Bill Self reacts to Kansas' slow start against Creighton

Kansas didn’t get off to a great start, trailing Creighton 13-7 at one point. But the Jayhawks regathered, and Bill Self explained what happened during those first few minutes.

Self, speaking with CBS’ Allie LaForce during a timeout, said Kansas put a game plan in place to slow Creighton down, but got away from it early. But during a couple timeouts early on, the Jayhawks shored things up and ended up taking the lead.

“Well, we want to take away the arc and they made three threes right out of the chute,” Self said. “So we didn’t do a good job there and we’re letting [Ryan] Hawkins get to his right hand anytime he wants to.”

Creighton, without center Ryan Kalkbrenner due to a knee injury, worked the three-point line early. The Bluejays made 8-for-15 from three-point distance to keep pace with the Jayhawks. Kansas worked it inside early, with 25 of its first 34 shots coming from inside the arc and maintained a 39-38 lead at halftime.

Kansas cruised in its first game of the tournament, handing Texas Southern an 80-56 loss in the Round of 64. Creighton, meanwhile, went to overtime with San Diego State before coming away with a 72-69 victory.

Kansas and Creighton are facing off on CBS.

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Five Jayhawks scored in double figures, led by 15 points from Remy Martin, as Kansas rolled to an 80-56 win over Texas Southern in the first game of the NCAA Tournament. Christian Braun added 14 as the Jayhawks shot 50% from the floor.

Creighton, meanwhile, needed an extra five minutes to get the win over San Diego State on Thursday. All five starters hit double figures, but the story of the game was Kalkbrenner’s injury. He tore his PCL in his knee and LaForce reported it’s a three-month recovery period. That meant Creighton had to change its game plan against the No. 1-seeded Jayhawks and is rolling with a smaller lineup in Kalkbrenner’s absence.