Bill Self wants to see No. 23 Kansas 'be men' at BYU

These are not heady times for No. 23 Kansas entering Tuesday night's Big 12 Conference contest against BYU in Provo, Utah. That's because the Jayhawks (17-8, 8-6 Big 12) continue to mix sloppy losses with wins. After cruising past Colorado on Feb. 11, they traveled Saturday night to a Utah team they figured to outmatch on paper. But Kansas never led in a 74-67 setback. The latest loss took the shine off Saturday's news from the NCAA Tournament selection committee, which ranked Kansas as a No. 4 seed (No. 15 overall). Longtime Jayhawks coach Bill Self has seen it all over the years but was left scratching his head after the loss to the Utes, who came into the game after a 2-5 stretch. "I've obviously done a (expletive) job getting these guys to understand the way we have to play in order to give us a chance to win," Self said. "I'm tired of regrouping. We don't need to regroup. What we need to do is basically be men as an entire organization. "Go out and do what our job is to do and accept responsibility for everybody -- players, coaches, everybody -- when we don't do it well." The list of things Kansas failed to do well Saturday night was lengthy. From missing shots to getting trounced on the boards and not forcing turnovers, it was the kind of performance that was once called a clunker but is becoming increasingly more common. Fifth-year senior Hunter Dickinson is averaging a team-high 16.4 points and Zeke Mayo scores 15.0 per game, but that's it for the double-figure scorers on a roster that figured to be more explosive. Kansas is just 5-5 since mid-January. While the Jayhawks search for answers, the Cougars (17-8, 8-6) come into this one after drilling Kansas State 80-65 on Saturday night for their sixth win in eight games. Richie Saunders scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for his first career double-double. "Sometimes, it just kind of happens like that," Saunders said. "I try to go to the glass every time and sometimes it falls your way. Other times, it doesn't. We knew going into the game that wasn't one of their strengths, so it was a point that we could attack." BYU has fared well in its first season under coach Kevin Young, ranking 52nd in Division I in scoring at 79.8 points per game entering Monday, and 38th in field-goal percentage at 48.0. Its recent surge has landed BYU on the right side of the NCAA tourney bubble, according to most bracketologists. Young was more pleased with his team's work defensively Saturday. The Cougars held the Wildcats to 41.0 percent shooting for the game and finished with seven blocked shots and six steals. "We did some really good things against a team that has been really challenging to guard because of their pick-and-roll combinations," Young said. Kansas owns a 4-2 lead in the all-time series but the Cougars won the teams' first matchup as Big 12 foes last February in Lawrence, 76-68. --Field Level Media