By james art 
Wisconsin transfer guard AJ Storr was the big story of No. 12 Kansas’ double-overtime loss to No. 7 Houston on Saturday, and not in a good way.
Storr was scoreless during the 18 minutes of action, going 0-of-6 from the field, 0-of-three from three-point range and 0-of-4 from the free throw line. His only stat additions were tackles and assists.
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The performance halted Storr’s recent run of strong play dating back to a Jan. 18 win over Kansas State. This also played an important role in the outcome of the contested match.
The Wisconsin transfer was on the court during the closing moments of double overtime. He went to the free throw line with Kansas trailing 88-84 with 45 seconds left. Two marks were critical to the Jayhawks’ chance for a landmark victory.
Storr, a career 77 percent free throw shooter, missed both. Houston then added multiple teams at the line to ice the game.
Kansas as a team went just 17 of 30 from the free throw line on the night, including Storr’s four misses. That mark is highlighted by a six-of-14 conversion rate during both periods of overtime. Jayhawks head coach Bill Self was asked after the game if fatigue played a role in the team’s increased struggles late in the district game.
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Self said. “But you definitely have to go to the line and do two, or at least do one. We were six of 14 in overtime from the line. So that obviously played a role. We still had our chances to put him away if we performed better, if I had done a better job.”
As indicated, Storr was not alone in his struggles in this area. Forward Flory Bidunga missed two key free throws early in the first overtime, while guard Dajuan Harris Jr.’s two late misses led to a decisive run: Kansas led 79-73 with 18 seconds left in the first overtime. Harris Jr. missed two free throws, Houston made a 3-pointer with eight seconds left (79-76), Kansas turned the ball over on an inbounds pass, and Houston made another late 3-pointer to tie the game at 79.
I haven’t seen anyone cut the whole sequence, from the missed FT all the way to 79-79. Perhaps the most unexpected 14 seconds of the season. pic.twitter.com/L58dIFO3sz
— Will Warren (@statsbywill) January 26, 2025
According to KenPom, Houston had just a 0.4 percent chance of winning when Kansas had the ball, a six-point lead and attempted free throws with 18 seconds left in the first overtime. This made this circumstance one of the most incredible victories recently.
The result dropped Kansas to 15-4 on the season and 5-3 in Big 12 play. Houston, on the other hand, is now 16-3 overall and 8-0 in the conference.
The addition of AJ Storr wasn’t exactly what anyone in Lawrence was hoping for.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) January 26, 2025
Storr’s scoreless performance lowered his per-game averages to 17.9 minutes, 6.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and one assist on 40 percent shooting and 26.7 percent from three. All of those totals are far below what was expected when the former Badger made his high-profile transfer to the Jayhawks.
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