Perhaps no Top 25 team has had a tougher schedule to date than Kansas.
It appears Bill Self's team will finally get a chance to catch its breath.
Playing for just the second time at Allen Fieldhouse, the 15th-ranked Jayhawks open a seemingly easier portion of their schedule Wednesday night against Florida Atlantic.
Kansas (3-2) hasn't played at home since a season-opening 100-54 victory over Towson on Nov. 11. The competition and travel then got significantly more difficult.
At Madison Square Garden on Nov. 15, the Jayhawks lost 75-65 to then-No. 2 Kentucky. They then took off to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational, where they beat UCLA and Georgetown before falling to then-No. 6 Duke 68-61 in last Wednesday's finale. Kansas, led by junior Thomas Robinson's 16 points and 15 rebounds, held a one-point advantage over the Blue Devils with 1:31 remaining but never scored again.
Considering the two losses came against programs currently ranked first and third in the nation, the Jayhawks only dropped two spots from their preseason No. 13 ranking.
"Where we're at from a record standpoint is not the worst thing that could happen,'' Self said. "There's not a lot of teams out there this time of the season that can beat those teams.
"The schedule has given us the enthusiasm and energy to get better. But it'll be fun for our guys to be back home. There are not many teams out there that are high majors that are playing their second home games on Nov. 30.''
The Jayhawks, winners of 52 of their last 53 home games against non-conference opponents, will now play eight of their next nine games in either Lawrence or Kansas City. Facing some lesser competition also figures to give Self a chance to develop a bench that got little work in Hawaii.
Senior Tyshawn Taylor averaged 15.3 points and 34 minutes in the three-day tournament, while Robinson averaged 17.0 points and 12.3 rebounds in 35 minutes and junior Elijah Johnson averaged 14.0 in 36. Taylor seemed to tire in the title game, committing 11 turnovers - four more than he had in his first four games.
"Are we better off having veterans in there that are tired or youngsters in there that don't know what they're doing yet?'' Self asked. "We'll get there."
Self could have an opportunity to give his reserves some playing time against FAU (3-4), though the Owls were picked to win the Sun Belt Conference. In the Jayhawks' only other meeting with Florida Atlantic in November 2007, then-No. 4 Kansas won 87-49.
The Owls have lost eight straight games against ranked opponents since defeating No. 11 Oklahoma State 83-81 on Dec. 1, 1998. They've been outscored by an average of 33.0 points in their last five against Top 25 foes.
FAU is coming off a poor offensive showing in Saturday's 68-55 loss to South Florida, shooting 37.0 percent from the field. Omari Grier, looking to make up for the absence of Greg Gantt, had a game-high 20 points off the bench on 6 of 13 shooting from 3-point range.
Coach Mike Jarvis, though, believed Grier could have made more.
"I'm a little disappointed. He should have probably had 10 3s because every one of them was wide open, just about,'' Jarvis said. "We had a ton of open shots. You've got to make them.''
Gantt, who averages a team-high 14.7 points, sat out because of an ankle injury suffered in Friday's practice. It's unclear if he'll be ready to face the Jayhawks.
