Bill Self did not last long on Tuesday night in Tempe.
The Jayhawks coach was ejected in the first half of No. 14 Kansas’ 70-60 upset loss to Arizona State after he came out onto the floor to berate officials over an offensive foul called on star Darryn Peterson.
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That ejection ended up sparking a massive run for the Sun Devils, who took a 20-point lead into the locker room at halftime. The Jayhawks managed just four points, and a single field goal, after Self’s ejection and shot just 21% from the field in the first 20 minutes of the contest.
Peterson was trying to work back up to the wing late in the first half of the Big 12 contest, but he ran into Sun Devils guard Bryce Ford down low. Peterson threw up both of his arms as he made plenty of contact with Ford, but it was Peterson who instead drew the offensive foul.
Self was livid, and came storming out onto the court to fight with the official over the call. Quickly, he earned two technicals and was ejected.
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Peterson entered the locker room with just two points and shot 0-of-7 from the field in the first half. The Jayhawks committed 10 turnovers in the opening period, and went 2-of-12 from the 3-point line.
While Kansas fared much better in the second half, and the Jayhawks cut it to a single possession briefly, that deficit was simply too large to come back from. The Sun Devils held on down the stretch to grab the 10-point upset win. Naturally, that sparked a pretty big court storm at Desert Financial Arena.
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“I’m disappointed in myself that I wasn’t out there with the guys to finish the game,” Self said, via The Field of 68’s Sam Lance. “But that was a pretty temperamental crew tonight. That didn’t cost us. What cost us is we weren’t ready to play.”
Maurice Odum led the way with 23 points on five made 3-pointers. Massamba Diop added 19 points and nine rebounds, and was the only other player to hit double figures. The win got the Sun Devils to 16-14 this season, and marked only their second win over a ranked opponent.
Tre White led the Jayhawks with 16 points and accounted for four of Kansas’ seven made 3-pointers. Flory Bidunga added 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Peterson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Despite its struggles, Kansas still managed 25 offensive rebounds, which is the most it’s had in a game since 2009.
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The Jayhawks have now lost four of their last six games, which included a 23-point loss at No. 2 Arizona on Saturday. They’ll end the season against Kansas State on Saturday. While Tuesday’s loss undoubtedly hurt with the Big 12 tournament right around the corner, and Self’s exit certainly didn’t help any, Kansas is still absolutely capable of hanging with the top of the conference. It’ll just have to break this rough stretch, and fast.