Kansas Basketball: Ranking the last 29 NCAA Tournament teams

5. 1990-91 (27-8) (10-4 Big 8)

In the early days of Roy Williams, not many expected much from his Jayhawks’ bunch. He used that to his benefit just two seasons into his tenure. Terry Brown, Mark Randall, Adonis Jordan and Alonzo Jamison led the way for the Jayhawks, as they went through the season unranked in the AP Poll until the last week in January 1991.

Brown led the team in scoring with 16.0 points per contest and shot 40.1 percent from 3-point land during the regular season. Randall was producing 15.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest. Jordan was the team’s leader in assists per contest with 4.5 per game.

The Jayhawks went 10-4 in Big 8 play with their all-around team play, finishing tied atop the standings with the Oklahoma Sooners. They shared the regular season crown, but in the conference tournament, Kansas lost to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the semifinals.

Despite their early loss in the conference tournament, their record was strong enough to earn them a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. With that seed, they beat a No. 2 seed and two No. 1 seeds to make it all the way to the national title game.

In the national final, head coach Mike Krzyzewski won his first ever title with Duke 72-65 behind Christian Laettner’s heroics. Laettner finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the game and won the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award as well.

It was Williams’ first trip to the national title game. Though it ended in a loss, it prepared him for a lot more at his future school, North Carolina. Fittingly, the Jayhawks defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 79-73 in the Final Four to make the title game.