No. 1 Kansas is way past fretting over how brief its stay atop The Associated Press poll will be.
Still reeling from Monday night's blowout loss to unranked Kansas State, the Jayhawks are stepping back and taking stock, looking for ways to turn a gigantic negative into a team-building positive that'll be of use in March.
Nevertheless, as they trooped into practice Thursday afternoon, an 84-68 loss just hours after being voted No. 1 still stung.
''I still feel like we've got a good team,'' said junior forward Marcus Morris. ''We just have a long ways to go. We need to defend. We're going to get better. We're going to buckle down and guard. We're going to get better. We're just going to be a new team.''
It was, without doubt, one of Kansas' worst games since Bill Self became head coach eight seasons ago. And no one looked worse, or probably felt worse, than Tyshawn Taylor. In 22 minutes, the junior guard had eight points, one assist and six turnovers. His defense on Jacob Pullen was not exactly stellar, either. The Wildcats' senior guard poured in a career-high 38 points.
''I've played a lot of bad games in my career here. But I think that's probably one of the worst,'' Taylor said. ''On both ends of the court, I wasn't tuned in. I wasn't focused on guarding my man. I wasn't getting my team into offense. I played real bad. I am very, very ready to get back out there.''
It was just the second loss for the Jayhawks (24-2, 9-2 Big 12). But it probably guaranteed that for the first time in seven seasons they will not be Big 12 champions. No. 3 Texas, which stopped Kansas' 69-game winning streak in January, would have to lose three of their final games in order for the Jayhawks to defend their title.
''If you told us before the season we were 24-2 right now, we'd be pretty excited,'' said Self. ''The thing about these guys, and we've had other teams like this, they frustrate you because they spoil you. You see what they can do when they're really good and 'on.' And it's frustrating when we're not that good and on at other times.''
Self did not hesitate when asked what he had learned about his team.
''Winning covers a lot of ills,'' he said. ''Certainly, some things came to light. I learned that we don't handle prosperity very well. We were not hungry. Our focus, I don't think, was what it needs to be to win a big game on the road like that.''
Perhaps most shocking on the Kansas stat sheet was the number of rebounds Markieff Morris pulled down - zero. Plus, the 6-9 junior who started the night leading the Big 12 with almost nine boards a game also was whistled for an intentional foul. It wasn't the first time this year either he or his brother had been nabbed for flagrant or technical fouls.
''No, I don't think unfair's right at all. I think they're getting a reputation. I think fair's accurate,'' Self said.
It's something Self has discussed before with the brothers from Philadelphia, who are clearly the Jayhawks' best players as well as their leaders.
''I thought the call on Markieff was a good call, by rule,'' Self said.
He promised another heart-to-heart talk with the brothers, who are liked by coaches and teammates alike.
''I think they've got to do some serious things because the things that have transpired during games have hurt their team,'' Self said.
The brothers are not denying there have been problems.
''It's our fault ... showing so much emotion in the game,'' said Marcus. ''But we're leaders of the team and we can't act that way.''
On Saturday, their last game as No. 1 will be at home against Colorado. Then they'll finish the regular season with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, No. 21 Texas A&M and No. 20 Missouri.
Toward the end of the Kansas State game, ESPN commentator Bob Knight said a blowout loss might be the best thing that could happen to the Jayhawks.
The Jayhawks are of a mind to agree.
''I hate to say that a loss makes us better. But I think it can,'' said Taylor. ''We watched tape yesterday and we saw so many different dumb plays that we all made. And we just know what we've got to do. We've got to learn from that experience.''
