Monday Notebook: Shrug off Kentucky because Texas is a must-win

Kansas lost to Kentucky, but…

The Jayhawks lost a road game to a top-10 team. Big whoop. Kentucky is a really solid team, and playing in Rupp Arena is never an easy task. KU really didn’t even play that poorly. Their defense was fine, and while they didn’t rebound very well, the played pretty even with Kentucky for about 35 minutes. Dedric Lawson had another 20-point-10-rebound game, Devon Dotson was good despite fouling out, and even Quentin Grimes scored 13 points. There’s little to no shame in losing this game. Kansas will be just fine.

“Fine, you say? How can a team as bad as Kansas be fine? Haven’t you heard? They’re terrible.” You know what you haven’t heard, voice from the nether world? You haven’t heard that there isn’t a team in the Big 12 that can close out the conference. Except for one. And they’ve done it over and over again.

It’s amazing to me that the fanbase fails to remember the struggles every Kansas team has gone through before winning the conference in the end. There was never a KU team in recent memory that won the Big 12 without incident or a hiccup. Every single one goes through the doldrums. This team will be no different. The 2018-19 Kansas Jayhawks will win the Big 12 and everyone will forget the doldrums. We should never forget the doldrums. Remembering the tough times helps us to appreciate how incredible 14 consecutive conference titles has been.

Next up for the Jayhawks are the Texas Longhorns in Austin. Kansas is going to win by 8-to-12 points. Yes, it’s on the road, but c’mon guys, this is Texas we’re talking about. They are the ultimate fine, not bad team. Kansas will win. I’ll even give you a score. KU wins, 76-68.

Texas will keep it close, but Kansas will never lose the lead. Dedric Lawson is going to have good game, but predicting that is like predicting the sky will be blue tomorrow. Lagerald Vick will bounce back with a solid game as well.

KU is going to win 15 straight everyone. Just save up about 20 to 30 bucks for the t-shirt and/or hat and you’ll be set.