking here, but... still.

There was Brady Morningstar, who did absolutely nothing. But I'm being harsh. Absolutely nothing is better than some of his teammates.

And then there was Bill Self. Oh was there ever Bill Self, potentially the worst big-game coach I've ever seen, and that's saying something because I survived Roy Williams. This isn't post-game trauma speaking: I've known for the last seven or eight years, silently suffering with this realization, that Bill Self was not a good strategist. That he can teach man-to-man defense and recruit with the best of them, but as for in-game management can give you the mind-numbingly simplistic high-low and the elementary-school-level weave and that's about it. When was the last time Kansas played full-court press for 10 minutes? Or half-court trap more than a few times a game? Or switched into a zone against a team that couldn't shoot? If Bill Self wants to learn how to win games, he should take a lesson or two from the coach that beat him. I'm not going to get into it at the moment, but there's a column or two here for some enterprising KC Star writer should he want the challenge.

For about the final six or seven minutes, I screamed at my computer (I was streaming the game, and by the way, fuck you you Applebee's cunt, I am watching on my little screen) for Self to put in his subs. Put in Selby! I said. Take out Reed! Go small! Why have a deep bench if you don't use it! But he insisted on his "starters." He insisted on sitting his first-round NBA draft pick (Selby, of course, the guy who actually hit rim on his three-pointers, unlike Reed and Morningstar) while inferior players logged minutes while tired as hell. At about the two-minute mark, though the game was within six, hope was lost. KU was tired. The five starters had given all they had. And meanwhile, on the bench...

Oh, the bench. That prized bench of five-star recruits like Elijah Johnson and supposed game-changers like Thomas Robinson (who, by the way, rebounded better than Markieff all game) and guys like Travis Releford, who actually got a few seconds of playing time (I would've been happy to see him get more)). In one word, the bench was wasted.

Where was the game lost? Was it lost when Tyrel Reed missed the free throw on the technical foul, sapping much-needed and hard-earned momentum? Was it lost when Markieff stepped gingerly and possibly deliberately out of bounds instead of passing the ball that would have led to a fast break and KU tying the game? Was it lost when Self stopped playing his bench because he had a massive brain fart, or earlier, when he failed to substitute properly after his team scored 14 straight points?

It doesn't matter. The better team won tonight. Won by 10. In the Elite Eight, that's a veritable blowout. I suppose I shouldn't be all that upset.

Here's to seeing you on the All-American team next year, Tyshawn. Please cancel your Facebook account though, only bad things come of it.