Kansas Jayhawks Basketball

Bill Self won the second national championship of his illustrious career last season.

He's now one step closer to winning his second Naismith Coach of the Year award as well.

The 10 semifinalists for the award were announced Friday, and the Kansas Jayhawks leader was joined by Houston's Kelvin Sampson, Purdue's Matt Painter, UCLA's Mick Cronin and six others. The four finalists will be announced on March 20, while the trophy will be awarded on April 2, the day before the national title.

Here is a look at the 10 semifinalists:

• Shaka Smart, Marquette

• Jerome Tang, Kansas State

• Matt Painter, Purdue

• Chris Collins, Northwestern

• Rodney Terry, Texas

• Kelvin Sampson, Houston

• Mick Cronin, UCLA

• Dusty May, Florida Atlantic

• Jeff Capel, Pittsburgh

• Bill Self, Kansas

Self is the headliner, boasting a resume that includes two national titles, a Naismith Coach of the Year, two Associated Press Coach of the Year awards and six Big 12 Coach of the Year awards. However, Houston has been the nation's most dominant college basketball team this season, so Sampson may be positioned to take home the award.

The Cougars are No. 1 in the country with just two losses on the entire campaign, one of which came against a potential No. 1 seed in the Big Dance in Alabama.

They are also the only team in the country in the top 10 in Ken Pomeroy's offensive and defensive efficiency rankings, underscoring how dangerous they can be in the NCAA tournament.

Whether that is enough to get Sampson the Naismith Coach of the Year award remains to be seen, but he would probably rather take home the national championship.

Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self will not coach in the Big 12 tournament after undergoing a "standard procedure" Wednesday night.

Self is expected to make a full recovery.

It was previously announced that Self would miss Thursday's game against West Virginia because of an illness. The statement noted he was "doing well and receiving great care at the University of Kansas Health System."

Assistant coach Norm Roberts served as the team's acting head coach against the Mountaineers and will continue to do so in Self's absence.

Kansas is the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tournament and is considered the favorite to gain the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament. It's unlikely the Jayhawks will drop from No. 1 seed consideration even with a loss in the conference tournament, so Self's absence should not have a long-term impact on the season—barring his needing to miss more time.

Roberts already has experience coaching the team this season without Self. He acted as coach during Self's four-game suspension to start the regular season, and Kansas went 4-0 during that timeframe, including a win over Duke.

Down 13 at halftime, the No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks did not blink.

Instead, the reigning national champions rode one of the most dominant stretches of their season to a 87-71 win over the No. 9 Baylor Bears at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday. Bill Self's team completely flipped the game on its head after a poor opening 20 minutes and ended up with a double-digit victory.

The second half was all Rock Chalk Jayhawk as Kansas outscored their conference rivals 55-26 in the second half.

Coming out halftime down 45-32, it took just over five minutes for Kansas to take the lead on a Gradey Dick three-pointer.

It was a lead that the Jayhawks would never surrender.

Four out of Kansas' five starters finished in double-digit scoring, but the team was led national player of the year contender Jalen Wilson who finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds after having just seven points in the first half.

Kansas really tightened up defensively during that dominant stretch, neutralizing Baylor's trio of Keyonte George, Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer, who combined for 42 points in the first half.

The three of them struggled mightily in the second half as the Bears finished shooting just 44.1 percent from the floor. Kansas also allowed just one three-pointer in the final 20 minutes after Baylor drained nine in the first half.

Kansas is now sits atop the Big 12 standings following the win and are on a four-game win streak, playing some of their very best basketball of the year at the right time. Meanwhile, Baylor remains third in the conference.

Kansas was the latest victim of "Hilton Magic" as No. 13 Iowa State earned a 68-53 home win over the No. 8 team in the country.

The Cyclones improved to 12-0 this season at Hilton Coliseum, and fans were quick to note the impact:

Iowa State entered the day with four losses in the last six games, with each defeat coming on the road. But at home, the team had top-10 wins over Texas and Kansas State during this stretch.

