Jayhawks lament turnovers and defensive lapses as St. John's buzzer-beater crushes Sweet 16 dreams.
Kansas Reflects On Missed Chances After Buzzer-Beater Loss To St. John’s
The Jayhawks felt one play short on Sunday, falling to the Red Storm with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. After a 67-65 loss to St. John’s on a last-second layup, Kansas players and coach Bill Self pointed to familiar issues, turnovers, inconsistency, and a slow start, that ultimately defined both the game and the season.
“The tournament is one of the things that makes it so great — it can also be cruel,” Self said. “We put ourselves in a position to play from behind the whole game… and just didn’t finish what we started.”
Kansas trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half before mounting a late comeback, tying the game in the final minute behind freshman guard Darryn Peterson. But the Jayhawks couldn’t get a final stop, as St. John’s Dylan Darling scored at the buzzer.
For senior guard Melvin Council Jr., the difference came down to defensive intensity, particularly early.
“We were just being more aggressive on defense,” Council said of the comeback stretch. “We didn’t do that in the first half.”
Kansas’ struggles began well before the final possession. The Jayhawks committed 16 turnovers, including nine in the first half, allowing St. John’s to control the tempo despite shooting under 30% before halftime. Still, Kansas found a way to fight back.
A spark came from an unlikely source in reserve Kohl Rosario, who had not played in the previous game but made key hustle plays during the second-half run.
“When my name was called, I was ready,” Rosario said. “I never really checked out of the game.”
Self praised that effort but pointed back to the final defensive breakdown.
“We had to guard four bounces and we didn’t,” he said. “That was really disappointing.”
The loss marked the fourth straight year Kansas failed to reach the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend, a stretch Self acknowledged has fallen short of expectations.
“Our margin for error offensively isn’t that great,” Self said. “We didn’t take care of the ball well enough to beat a team like that.”
Instead, the season ended the same way it often unfolded, with flashes of resilience, undone by too many mistakes.
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