Bill Self reveals what Kansas mindset has to be for remainder of NCAA Tournament

The top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks survived a fierce battle from the Providence Friars in the Sweet 16 a few days ago. Kansas is the only No. 1 seed left in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Earlier in the week, Jayhawks head coach Bill Self talked about his team’s tenacious defense and his team adopting the mindset of relentless defense.

“I certainly hope so because that’s how we’re playing right now. I think the first half was about as well we could guard. So I told the guys at halftime, when the other team shoots it like they shot it and how we guard them only to be up nine, that’s not a great sign,” Self said. “But we made them play poor. They made us play poor. But when the other team can’t score, you’re not going to lose very often. And even though we didn’t guard them great the second half, I think the totality of the game certainly, that played to our favor.”

Bill Self commented on his team’s defense right after the Providence victory

Jayhawks head coach Bill Self noted what went right for his squad defensively on their way to victory.

“We guarded today. We guarded. We had some breakdowns the second half,” Self said. “I don’t know that you wouldn’t have breakdowns in the second half when you’re kind of on your heels when they’re coming back. We gave up 44 points the second half. That’s way too many.

“But overall, I think it’s getting better. Our first-shot defense was pretty good. They hurt us on the glass a little bit the first half. I think we’re more connected defensively than we’ve been all year.”

The Jayhawks’ defensive effort on the ball led to Providence shooting 23-68 (33.8 percent) from the floor and 4-23 (17.4 percent) from behind the arc to go with 11 blocks from the team. The Jayhawks would go on to out-rebound Providence 43-38 and score 40 points in the second half as well.

Kansas’s Elite Eight matchup against Miami will tip Sunday at 2:20 p.m. ET live on CBS. The winner will face Villanova in the Final Four next week.

On3’s Barkley Truax also contributed to this article.