Kansas guard Nicolas Timberlake (25) hangs his hand after a three over Samford guard Rylan Jones (21) during the second half at Delta Center on Thursday, March 21, 2024 in Salt Lake City. Photo by Nick Krug

Salt Lake City — At a team outing last Saturday, Kansas coach Bill Self told NCAA Tournament debutant and sixth-year senior Nick Timberlake, as Self later relayed to the media, that Timberlake had a chance not to just to play in the postseason for the first time, but create a “lasting memory.”

Timberlake started his tournament run with what was certainly one of his best performances of the year Thursday night against Samford, racking up a season-high 19 points, including a pair of late free throws that helped the Jayhawks survive and a corner 3-pointer with three minutes left when they absolutely needed it.

“It was definitely huge getting that one in,” he said postgame. “Been struggling all year, as everyone knows.”

He added he needed a “short memory” to brush off the misses that had preceded it: “That’s kind of what I’ve had to do this whole year.”

The rest of the world may not have a short memory, though, for the foul call that led to his free throws.

With KU leading 90-89 and 20 seconds remaining, after freshman Johnny Furphy squeezed the ball in to point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. against Samford’s press, Timberlake cut toward the Bulldogs’ basket away from defender A.J. Staton-McCray, snagged Harris’ long pass and in one fluid motion charged toward the basket. But as Timberlake went up for a dunk, Staton-McCray swatted at the ball, and Timberlake slammed to the ground.

The referees called a foul on Staton-McCray. The upset-hungry and thus Samford-friendly crowd erupted in boos and Staton-McCray’s teammates Achor Achor, Rylan Jones and Jermaine Marshall made various expressions of abject disbelief. But Timberlake drained the free throws and KU won.

Timberlake was asked at the podium if he thought he was fouled: “Yeah, I was definitely fouled on the breakaway,” he said.

He was asked again in the locker room: “I thought I got fouled,” he responded, and added after a pause, “I’m not going to say I didn’t.”

According to the AP, Staton-McCray said it was a “terrible call.”

Samford coach Bucky McMillan mostly lamented that his team didn’t get a chance to attack in transition going the other way after what he called a great play by Staton-McCray.

“There’s no whistle, we’re going to have a numbers advantage to go the other way to advance to round two,” he said. “That’s how close the game was. That’s how well our guys played. What was the maximum we were down? We were down by 22. We (were) going to have the ball there with a great opportunity. It is what it is.”

Self, for his part, said, “I thought Nick attacked the basket well. He’s a much better athlete than what a lot of people think.”

Self later said he was “as good a player as we had today.” And indeed, in the Jayhawks’ locker room, Timberlake’s teammates were primarily happy he had gotten a chance to display his ability.

“Super happy for him,” freshman Elmarko Jackson said. “It’s been an up-and-down season. So for him, starting the tournament like this and coming up with major plays to contribute to this victory is amazing.”