The streak is ripped apart. After decades of trying and four straight losses, the UConn Huskies have at last beaten the Kansas Jayhawks. Dan Hurley’s team went toe-to-toe with Bill Self’s army and came out on top with a 61-56 win. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t easy. But when the final buzzer sounded, the Jayhawks surely walked off feeling like they had let one slip away.

That’s exactly how Self described it afterward, admitting that many of his team’s problems on the night were self-inflicted.

“We should have been up a lot more than four at halftime,” the Jayhawks coach said in the post-game press conference. “Bad offense, unforced turnovers, the ball sticking, trying to play one-on-one. All that stuff led to us probably having six, eight, 10 bad possessions in the first half, where we had no chance to score. Second half, same thing.”

“I think a lot of the stuff that we did was self-inflicted,” Bill Self said about the lack of execution. “Now, granted, they guarded us. I’m not saying that at all, but I think the lack of execution was pretty much self-inflicted, and that led to some really poor possessions.”

The Jayhawks, fresh off three wins at the Players Era Festival, stuck to the same identity that carried them there: tough defense and relentless rebounding.

For the first 20 minutes, it looked like they had complete control. They dictated the tempo, came close to building a double-digit lead multiple times as Self acknowledged, and went into halftime up 33-29.

But the second half told a completely different story.

The Jayhawks were overwhelmed on the glass, getting outrebounded 25-10 after halftime. They finished the night shooting just 35% from the field, and just to make matters worse, when they finally had a chance to tie the game late, everything fell apart again.

After Silas Demary Jr. missed a short jumper, the home team grabbed the rebound with a chance to tie the game. But instead of going for a potential game-winning three, Jamari McDowell drove straight to the rim, and his shot was sent right back by Braylon Mullins with under 10 seconds left. He was fouled immediately after and calmly knocked down two free throws to seal the win for the Huskies.

Fans finally got a real look at what Mullins can be. The five-star freshman had spent most of the season battling an ankle injury, and his debut last week didn’t offer much. Just two points in ten minutes. But tonight, he bounced back in a big way, pouring in 17 points and showing exactly why head coach Dan Hurley was so excited to have him.

But Self isn’t discouraged.

Bill Self hints at the bigger picture…

Judging the Jayhawks solely based on this game alone wouldn’t be fair. They’re still missing their best player, Darryn Peterson, and until the projected lottery pick returns, we won’t know how good this team can be. Peterson averaged 21.5 points in the two games he played earlier this season, and his presence changes everything for Self’s side.

That said, Self made it clear that this game was a valuable learning experience for his team.

“I think that it’ll help us, we’ll be better because of it,” the coach said of Peterson’s return. “It’s my fault, but we didn’t play like we did against Tennessee. The ball didn’t move… It didn’t have anything to do with the ball goes in the basket or not. Did we play the right way? Against Tennessee, I told them [team] in time out, ‘Hey, we’re down 12, but we’re playing the right way.’ I didn’t feel like even when we were ahead tonight, we were playing the right way.”

This was one of those games they easily could have won with a little more efficiency. Even without their best player, the Jayhawks are still 6-3 to start the season, which is far from a bad place to be.

The big question now is when Darryn Peterson finally returns. His comeback could completely change the ceiling for this team and might even make them a real contender this season.