There was no short in the scoreboard at Allen Fieldhouse on Friday night.

It just seemed the big board was on the fritz, considering Kansas University’s men’s basketball team — which averaged 96.8 points a game in six exhibition contests (including four in Canada) — posted just 68 points in a 68-61, regular-season-opening victory over Vermont.

“We played hard,” KU coach Bill Self said, citing a plus-12 rebounding margin and defensive effort that held the Catamounts to 34 percent shooting. “Offensively, we were not real good.”

It had been 19 years since KU scored fewer points in a season opener — a 67-61 Preseason NIT victory over Pepperdine in Denver. It had been 30 years since KU scored fewer points in a home opener — a 65-50 win over NE Missouri State.

“We were kind of open, so when we were kind of open, we shot it every time,” Self said of his Jayhawks, who hit 21 of 55 shots for 38.2 percent, including six of 16 threes. “We can’t play that way. You’ve got to be patient with it.”

The Jayhawks, Self said, did a “terrible job” of crisp passing against an aggressive, veteran Vermont defense.

“At halftime, we had 41 possessions. Only two of 41 we got the ball reversed to the third side,” Self said. “Our whole thing is based on ball reversal. We were just coming down and shooting the ball way too quick, getting marginal shots. It’s fine if you are making them, but you’ve got to give the defense a chance to break down. You’ve got to make the ball change sides.”

Several Jayhawks had a tough day from the perimeter. Aaron Miles was 1-for-9, Keith Langford 3-for-10, Michael Lee 1-for-5 and Russell Robinson 0-for-3. Only J.R. Giddens clicked at 4-for-8.

“I don’t think we were too hyped, but we had a lot of energy. It was almost like we were moving too fast,” junior forward Christian Moody said, speculating it might have been Opening Night jitters. “I think everybody was really excited, almost overexcited. You start making bad decisions because you are moving so fast. You’ve got to get in the rhythm of the game. Fortunately we did that (in last four minutes, when KU outscored Vermont 12-3).”

KU’s players did a good job of finding All-America candidate Wayne Simien the second half, Self indicated.

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Simien scored 15 of his game-high 25 points the second 20 minutes. He made four of six shots and seven of eight free throws down the stretch.

“We talked about it quite a bit,” Self said. “Looking at the game, Aaron was off shooting the ball. Keith was a factor early, not as big a factor offensively. Mike didn’t get rhythm, or Russell. We shot the ball pretty miserably, then guys are packed in there, and Wayne still gets 25 and 14 (rebounds) with guys all around him. Wayne played great.”

The visitors, who will be shooting for a third-straight America East Conference title this season, played well, too.

“They disrupted our offense,” Langford said. “They took us out of a lot of things we wanted to do.

“We’ll settle down. It’s really easy to play when you are making shots and teams are coughing up the ball. They had only four turnovers the first half. I think it says a lot when you can win and not play the way you want to.”

And if KU’s players want to take solace in not lighting up the scoreboard in their opener … the 1985-86 Jayhawks, who scored just 67 versus Pepperdine, went 35-4 and reached the Final Four.

Next test is Tuesday night against Saint Joseph’s. The game will tip off at 9 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.