photo by: AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Kansas assistant coach Jacque Vaughn, filling in for head coach Bill Self, directs players in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Colorado Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Boulder, Colo.

BOULDER, Colo. — The Kansas men’s basketball team enjoyed some sunny, and perhaps even unseasonable, January weather as part of what was ultimately a successful trip to Colorado.

That didn’t stop acting head coach Jacque Vaughn from getting wet, to hear his players tell it, as they celebrated his first win at the helm of the Jayhawks, 75-69 over the host Buffaloes on Tuesday night.

“He definitely got wet on today,” guard Melvin Council Jr. said. “We drenched him today.”

Vaughn, of course, already had a whopping 129 coaching wins under his belt at an even higher level than college basketball — as the head coach of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic.

But Tuesday night’s game at the CU Events Center found the former KU point guard in an unusual situation, thrust into a leadership role on a day’s notice as head coach Bill Self felt poorly and had to stay behind in Lawrence to go to the hospital. (Self has since returned home, a KU Athletics official said on Tuesday night.)

In the wake of his first win as a college basketball coach, after joining KU as an assistant over the summer following the retirement of longtime assistant Norm Roberts, Vaughn said he’ll do whatever Self asks.

“You do the best that you can, you do it in your way, but I think at the end of the day, mission accomplished,” Vaughn said.

It wasn’t all roses against Colorado. The Jayhawks essentially held on for dear life for 38 minutes of Tuesday night’s victory over the Buffaloes, and squandered numerous opportunities to make the game at least a little bit more comfortable — not unlike last season’s trip to Boulder. They didn’t lead by double digits until the final minute and even then allowed three-point plays to make the eventual margin closer. They conceded open 3s in the first half and didn’t force turnovers all night.

“He definitely was watching the game,” Vaughn said of Self, with whom he both texted and spoke postgame. “We didn’t play as well as we could have or wanted to, but he’s excited that we got a W.”

Indeed, they nevertheless secured their first road victory of league play with Vaughn at the helm — though he made sure to credit his veteran colleagues on the Jayhawks’ staff.

“My role tonight was to, I guess, stand up a bit, but collectively we’ve got a great coaching staff, and this wasn’t me at all,” Vaughn said. “We had a great group, Coach (Jeremy) Case, Coach (Kurtis) Townsend, Coach (Joe) Dooley, the scout was done by Coach (Tony) Bland, Coach (Doc) Sadler. So our group is pretty high-level and they allowed me to stand up and yell some plays out today.”

It was admittedly a bit of an adjustment, much as it must have been for Vaughn, for the Jayhawks to play without Self on the sideline.

“Coach Vaughn’s a great coach, don’t get me wrong,” sophomore forward Flory Bidunga said. “Obviously it was weird because that’s my second year playing with KU and that’s my first time playing without Coach Self. But even despite that, we still have a job to do, and I think that’s what we did.”

And maybe they could still hear the 23rd-year head coach’s voice in their heads: “It was kind of different, but we knew he was with us, in the huddle, the sideline, we knew that he was on us still, regardless if he wasn’t here,” Council said.

Whether they will have him just in spirit or once again in person for Saturday’s Sunflower Showdown remains to be seen. KU has said that Self expects to return to practice this week now that he’s back home. Vaughn was noncommittal in his postgame press conference about whether it marked the end of his interim assignment.

“I don’t know about the timeline of this thing,” he said. “Like I said, I’ll do my part, whatever it is. But he’s excited, and looking forward to seeing him when we get back.”