The No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks were tabbed as a top-16 seed Saturday afternoon in the NCAA selection committee’s seed reveal but after Saturday night, that’s likely to change.
Kansas looked all out of sorts in Salt Lake City, falling 74-67 to unranked Utah after giving up 16 offensive boards — and 14 second chance points — to the Utes. In the Jayhawks’ worst loss of the season, Utah led the entire time. And yet, the Jayhawks had numerous opportunities to go in front, especially when Utah went on more than a seven-minute scoring drought late in the second half, missing eight consecutive shots. Kansas did manage to reel off an 11-0 run in that same span, but the best KU could do was pull even a couple times.
The loss dropped KU to 8-6 in the Big 12 and 17-8 overall. Utah, which is not in NCAA Tournament consideration, improved to 13-11 overall and 6-8 in conference play.
DOWN GOES #17!! RED DUBS‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/DoKcO79HY1
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 16, 2025
Kansas also missed three crucial free throws over the final five minutes. Utah missed four free throws of its own late — the Utes are one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the country this season — but Kansas could never capitalize on the other end.
If there’s a silver lining for Kansas, which was outrebounded 46-36, it’s this: With just under five minutes to play, Zeke Mayo went up for a shot in the lane and landed awkwardly, grabbing at his left knee while he sat on the floor for an extended period of time. He managed to hobble off on his own but when he went back to the locker room, everyone wondered if he’d return.
Mayo did a couple minutes later, and was moving fine, but he couldn’t do enough to help Kansas come back.
In dramatic fashion, @GabeMadsen53 is now your ALL-TIME LEADER IN 3FGM at the University of Utah‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/Zvr9pZfIqt
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 16, 2025
Gabe Masden led Utah with 24 points, setting a program record for made 3s when he connected on a long-distance attempt with 1:54 to play. It was the 288th make of his career.
(Photo: Chris Gardner / Getty Images)
