photo by: AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Houston's Terrance Arceneaux, left, defends against Kansas' AJ Storr (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Monday, March 3, 2025, in Houston.

Houston — In Kansas’ last three games, forward KJ Adams and center Hunter Dickinson have combined to supply 58% of the Jayhawks’ points.

That’s a welcome development for KU from a certain perspective — Adams has averaged 17 points per game in his last three contests after reaching that mark just once in the prior 25 — but it also speaks to more salient and concerning developments: simultaneous cold spells on offense for just about everyone who plays in the backcourt.

Point guard Dajuan Harris Jr., who as of Monday has now played more games in a KU jersey than anyone else in program history, has 10 combined points in his last three games and hasn’t even attempted a 3-pointer in that time frame. Fellow senior Zeke Mayo’s much-discussed home and away splits have intensified in severity and he’s begun to commit uncharacteristic turnovers in bunches.

Alabama transfer wing Rylan Griffen had scored in double digits twice in a row and looked to have solidified his spot as a member of the starting lineup at this late stage of the season. But his position — the 3 spot — was the most glaringly lacking in Monday’s hard-fought 65-59 loss to No. 3 Houston.

“We didn’t get any production,” KU coach Bill Self said postgame.

Griffen committed a turnover at the start of the second half and then missed three shots in 63 seconds before getting benched for the rest of the night. He played his fewest minutes of the season, 11. AJ Storr, mired in a confounding season-long slump, got pulled in similar fashion after turning it over less than a minute following his entrance at a pivotal juncture in the second half. Self said both of the junior transfers “obviously labored.”

Then there was freshman Rakease Passmore, who to his credit didn’t look out of place in an unusually high eight minutes on the floor, but also didn’t record any stats besides a foul on a 3-point attempt by 91.3% free-throw shooter Emanuel Sharp. Sharp’s ensuing free throws stretched a 52-50 Houston lead to five points with 6:18 to go.

“To be honest with you, our best team was with Diggy (Coit) out there,” Self said, “because he at least is a threat to score the ball.”

Coit, a bright spot amid some of KU’s recent offensive struggles, proved Self right with 14 points to go with four rebounds and four assists, along with a couple of key defensive plays, like a steal from J’Wan Roberts that led to a layup by Harris for the Jayhawks’ first lead of the night.

“We couldn’t get a shot,” Self said. “It’s obvious how people are going to guard Juan and Zeke, and so we had a hard time getting a shot, but Diggy can create separation just a little bit better than anybody else (can) off the bounce, and so he was able to make, I think, four long shots.”

Coit created some late drama with a clutch 3-pointer that cut Houston’s lead to two points in the final minutes, although the Cougars cleaned the game up at the charity stripe.

Still, the Northern Illinois transfer is now 24-for-52 (46.1%) from deep in his last 11 games. Self rewarded Coit with a season-high 29 minutes on Monday.

“Just staying with it, staying in the gym, keeping God first, it’s paying off,” Coit said. “But I want to see the wins, though.”

Those have been hard to come by in recent weeks, and indeed KU has now sustained its highest quantity of conference losses — nine, with one game left to play — in 42 years. If the Jayhawks want to maintain a winning record in Big 12 play entering the league tournament, and preserve a regular-season home finale streak that also dates back to 1983, they’ll need more from their guards and wings.