The Kansas Jayhawks were defeated 86-75 by West Virginia in men’s college basketball action on Saturday in Morgantown, WV. After dominating the Big 12 for many years, Kansas had a 10-8 in-conference record (tied for fifth) in the 2023-24 season, an 11-9 in-conference record (sixth) in the 2024-25 season, and has a 1-2 record in the early going of Big 12 play this season.
Following the loss, Kansas head coach Bill Self was asked about the team’s struggles over the last few years in Big 12 play, and he began his answer with a very simple point: the conference “is a b*tch.”
“First of all, our league is a b*tch,” Self said. “That’s one thing.”
Bill Self on #KUbball’s Big 12 struggles in recent years:
“First of all, our league is a b****.”
“We’re not bringing pros off the bench… Our Jimmies were better than your Joes… Not any excuse, we got good enough guys, but the margin for error isn’t one where we can let teams… pic.twitter.com/YGmnh3rPC6
— Sam Lance (@slancehoops) January 10, 2026
“The margin for error isn’t like it used to be,” Self continued. “I mean, we’re not bringing pros in off the bench. Let’s just call it like it is. That’s not an excuse, because the guys out there are good enough. But the margin for ain’t. If [former Kansas star twins Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris] wanted to take a couple of possessions off and give up a couple of threes, you know what? You got to play a lot harder than that. But our Jimmies were better than your Joes.”
A reporter then asked Self, “Is that an NIL thing, do you think?”
“That’s just college basketball,” Self responded. “Yeah, that’s college basketball. Everybody’s going to go through it. Some teams that haven’t gone through it are having some good fortune in why they haven’t gone through it. But make no mistake what I’m saying. Not an excuse. But we got good enough guys. But the margin for error isn’t one that we can let teams believe that they can beat you. And we give other teams that confidence.”
Self knows the college basketball landscape as well as anyone in the sport after winning two national championships and reaching the Final Four four times. And he’s right about the Big 12. Kansas (No. 23) is currently one of six Big 12 schools that rank in the top-23 in the Ken Pomeroy college basketball efficiency ratings, and two of those schools are in the top-three and are still unbeaten (Arizona and Iowa State).
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.