"It's ridiculous": Kansas HC Bill Self hypes up first-round matchup against Gonzaga with impressive remarks

Kansas Jayhawks coach Bill Self has spoken highly of Gonzaga Bulldogs as the two teams lock horns for a Sweet 16 spot on Saturday. Self believes the Bulldogs have been playing differently since the Kentucky game on Feb. 10 and have regained their form. Given their recent "fantastic" run, he said it was "ridiculous" to belittle the team.

Fourth-seeded Kansas Jayhawks (23-10) will take on fifth-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs (23-10) in Salt Lake City. The Bulldogs secured a comfortable 86-65 victory against McNeese in Thursday night's opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

On the other hand, Kansas had to fight hard against Samford and clinched a narrow 93-89 victory on Thursday. The Jayhawks were without the All-American forward Kevin McCullar Jr., who is out for the season due to a knee injury.

Bill Self commented on Friday during the media interaction in Salt Lake City. Self said the clash against the Bulldogs will be challenging given the team's recent performances.

“It seems like to me since about the Kentucky game ... that’s the Gonzaga team of the past playing," Self said. "I mean, we’ve talked about that today. Can you believe there was actually talk that they may not get in a month ago? It’s ridiculous. And now they’re playing fantastic. That’s how good they’ve been in the last month.

“And I think they’ve tweaked some personnel changes and stuff like that, but the bottom line is they’re just playing like Gonzaga is known to play this time of year.”

The Bulldogs struggled in January without their top scorers, Drew Timme and Julian Strawther. Experts expressed doubts about the team making it to the March Madness. But coach Mark Few made lineup changes that turned things around for the Bulldogs. The team has a 15-2 record since Jan. 18, winning 10 of its last 11 games.

Bill Self on how his team will fare against Gonzaga

The Bulldogs floundered initially this year, and the Jayhawks have struggled lately. Injuries of Kevin McCullar and Hunter Dickinson have weighed heavy for the Jayhawks. As a result, they lost four of their five games before the start of the NCAA Tournament.

While Bill Self was respectful of his next opponent, he was not doubtful of his team. The Kansas coach shared how the Saturday battle will be a tough one:

“We’ve won the exact same amount of games in a row as Gonzaga has. So I’ll just spin it like that.”

In the previous encounter, Hunter Dickinson added 19 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and four blocks for the Jayhawks after returning from a shoulder injury. Of course, Bill Self would want his team to repeat the same art of bouncing back against the Bulldogs.

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