Kansas Basketball: Ranking the last 29 NCAA Tournament teams

14. 1996-97 (34-2) (15-1 Big 12)

The Jayhawks were one of the most highly ranked teams entering the 1996-97 season. They spent much of the season ranked as the No. 1 team in the AP Poll. With their roster, it came to no one’s surprise.

With Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce leading the way, Kansas had nothing to lose as the top team in college basketball. LaFrentz produced 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Pierce put up 16.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.

In the first season of the Big 12 expansion, the Jayhawks showed nothing was changing, as they finished 15-1 in conference play and won the regular season conference crown. They ran through the conference tournament slate as well en route to a conference tournament title.

Kansas entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed. Things went without a hitch in their first two contests. They beat the Jackson State Tigers 78-64 in the opening round and then the Purdue Boilermakers 75-61 in the second round.

In the Sweet 16, they ran into trouble against the Arizona Wildcats, the No. 4-seed. Mike Bibby scored 21 points and Michael Dickerson scored 20 points, as the Jayhawks lost 85-82, despite 27 points from Pierce.

Underachieving in the NCAA Tournament put this team lower than expected, but such is life in the game of college basketball rankings. They only lost two games during the season, but the final one came with all expectations pointing at a national title.