OKLAHOMA CITY - This isn’t the way it was supposed to end for the Kansas seniors.

After leading the Jayhawks to two Final Fours and an Elite Eight as underclassmen, they hoped to take Kansas all the way in 2005.

Instead, they finished their careers with the most disappointing of all endings – a 64-63 loss to Bucknell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s very disappointing,” senior guard Keith Langford said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

Wayne Simien, Mike Lee, Aaron Miles, and Langford became the first Jayhawk senior class to lose in the opening round of the Big Dance since 1978, when that squad fell to UCLA.

Criticism is sure to come from Kansas fans and critics alike, especially since Bucknell was the lowest seeded team to win a game this week.

“This will probably get a lot of national attention,” Self said. “I’m not going to tell those guys to be ashamed of what happened, and not watch TV. We’ve just got to accept it.”

Some will say this loss overshadows the achievements of this senior class, and that their legacy is forever tainted, but none of the Kansas players seemed to think that way following their shocking loss.

“Criticism? Are you kidding me?” Giddens said. “They shouldn’t get criticized at all for this. They are four of the greatest people I’ve ever been around and they’ve done so much for this program.”

The seniors themselves said they understood what the loss meant to the overall perception of their legacy, but they each stood up for their accomplishments over the years.

What was more frustrating to them was simply losing the game.

“The only thing that’s disappointing is the way we went out,” Lee said. “We were just an average team tonight. You can’t be average in this tournament and hope to win.”

The four seniors took the loss in very different ways. Simien looked no different than he would have if the team won. He stood at the locker room’s entrance and said it was an honor to play alongside his fellow seniors for four years.

Miles sat slouched in a locker and didn’t answer many questions. Lee was less depressed, and half-heartedly spoke with the media.

Langford leaned back in a chair with his legs spread out and began to deal with the fact that his days at Kansas were over. He said he wasn’t worried about the senior legacy, because they had nothing to be ashamed of.

“One game does not sum up your career,” Langford said. “We’ve just got to stay proud.”