Kansas Basketball: Will the Jayhawks earn a top seed in March?
Stories of the Kansas Jayhawks’ demise have been greatly exaggerated as they near another Big 12 conference title.
Kansas had everybody fooled for a while. Things appeared to be falling apart for the Jayhawks, opening the door for Texas Tech or Oklahoma to seize the Big 12 title, ending a stranglehold on the conference.
The tables have turned back in Kansas’ favor, though.
Kansas picked up a big – albeit, controversial – win against West Virginia over the weekend. When the new AP poll emerged on Monday, the Jayhawks shot back up five spots to No. 8, two spots behind the Red Raiders.
They are currently tied atop the Big 12 standings with Texas Tech, with a big game between the two leaders looming over the weekend.
Kansas is training their eye on a bigger prize. Winning the Big 12 is absolutely a priority for the Jayhawks; so is a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
While Kansas would need to jump at least four teams to move into a top-seed projection, winning out from this point forward would likely do the trick. There are no gimmes in the schedule and the game at Texas Tech on Saturday is one of the last marquee games of the college basketball regular season.
Their resume is stronger than people realize as well. According to ESPN, all but one loss this season has come against an opponent with a top 50 RPI. The exception is Oklahoma State, which the Jayhawks can avenge before the end of the regular season.
Kansas also has one of the top five strengths of schedule in all of college basketball this season.
None of that will matter if Kansas can’t take care of business over the next two weeks. A single loss before the conference tournament will probably doom the Jayhawks to a lower seed in the NCAA Tournament.
But despite some ugly stretches, Kansas is still in position to capture a top seed in March.