Forward Bryson Tiller, who has started 29 of 33 men’s basketball games during this, his freshman season at Kansas, wasn’t injured.
He wasn’t sick.
The healthy 6-foot-11, 240-pound Atlanta native started and scored just two points on 1-of-5 shooting with two rebounds while playing 14 minutes, all in the first half of KU’s 69-47 blowout loss to Houston in Friday’s Big 12 tournament semifinals at T-Mobile Center. He sat the entire second half as the Cougars outscored KU 36-22 in the final 20 minutes.
“That was just my call,” KU coach Bill Self said of sitting Tiller, ostensibly over performance issues.
Asked what his message would be for the big man, Self, who indicated he did not speak long with the team after the squad’s 10th loss in a 23-win season, said: “Rebound and play competitive. That’s it. Be physical, rebound and play competitive. That’s been the message for a long time.”
Tiller, who tied a season low in minutes Friday night, wasn’t the only Jayhawk who struggled against the No. 5-ranked Cougars (28-5), a team No. 14-ranked KU defeated in the regular season, 69-56.
Fellow big man Flory Bidunga scored five points on 1-of-4 shooting with 12 rebounds and no blocked shots in 32 minutes.
Melvin Council Jr. scored four points on 1-of-14 shooting. He was 0-for-4 from 3-point range in 35 minutes.
Star freshman Darryn Peterson missed eight of 11 shots en route to 14 points in 28 minutes. And Tre White had five points on 2-of-8 shooting in 21 minutes.
The Jayhawks’ bench was good for 17 points, eight from Kohl Rosario when the game was well out of reach.
Tiller said he didn’t speak with his coach at halftime, or after the game, but could figure out why he wasn’t reinserted into the game.
“Obviously I could have played harder, got more rebounds,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do about it now but work hard and move on.”
Tiller acknowledged it was tough to watch from the bench as Houston improved on its 33-25 halftime lead.
“I always want to help my team win,” he said.
Instead, Tiller was left to watch the Jayhawks struggle to score 47 points, believed to be the third-fewest in a game in KU’s Self era. Self is in his 23rd season as head coach. KU had a 40-point game against Kentucky in the 2014 Champions Classic and 46 on March 9, 2024 at Houston.
KU not only produced its lowest point total of the season, the Jayhawks also shot a season-low 24.6% from the field, hitting 14 of 57 shots.
“We definitely struggled offensively,” Tiller said. “We didn’t get the ball moving that well. Fortunately it wasn’t our last game. We have at least one more. We can show improvement.
“We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs with various situations. I don’t feel this is a setback we can’t come back from. We’ve got to stick together. We’re doing this as a team. Onto the next one. We can play with more fire and together as well, especially offensively. Stick with our principles on defense and we’ll be good.”
Tiller has had several big games as a freshman — 21 points vs. BYU; four 3s vs. North Carolina; 11 rebounds at Oklahoma State; 13 double-figure games in points.
“There are always going to be ups and downs during a season,” he said of his approach moving forward. “Keep my head high and onto the next game. I feel this was definitely a test to our competitiveness. We can learn from it and also forget it for the tournament. We’ll be ready for it.”
Sophmore guard Elmarko Jackson, who had three points on 1-of-4 shooting in 21 minutes, said Tiller “will be fired up, and he’s going to be playing the best basketball in the tournament.”
Noted Council: “I told him, ‘Next game. It’s going to be OK.’’’
The Jayhawks will learn Sunday their seeding, site and first-round opponent for the NCAA Tournament. Until then, they’ll try to rest up following a humbling defeat.
“Houston played very well, a very good team brand of basketball, especially on the defensive end and they just made life difficult,” Jackson said. “We obviously didn’t expect that to happen, so it (stinks), but this is the postseason.
“We can’t hold onto these too long and we’ve got to understand we’re playing for something bigger.”
Related Stories from Kansas City Star
Gary Bedore
The Kansas City Star
Gary Bedore covers KU basketball for The Kansas City Star. He has written about the Jayhawks since 1978 — during the Ted Owens, Larry Brown, Roy Williams and Bill Self eras. He has won the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year award and KPA writing awards.
