LAWERENCE, Kan. — The University of Kansas men’s basketball team could not pull out a win against Kentucky in the NCAA championship game, but the team still came home to a standing ovation at Allen Fieldhouse Tuesday.
The team arrived around 7:45p.m. Players and coach Bill Self spoke to the audience for roughly 15 minutes.
Some of the players touched on how amazed they are with how many people Kansas basketball brings together.
And that includes all age groups as well.
Future Jayhawks were there and sprinkled themselves in the crowd of about 5,000 to 6,000, like Sophia Pope, with her sign reading “I love Thomas Robinson.”
“I finished the back this morning and I finished this one the day before, said Robinson, 10-years-old.
She, like many others around her age, wanted to show the team how proud they were by showing up.
“They work so hard, we need to support them and prove that we’re KU fans,” said Andrew Owens, 13-years-old.
“Just to let the team know that they did a really good job to make it this far, even if they didn’t win or not,” said Abby Warren, 12-years-old.
So, it wasn’t the ending these young fans had anticipated, but they say they’ve all learned something deeper than winning.
“I was excited, I was hoping that they were going to win, but they tried their hardest, that’s what matters,” said Robinson.
The team said they couldn’t have gone as far as they did without the support of fans.
Head coach Bill Self said it was a pleasure to play for a national title representing the fans.
“We may have come up short, but I just think we ran out of time. You guys are the absolute best. Rock chalk, Jayhawk!” Self said.