LAWRENCE — Bill Self had a rooting interest in this past Sunday’s Atlantic Sun Tournament title game — so much so that he didn’t miss a single possession.
Self, the Kansas basketball coach, watched as his former assistant Joe Dooley tried to guide Florida Gulf Coast to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in his three seasons there as head coach.
Nursing a five-point lead with 2:49 remaining, the Eagles ran into the same obstacle Self has seen his team struggle with over its last few contests.
“That was one of those games,” Self recalled Monday, “where free throws could have kept him from going to the NCAA Tournament.