Kansas’ Bill Self wasn’t surprised Nick Timberlake went off vs. K-State. He called it

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self strolled onto James Naismith Court at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, 3 1/2 hours before a Sunflower Showdown contest against rival Kansas State.

He made his way to Jayhawk senior guard Nick Timberlake, who was taking pictures with two uncles and his parents, Jeff and Dineen, who were in town for the Towson transfer’s Senior Night game at KU.

“I said, ‘He’s going to make five tonight,’’’ Self said, predicting five 3s for Braintree, Massachusetts native Timberlake, who had made as many as three from beyond the arc on two occasions this season.

“When he made his fourth I thought it was five. I turned to the family (in the stands) and did five,” Self added of a hand signal. “They did the same (signal) back to me.”

He continued.

“They can’t count either,” Self said with a smile. “Neither one of us can count.”

Timberlake hit a KU personal-best four 3s in five tries and scored a KU personal-best 18 points in the No. 14-ranked Jayhawks’ 90-68 victory over the Wildcats. He had 13 points previously in three games for his old KU scoring high.

He became the first KU player to hit as many as four 3s in a Big 12 game this season.

“Nick’s been a little up-and-down with his shooting,” Self told the fans in introducing Timberlake for his short senior speech after the game, KU’s 22nd victory against eight losses. KSU fell to 17-13 overall and 7-10 in the league.

“Gosh that was fun to watch tonight,” Self added to thunderous applause from the stands. “We’re a different team when he’s knocking down shots like that.”

Timberlake, a 26.7% 3-point shooter entering the game, also had a thunderous dunk in the rout.

“Hopefully tonight sparked something,” Timberlake told the fans during his speech.

“I wish I was here more than one year,” he added, later telling the media he’s 3-0 in Senior Night games after playing five seasons at Towson, including a redshirt season.

Senior guard Kevin McCullar, who had 19 points on 5-of-14 shooting, did not give a postgame speech since he gave one on Senior Night last season. But he noted postgame he wasn’t surprised at Timberlake’s stellar shooting effort.

“He’s coming in, working, always the last person to leave the gym, getting shots up. That’s all you can ask,” McCullar said. “For us, it’s our last year, our last shot at this. He just locking in and trying to do this thing. It was great to see him do what he does best, put the ball in the hole. He’s not just a shooter. He’s an athlete too, Getting on the rim. He affected the game in many ways tonight.”

Noted Hunter Dickinson, who had 15 points and 20 rebounds — he said he hadn’t made up his mind yet about a possible super senior season at KU — of Timberlake: “The players aren’t surprised by it. Some fans might be. We see the work he puts in. He’s always getting shots after practice, before practice. He’s really working on his game. It was good to see him succeed tonight.”

Timberlake, who hit 6-of-7 shots overall versus the Wildcats with a rebound and assist in 23 minutes, joked about playing for 21st-year KU coach Self after the game.

“I’m leaving here with a new name, ‘Soft,’’’ Timberlake said with a smile. “He calls every player that. It’s a blessing to be able to be coached by him. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. To be able to be coached by the best coach in the country is amazing.”

Junior KJ Adams scored 16 points with five rebounds, while Dajuan Harris had eight points and seven assists. Freshman wing Johnny Furphy added eight points.

KU went 6-of-13 from 3 to KSU’s 8-of-24 mark. Overall KU hit 44.6% of its shots to the Cats’ 45.2%. KU hit 28 of 31 free throws to K-State’s 10 of 21.

KU will conclude the regular season against Houston at 3 p.m. Saturday in Houston.