Kansas guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (10) swats a shot by Oklahoma State guard Phil Forte III (13) during the first half, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas guard Svi Mykhailiuk’s recent shooting slump, while certainly not helping the Jayhawks any, has not exactly hurt them either.

KU coach Bill Self on Thursday likened Mykhailiuk’s recent shooting struggles — 8-of-29 from 3-point range in his last seven games, 3-of-18 in his last five — to that of a hitting slump in baseball.

When struggling through a bad time at the ballpark, many hitters will start pressing in an attempt to get back on track. Mykhailiuk, as shown in the fact that his 3-pointers-per-game also has gone down in recent weeks (from just over 5 to 3.6 in the past five games), has not done that, but it’s clear that Self would like to see him find other areas to increase his impact.

“You know when you’re not getting any pitches to hit, but you’re so anxious that you swing at bad pitches,” Self began. “I don’t think Svi has done that. But I do think he can be more aggressive, though, and look for his opportunities.”

For the last month, the 6-foot-8 Ukrainian starter has watched both his field goal percentage and minutes drop steadily, a stark contrast from the solid stretches he enjoyed earlier in the season, which included a streak of eight consecutive games scoring in double figures in December and early January and another run of five double-digit scoring outings in a seven-game span from mid-January to early February.

Perhaps coincidentally, the last game in which Mykhailiuk reached double digits in scoring — 17 points in a 92-89, home loss to Iowa State — was also the game in which he lost his man on defense late in Iowa State’s stunning upset.

“I thought he was on a real roll about three weeks ago, and he hasn’t played as well of late,” Self said of the junior who is averaging 9.5 points in 27.7 minutes per game. “I don’t think he’s quite as aggressive. A lot of people equate aggressiveness to shooting the ball. I would equate it more to putting yourself in a position to make plays. It could be a 50-50 ball, it could be a hard block out, it could be a lot of different things. He’s a good player. He’s very conscientious of those sorts of things, but he needs to quit thinking and just start playing.”

Senior forward Landen Lucas, who, himself, went through a slump to start the season, said the best way to work through a rough patch was in one’s own head.

“It’s just mental,” Lucas said. “We know that he’s a good player and, throughout a long season, you’re gonna go through lots of ups and downs. The key is just getting it back in time for the tournament. It probably just starts in practice and getting confidence in practice and then going out there in games and doing the small things, playing defense, doing things you know coach likes because then it allows somebody like him to shoot with a free mind.”

With Mykhailiuk sliding and sophomore Lagerald Vick on the rise, Self said he thought about switching their roles and reinserting Vick into the starting lineup in Mykhailiuk’s place in an effort to lighten the pressure on Mykhailiuk’s shoulders. Partly because he believes in Mykhailiuk and also because he likes Vick coming off the bench, it does not sound like Self is on the verge of making that change.

Instead, he wants Mykhailiuk to work through things within the flow of the starting lineup that has gone 16-2 this season and has talked to him briefly about relaxing and playing ball.

“If (senior point guard) Frank (Mason III) was struggling, you think Frank would sit back and just kind of let the game come to him?” Self said. “He’d try to go make something happen…. I think our best chance moving forward is to try to get Svi to kind of come out of this.”

Lucas agreed and offered a vote of confidence for his teammate.

“I’m sure he’s aware of it,” Lucas said of Mykhailiuk’s current state of mind. “But that’s what you want so that you can do something to change it. He’ll get it back. If it’s gonna happen, now’s the time, before we get into the real serious stuff.”

Crazy finish coming

The Jayhawks, which have lost three consecutive games in Stillwater, Okla., figure to face yet another electric atmosphere at 5 p.m. Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in the regular season finale.

Self, of course, being a graduate of OSU, already knew that when he woke up on Thursday, but got a friendly reminder shortly thereafter.

“I know that it’s sold out,” Self said. “(OSU coach) Brad Underwood texted me this morning to remind me that it was already sold out. (But), you know, I think our guys are pretty tough. I think (they) enjoy playing in front of rowdy atmospheres. We’ve played in front of our fair share this year. Of course, Saturday, if you guys haven’t seen Gallagher when it’s jumping, it’s as good as any place in America.”

No. 1 seed a lock?

Self was asked Thursday, with his team sitting at 27-3 overall, 15-2 in Big 12 play and in the No. 1 spot in both major polls, if he thought the Jayhawks had done enough already to lock up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which starts in two weeks.

“No. No, I don’t think so,” he said. “I don’t think so. A victory Saturday, I could probably — I could probably say that, but I’m not going to. I’m not going to go there.”

All-Americans in waiting?

Self said Thursday that he was “pleasantly surprised” to learn that freshman Josh Jackson joined senior Frank Mason III on the Naismith award’s list of 10 semifinalists earlier this week.

The reason?

“It’s nice for me to think that we’re going to have two All-Americans on this team,” said Self, alluding to the fact that Mason, who is up for national player of the year, appears to be well on his way to All-American status. “And I think that should be the case. I’m not saying Josh should be first-team All-American. I’m not saying that at all. But he’s going to be on somebody’s team, on that first or second team.”