The difference was clear once again on Saturday as the Cyclones came out with a lot of energy and thrived with an aggressive defense.

Kansas turned it over 20 times in the loss, shooting just 6-of-23 from three-point range. Potential NBA lottery pick Gradey Dick had just seven points after scoring 21 against the Cyclones in Kansas last month.

On the other end of the court, Tamin Lipsey filled up the stat sheet with nine points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and three steals, while Jaren Holmes came through with key outside shots.

It was enough pull out a key win that will help Iowa State's resume in March.

No 9. Kansas defeated unranked Kentucky 77-68 on Saturday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington to snap a three-game losing streak.

Following disappointing losses to No. 5 Kansas State, No. 11 TCU and No. 17 Baylor, the Jayhawks desperately needed a win against Kentucky on Saturday, and their best player showed up when it mattered most.

Junior forward Jalen Wilson continued his phenomenal season with 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win. He made 9 of 18 shots from the floor and 2 of 3 shots from deep.

Saturday's win marks the fourth straight game that Wilson has scored 20-plus points, and he's quickly rising up the charts as a player of the year candidate:

Wilson entered Saturday's game averaging 21.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 20 games this season while shooting 42.7 percent from the floor and 34.1 percent from deep.

If the 22-year-old can continue competing at a high level, there's no doubt he should be included in the player of the year conversation.

The Jayhawks will be back in action against No. 5 Kansas State on Tuesday. The two teams last met on Jan. 17, with Kansas State coming out on top 83-82 in a game Wilson scored 38 points.

The No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks were upset by the No. 14 TCU Horned Frogs 83-60 on Saturday night at Allen Fieldhouse for their worst home loss in two years and one of the worst losses in the Bill Self era.

Self has been head coach of the Jayhawks since 2003, and the worst loss of his career came against Texas in January 2021 when his team fell 84-59 to the Longhorns. Saturday's loss to TCU is the team's second-largest loss at home under Self.

The loss also ended a 16-game home winning streak for Kansas, which dropped to 16-3 on the season.

TCU was dominant from start to finish, mounting a 10-point lead going into halftime. The Horned Frogs then outscored the Jayhawks 35-22 in the second half to close out just their third win over Kansas in 23 games dating back to February 2013.

"The way they chewed gum. The way they tied their shoes. Everything they did was perfect today," Self said of TCU after the loss. "They played great. They're so fast. They're so athletic off the bench. Their bench was unbelievable. ... That was a beatdown."

Shahada Wells led the way for the Horned Frogs, finishing with 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and four steals off the bench. Mike Miles Jr. finished with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal, while Damion Baugh notched 11 points, three rebounds, four assists and one steal.

It's a tough loss for the Jayhawks, which squandered another 30-point night from Jalen Wilson. The 22-year-old finished with 30 points, seven rebounds and two assists in Saturday's loss after putting up 38 points, nine rebounds and one assist in an 83-82 overtime loss to No. 13 Kansas State on Jan. 17.

Kansas now sits third in the Big 12, while TCU improved to fifth place with an overall record of 15-4.

The Jayhawks are set to face No. 21 Baylor on Monday before facing unranked Kentucky in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 28.

The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, will host unranked Oklahoma on Tuesday before taking on unranked Mississippi State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 28.

Kansas and TCU will meet again on Feb. 20 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers are Battle 4 Atlantis champions after upsetting the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks 64-50 on Friday night.

It was a tough loss for the Jayhawks, who struggled to get anything going offensively all night. Junior forward Jalen Wilson and junior guard Joseph Yesufu led Kansas with 14 points each, but the production was minimal beyond those two.

Freshman guard Gradey Dick, who entered Friday's game averaging 16.8 points, finished with just seven points. Senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr., who was averaging 10.2 points, finished with seven points.

It was an all-around disappointing performance by Kansas, which dropped to 6-1 on the season with the loss. College basketball fans on Twitter ripped the reigning national champions following the defeat:

While it was a disappointing loss for the Jayhawks, there's still plenty of season left and no reason to panic just yet.

Kansas will be back in action on Monday against Texas Southern.

