The Kansas Jayhawks entered the 2024-25 basketball season as the No. 1 basketball team in the country, and while they certainly still have time to live up to those expectations, they haven’t looked anything like a national title favorite.
KU hosted North Carolina in their second game of the year, and the Jayhawks pulled off a 92-89 win in front of a raucous Allen Fieldhouse crowd.
However, things have changed a bit since that early-season victory, and apparently, that has extended past the Jayhawks’ roster and coaching staff.
Ahead of this weekend’s game against the seventh-ranked Houston Cougars, KU head coach Bill Self said that he’s noticed a bit of a fall off in the support from the Kansas student section.
“I don’t feel the student hype the way that I used to,” Self told media on Friday. “When North Carolina was here to start the season and you’ve got 150 camping groups and stuff. You know, I haven’t even need down there today, so I don’t even know what it is. Maybe it’s out there and really high levels. But I haven’t felt the student hype to the level that I felt in some other years and I know that other people have said the same thing.”
Self then provided a caveat to his statement, saying that he’s not trying to be negative towards the student body.
“That’s not being negative to the students, but I don’t think there’s been as much anticipation—since the Carolina game for sure—even in some of our bigger games. Some of them have been over [winter] break, too, but I’m hopeful that our energy level, from a fan standpoint, is as good as its been all year tomorrow.”
Allen Fieldhouse will need to play a role in this game if KU is going to knock off the visiting Coogs, as Houston enters this weekend on an 11-game winning streak and is fresh off a 70-36 drumming of Utah.
The Jayhawks and Cougars are set for a 5:30 p.m. CT tip on ESPN, with Houston (58.6%) being favored to win the game.
