Game thread: KU v Syracuse, Players Era MTE, TUE 2:30 PM CT TNT

Tuesday ... afternoon
We're just beginning to see
How good the Hawks can be.
Those Orange they'll try once again to make our lives misery...

Something calls to me ...
on yet another ...

... Buh duh ^DUH duh ^{DUH DUH} duh duh _{duh duh} DUH DUH ^DUH ... BALL DAY!!

Tuesday afternoon our KANSAS JAYHAWKS (4-2) play the Syracuse Orange (4-1), a former Top 5 member of the Top 25 All Time Winningest Programs club before running afoul of the NCAA in 2015, in the Players' Era multiteam event in Las Vegas.
The series is tied 3-3 (we don't talk about Melo), last time with KU winning 76-60 in Miami back in December 2017.

ESPN's Matchup Predictor favors KANSAS to win 71% of the time.

Again, here's the CBSSports.com link detailing all you need to know (except the TV schedule) about this NIL generating event

See the NCAA link for the TV schedule for all participants, men and women. Players' Era Las Vegas 2025

As noted on Monday, every team is guaranteed to play in 3 games in this tournament. The results of the first two days play will determine the matchups for Wednesday (or Thursday for the last 4, may they not include KU!). We'll have to check the updated schedule after Tuesday's games have been completed and the PET's Byzantine seeding rules have been applied to determine who plays who in their respective Games 3..

Self is holding Peterson out yet again, and expect more of the same on Wednesday.

KUAthletics.com: KU men's basketball beats Notre Dame, plays Syracuse next
KUAthletics.com: KU v Syracuse Game Notes

LKF_HAWK wrote: McNamara and Warrick are the two that I would like to forget and let’s not forget the amazing FT defense by the Orange.

Oh, I agree they are totally "We don't talk about ___" as well, but Melo was the man and his nickname matches the rhythm of the original song (see "We Don't Talk About Bruno" from the very fun animated musical film "Encanto").

It looks like today the KU FT defense rose up and bit the Orange on the butt -- with that Anthony guy in the stands watching his kid coming off the bench.

KU 71 SU 60

If you were to tell me that JMc was going to play 34 minutes I would have been very surprised, but he started instead of Kohl Rosario and did end up playing a very solid 33:41 with 9 points (3-7, 2-6 3, 1-2 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 0 turnovers. A solid defensive game as well. And his 0 TOs was huge given the rest of the team had 15 to SU's 2, really the only thing that kept the Orange in the game - and pretty much negated by KU's FT defense (SU 13-23; KU 18-20 from the line).

But there is no doubt that Double-doubles by Tre White and Flory Bidunga help Kansas beat Syracuse 71-60 at Players Era tourney

One more win tomorrow, Jayhawks!

Well done today!

ROCK CHALK!

By the way, in case anyone watched the studio reporting after the Syracuse game and came away confused - you are not wrong.
There were two different #s mentioned for the career record of HCBS.

Initially one of the talking heads (and initially the chyron) reported that Self has won 836 games in his head coaching career.

Technically that # is correct, but OFFICIALLY his Win total after the Syracuse game is 821 games.

You will remember that in 2023 the NCAA IARP results vacated 15 wins from the 20 games Silvio De Sousa participated in during the AY2017-18 season.*

Therein lies the difference in the reporting.
One report reflected the actual Division 1 games Bill Self's teams have won.
The other report showed the official games won.by Self teams during his head coaching career.
______________________________________________________________________________

*Still, IMO, a bogus result from a craven group of KU haters ensconced in the halls of the NCAA.
Still not happy with KU deciding to accept the results and move forward just to put the whole thing behind them.

$2000 to a guardian who was not able to convince Silvio to attend Maryland, a guardian who never gave the money to foreign student in a new land Silvio or his family, a guardian who reportedly tried to return the $ and when the source rep said it could not be returned donated every $ to a local charity. Add in that KU only played Silvio after the NCAA cleared him to play, and then sat him the entire next season when the NCAA said there were new issues, and it just really, really stinks - especially in light of the environment today and in light of past NCAA behavior.

Specifically the NCAA never went back to retroactively zap UCLA after UCLA was forced to disassociate itself from Sam Gilbert, and all the reporting shows there was a TON of $ involved in getting Wooden his great players of the 1960s and 70s.

Bloody double standard, in part left over IMO from the days that the NCAA was headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and the leadership always felt it had to be really harsh with it's backyard neighborhood member KANSAS in order to ensure they did NOT appear to be favoring "the school next door" KANSAS.

Hmmph!
Still a burr under my saddle...