KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Josh Jackson heard the whistle and walked back to the bench with a grimace.
Having picked up two early fouls, the freshman had to walk on eggshells to keep from getting his third in the first half. And as he battled through a box-out by Dylan Ennis, Jackson heard the dreaded whistle, seeing the Oregon guard fall to the floor.
The foul wasn’t on Jackson. Devonte’ Graham sped up to his freshman, pulling him in the other direction and handing him the good news. But it didn’t matter.
The Jayhawks found themselves trailing by 11 at the break and would go on to fall to Oregon 74-60 on Saturday night at Sprint Center, bowing out just short of a trip to the Final Four for the second straight year and ending their season at 31-5.