The University of Kansas reportedly self-imposed a four-game suspension for men's basketball head coach Bill Self and assistant Kurtis Townsend ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Stadium's Jeff Goodman reported Wednesday the punishment, which relates to an ongoing NCAA investigation into alleged violations within the program that began in 2017, also includes future recruiting restrictions.

Norm Roberts will serve as the Jayhawks' acting head coach until Self returns, per Goodman.

In August, the NCAA announced it would dissolve the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) once it completed all the ongoing investigations, including the one into KU. All the changes are scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1.

Despite the upcoming alterations to the governing body's review process, no timetable for the NCAA's final ruling in the Kansas case has been announced.

In May 2020, the NCAA enforcement staff announced its investigation into the five Level I violations showed "egregious" and "severe" rules violations by Self and Townsend, who allegedly "embraced, welcomed and encouraged" Adidas representatives to persuade highly rated recruits to sign with the Jayhawks, per ESPN's Mark Schlabach.

More than two years after that statement, the case remains unsettled.

Self has led the Kansas program since 2003, which ties him for the 10th-longest-tenured head coach in men's college basketball.

The 59-year-old Oklahoma native has compiled a 556-124 record (.818 winning percentage) across 19 seasons with the Jayhawks. He led the team to national championships in 2008 and 2022.

His nearly four-decade coaching career also includes stops as the head coach at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois before arriving to Kansas.

Townsend, 64, joined KU's coaching staff in 2004.

The fifth-ranked Jayhawks are scheduled to open their title defense Monday night at home against Omaha. Self and Townsend will also miss games against North Dakota State, seventh-ranked Duke and Southern Utah.

They'll be eligible to return for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Kansas' first game in the event is a Nov. 23 clash with NC State.

Former Kansas and New Mexico State basketball player Gethro Muscadin died Monday as the result of injuries he suffered in a December 2021 car crash.

He was 22.

"Gethro left us late last night," Kansas coach Bill Self said Tuesday. "He was involved in a major car accident 10 months ago and has basically been in a non-responsive state since then. Although only here one year, Gethro was loved and liked by all and will always be remembered as a Jayhawk. We wish his family and loved ones the best going through this most difficult time."

Muscadin was the passenger in a one-car crash on Dec. 30, 2021, in which the vehicle "went off the road, rolled multiple times, and came to rest on the fence line," according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. The car was driven by his girlfriend, with whom he had attended a Kansas vs. Nevada basketball game the previous day.

Muscadin grew up in Haiti and came to the United States at 16 to pursue a basketball career. He spent the 2020-21 season at Kansas before transferring to New Mexico, where he averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 12 games played.

Muscadin had been in a coma for the last 10 months following the crash.

Ochai Agbaji completed his senior season with the Kansas Jayhawks by winning a national championship and being named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

Now, Agbaji is ready to transition to the next level, as he announced Sunday that he is declaring for the 2022 NBA draft:

Agbaji is the fourth Kansas player to declare for the draft, joining David McCormack, Jalen Wilson and Christian Braun. Last year's Jayhawks team was unique in today's era of college basketball, as it wasn't led by a star one-and-done freshman.

After taking the reins as Kansas' lead offensive option, Agbaji's numbers increased across the board last season. He averaged 18.8 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range.

Agbaji was named Big 12 Player of the Year, as well as a consensus 2022 All-American and a finalist for both the Naismith Award and Wooden Award. He scored 12 points in Kansas' 72-69 national championship victory over North Carolina.

The Kansas City, Missouri, native is projected as a lottery pick in this year's class. B/R's Jonathan Wasserman has him pegged to be selected No. 14 overall in his most recent mock draft.

"Scouts have bought in to Agbaji's breakout and shooting growth (103 three-pointers, 40.7 percent)," Wasserman wrote. "And though he still doesn't project as a creator, his explosive finishing, bankable three-ball and defensive tools point to sure-thing contributions."

As a four-year college player, Agbaji will surely stand out from the rest of the prospects in this year's draft, which is sure to be dominated by underclassmen.