The Kansas Jayhawks, who were No. 3 in last week’s poll, have as good of a case as anyone to climb into to the top spot. Kansas (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) earned two huge road wins over Texas Tech and West Virginia, and the resume speaks for itself.

KU has the most Quad 1 wins in the country with six, and is currently riding an eight-game win streak. Both KenPom and Bart Torvik currently have Kansas ranked No. 5 in their ratings as of Sunday.

But it isn’t just that the defending champs have seemingly reloaded and look even better than they were at this point last year. It is the way the Jayhawks are having success, which is honestly unlike nearly anyone else in the sport.

The Field of 68 released a preseason guide last summer and titled it, “THE ALMANAC: The Year of the Big” to help college basketball fans get ready for the 2022-23 campaign. It was a fitting title, as all the top teams in college basketball seemed to feature a dominant big man.

Oscar Tshiebwe was the National Player of the Year for Kentucky last year, while Purdue’s 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey is the favorite to win the award this season. Gonzaga is led by Drew Timme, North Carolina has Armando Bacot, UConn runs through Adama Sanogo, and the list goes on and on.

Bill Self has had plenty of teams led by a post in the past, but this year’s roster isn’t built for that. KJ Adams, who is listed as 6-foot-7, plays the 5 for this small-ball lineup. It is certainly unique to the current college basketball landscape, sort of like being a run-first football team in a pass-happy league.

Much like it is for the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, though, this contrarian style is working for the Jayhawks right now.

The Jayhawks went 11-1 in nonconference play, but the true test has occurred during the opening slate in the Big 12. Kansas found different ways to score against Oklahoma State to avoid 7-foot-1 Moussa Cisse swatting everything in the league opener. Texas Tech’s Daniel Batcho, who stands 6-foot-11, was not much of a factor against Kansas last Tuesday.

Then,there came West Virginia’s physicality in Morgantown, a DNA that most Bob Huggins’ teams seem to embrace. Kansas responded with finesse, particularly with the way Adams was able to score his 14 points.

For example, Kansas ran a five-out set that ultimately got the ball to Adams on the right wing on a possession midway through the first half. His defender over-committed to deny the pass, so Adams burst past him off the dribble for the easy, uncontested slam.

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Adams was one of five Kansas players to finish in double figures in the win at WVU, as he shot 4-for-9 from the floor and went 6-for-8 at the free throw line. Adams now has eight double-digit scoring outputs in a row after not doing so through the first 44 games of his career prior to this stretch.

“He’s proven he can be a double figure scorer,” Self said after the win over WVU. “He is crafty and can figure out different ways to get a basket.”

Without Adams’ emergence, Kansas wouldn’t even be in the conversation to be the No. 1 team in the country right now. His quickness is an advantage against teams with a prototypical big man, and he has been thriving in his role.

“He’s been able to find his little groove in that mid-post area with the floaters and jump shots,” Jalen Wilson said.

As a result, Kansas is playing as well as anyone in the country at the moment. The Jayhawks have the 10th-longest active win streak at eight in a row. They have covered the spread six times over that span, highlighted by a pair of blowout victories over Indiana and Missouri, and have started 3-0 in Big 12 play for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

During this win streak, only Tennessee and Houston rank higher on Bart Torvik’s metrics than Kansas. This team is No. 2 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 15 in adjusted defensive efficiency, dating back to Nov. 28.

None of this means the Jayhawks are invincible, of course. They are favored to win the Big 12 with a price of -140 at FanDuel Sportsbook, but both Kansas State and Iowa State are also undefeated in league play. Kansas could very well draw a tough matchup in the NCAA Tournament, and lose to a team with a dominant big man.

But those are concerns for another day. For now, this style of play has produced results, and has Kansas once again back on top of the college basketball world.