Bill Self evaluates Kansas' first-half effort vs. Tennessee in Maui Invitational

Top 10 teams Kansas and Tennessee reached the end of the first half in their third-place game in the Maui Invitational with the score knotted at 35-35, which Bill Self was fine with.

At the break, ESPN’s Angel Gray caught up with Coach Self before he went to the locker room. She asked what he though of his squad’s play in the first 20 minutes.

“Well, I thought we did a good job,” Self said. “We did a great job there late but we just came away with nothing. We actually played hard. I thought we had played pretty well, we just go to quit making so many careless passes.”

With Tennessee’s defense known for pressuring opposing offenses at a high level under Rick Barnes, Gray asked if the Volunteers were getting to the Jayhawks on that end of the floor.

“I don’t think it was the pressure. I think it was, in our half-court offense, we just get sped up and try to make too many great passes or whatever,” explained Self. “We just need to be a little more sound.”

It’s hard to be too upset with a tie ball game at the half in a neutral site contest against a fellow national title contender and top-ranked squad that’s got a veteran roster and a great coach.

Nick Timberlake goes down in first half

Kansas fans witnessed a scary sight early during the Jayhawks’ third-place game vs. Tennessee in the Maui Invitational when one of their players went down.

During a mad chase for a loose ball, Kansas guard and sixth-year senior Nick Timberlake got crushed underneath a Volunteer player and was very slow to get up. He remained on the ground for a minute and trainers came over to check him out. After a brief assessment, Timberlake was walked off the floor and into the locker room for further evaluation.

Later on in the half, he did return to the bench but did not re-enter the game before halftime.

Without the super senior wing, Kansas gets pretty thin on the perimeter. Of course, point guard Dajuan Harris and fellow senior transfer Kevin McCullar are reliable, but beyond them, there hasn’t been someone step up yet for Bill Self. Perhaps this Kansas game, with Timberlake currently sidelined and possibly hobbled, is the time for one of those other guards to step up.

There’s talented freshman Elmarko Jackson who hasn’t found a real role yet. Or another rookie like Jamari McDowell who has seen some run in the early games. Maybe Johnny Furphy takes advantage of extended minutes vs. Tennessee to get his feet underneath him. Regardless of whether Timberlake remains out, Kansas needs one of these guys to step up throughout the season.