Kansas Basketball: How the Jayhawks reached the Final Four

How Kansas performed during the season

The Jayhawks had a great start to the season, defeating Kentucky by four points in the Champions Classic. It was possibly the only thing that went right in the non-conference, with back-to-back losses to Pac-12 teams.

After starting out conference play 1-1, Kansas went on to win five games in a row to establish themselves as the team to beat once again in the Big 12. What also helped was a combination of injuries and teams imploding around them. A late-season win in Lubbock over Texas Tech secured their 14th regular season title n a row.

The conference tournament was next, and the Jayhawks came into it shorthanded with Azubuike ruled out with a knee injury. Their path to the title started with Oklahoma State, who somehow swept them in the regular season. The third time was the charm, with a 14 point win.

After beating Kansas State in the semifinals, the Jayhawks had to deal with West Virginia in the title game. The Mountaineers twice had double-digit leads in the second half in the first two meetings, but let them both slip. This time Kansas was the one in control early on and defeated West Virginia for the third time to win both titles, and ultimately a one seed in the Big Dance.