We need to change his initials from DP to DNP

If we win I will be psyched. If we lose without DP I will blame not having DP. If we lose with DP I will blame the short-term chemistry issues of working him back into the lineup. Either we win or I have an excuse!

Here are the takeaways.

Positives:

1. It was nice to be on the other side of an epic meltdown after the Houston and Baylor "games" last year.

2. DP played 32 minutes.

3. DP was clutch at the end of regulation.

4. We showed that, when we play with heart, we can be a very good team (though I guess we already knew that).

Negatives:

1. This result was more of a TCU choke than a KU victory, though there were elements of both

2. We played with absolutely no effort for an unacceptably long time

3. DP is still cramping

Once again, Melvin saved our bacon. God he is good.

Bill Self said on the postgame radio show that Flory is the best defender in the country and that he was tremendous tonight, citing that neither Toppin nor Watts could score on him

I am very proud of the guys. They had had so many "moral victories" where they played good teams close without DP but came up just short this year. And today they had had enough of that! They made damn sure to get the job done! What a special group

At this point I think it is best to just assume he is done for the year. That way we are prepared for it and if he does come back it will be a pleasant surprise.

Jamari is playing such good defense. He has been a very pleasant surprise.

Dybansta is really good at drawing fouls. Like Tre White in a Duke jersey good. We have to defend him well without getting handsey to have a chance

According to Bill Self Elmarko "got (his tendon, which was the reason he sat out last season) bumped" earlier today and "was feeling it"

@kjayhawks2.0 His defense was night and day better than it was on Saturday

I really hope Kohl sticks around and develops some confidence in his shot. If he does he could be great.

Also shout out to Kohl Rosario for coming in the game cold, playing excellent defense for a possession, and helping force a Houston turnover. That was a key play during a time of momentum shift in the game.

Rock Chalk.

The good:

1. Best half of our season was that second half in my opinion. Great offense and defense.

2. DP's minutes were not limited.

3. It feels nice to finally finish the job against Houston.

4. This could help us get our mojo back.

5. Tre White

6. Elite free throws!

The bad:

1. This does not negate the Cincy game.

2. DP is still in a slump heading into March.

The ugly:

1. Impending match-up with Arizona.

2. Rank of 14

I think we peaked in early February and are on a downswing now. While I do expect us to play better today than we did on Saturday, I don't think we have what it takes to win today.

A win on Monday would be nice but would still feel hollow and meaningless after what happened yesterday. I think things could get ugly. Houston is such a scrappy team and they fight so hard on the glass. It wouldn't surprise me if they got 30 offensive rebounds and 40+ second chance points against us.

Arizona beat Houston on the road. Looks like Arizona is in a good position to win the conference outright

Now our game against Houston is meaningless

Rebounding has been a glaring issue all season despite having the size and athleticism to be an elite rebounding team. We refused to address it and it ended up costing us our season.

Well. That's the season. We are out of the Big 12 title hunt and we have started a downhill trajectory that will likely result in going 0-2 against UH and Zona and will almost certainly result in a first-weekend tournament exit.