Bill Self addresses relationship with Steve Lutz after praising Oklahoma State hire

When the Kansas Jayhawks met the Oklahoma State Cowboys on the court on Saturday, they were clearly the better team, winning 96-64. Despite that lopsided result, Kansas’ Bill Self does believe that Oklahoma State has the right coach in Steve Lutz.

Following the game, Self would praise Lutz, explaining that he expects him to find success in Stillwater. That belief comes from the relationship that Self has developed over the years with Lutz in the coaching industry.

“I’ve known Steve for a long time,” Bill Self said. “In our business, it’s kind of like a fraternity, and even though you maybe don’t know someone personally real well, you know of them through people that you work with or people that you know well.”

Interestingly, Self has never directly worked with Lutz. Self was already the head coach at Oral Roberts when Lutz entered the college coaching ranks. Their paths wouldn’t cross despite multiple stops and Lutz eventually landed his own head coaching opportunity at Texas A&M – Corpus Christie in 2021. Later, he’d become the head coach at Western Kentucky before becoming the head coach at Oklahoma State this season.

In each of his three seasons as a head coach before getting to Oklahoma State, Steve Lutz took his teams to the NCAA Tournament.

“He’s always been very well thought of. He’s done an unbelievable job. The last two places he’s been, those aren’t the easiest places to go to the NCAA Tournament,” Self said. “And he’s been able to do that. So, I think they’ve got the right guy and I think that’ll play out to be true.”

It’s been a difficult first season at times for Lutz and the Cowboys. That continued on the road against Kansas. The Jayhawks had much more success shooting, making 52.1 percent of their shots from the field compared to 36.7 percent by Oklahoma State. They also had 20 more rebounds than the Cowboys, helping to lead to the 32-point win.

“They weren’t as good today. We were pretty good and they weren’t their best today, but they play fast. They play a style that you can definitely recruit to,” Self said. “And I know he really works at it. So, I think he’ll do really well there.”

With the win, Kansas moved to 18-9 on the season and 9-7 in Big 12 play, while snapping a two-game losing streak. Oklahoma State, meanwhile, is now 13-14 on the season and 5-11 in Big 12 play as Lutz looks to navigate the first season of a rebuild.