Kansas Basketball: Ranking the last 29 NCAA Tournament teams

26. 1997-98 (35-4) (15-1 Big 12)

Dominant. That’s one word that can be used to describe the 1997-98 Jayhawks squad, led by Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz, Billy Thomas and Ryan Robertson. Pierce averaged 20.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. LaFrentz produced 19.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per contest. This was one of the best teams Roy Williams ever coached in his time at Kansas. It was also one of his most underachieving.

The Jayhawks opened the season No. 2 in the AP Poll and didn’t drop out of the Top 5 all season. They opened the season at 16-2 with losses to the No. 23 Maryland Terrapins and on the road against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

Conference play went without a hitch, except for one game. They lost 74-73  against the Missouri Tigers in the annual Border War for their third-straight loss in the Hearnes Center. They won the regular season Big 12 title and would go on to win the conference tournament championship for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas earned a No. 1 seed in the tournament and won their first-round game against the No. 16 Prairie View A&M Panthers 110-52, as Pierce and LaFrentz combined for 45 points. The bench also put up 31 points in the victory.

In the second round, the Jayhawks ran into a roadblock against the No. 8 Rhode Island Rams. Led by Cuttino Mobley’s 27 points, the Rams upset Kansas, 80-75. Tyson Wheeler had 20 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Luther Clay had 14 points and 11 rebounds in the victory, as the Jayhawks fell to an unranked foe in the NCAA Tournament. Pierce and LaFrentz still combined for 45 points, but their supporting cast was limited in their run to a potential title.