Long before the fifth-ranked Kansas men’s basketball team graced its adoring fans with two very different halves of basketball in a wild, 87-71 win over No. 9 Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse, the Jayhawks learned a little something about their postseason positioning.
Early Saturday afternoon, CBS released the current projections for the top 16 seeds in this year’s NCAA Tournament, and the Jayhawks landed on the 1 line.
Behind the strengths of its 12 Quad 1 victories — which jumped to 13 after the win over Baylor — and its standing in the Big 12 Conference, KU was projected as the fourth and final No. 1 seed for the upcoming Big Dance.
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PHOTO GALLERY: Kansas basketball vs. Baylor
Box score: Kansas 87, Baylor 71
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Alabama, Houston and Purdue were positioned ahead of the Jayhawks, but Saturday’s glimpse was merely a sneak peek at how the bracket might fall.
Five of the 16 teams in the big reveal call the Big 12 home, with Baylor and Texas projected as 2 seeds and Kansas State and Iowa State projected on the 3 line.
What’s more, that group of 16 teams included programs with which Kansas will have played 10 games against during the 2022-23 regular season, a fact that speaks to the Jayhawks’ strength of schedule factoring heavily into their seeding potential.
The seeds were separated by region and overall, and Kansas landed in the West regional in Las Vegas, with Arizona as the 2, K-State as the 3 and Gonzaga as the 4.
The location remains even more up in the air than KU’s seed, with Kansas City (Midwest), Louisville (South) and New York City (East) all being possible, as well.
That’s just for the third- and fourth-round games, though. The likelihood of KU being sent to Des Moines, Iowa, for the first and second rounds remains fairly high.
All of this will be revealed in three weeks, with the annual NCAA Tournament Selection Show on March 12, following what figures to be an incredible fight to the finish in the Big 12 Conference race.
While several players from last season’s national title team were in uniform on Saturday, a handful who no longer have any college eligibility were back in Allen Fieldhouse, as well.
Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun returned to watch the game because of their break that coincided with the NBA’s All-Star Weekend. They were joined by 2021-22 teammates Remy Martin, Mitch Lightfoot and Chris Teahan, who were all honored during an in-game ceremony at mid-court during a timeout in Saturday’s action.
Agbaji and Braun received the loudest ovations, both during the introductions and while their NBA season highlights played on the video board during another timeout later in the game.
“Teahan and Mitch, we see them all the time, so that’s not that big of a deal,” KU coach Bill Self joked, noting that he had not seen Agbaji since he left. He also praised Martin for flying in just for the game and flying out less than an hour after it ended.
“Those guys are loved here,” Self added.
Saturday’s game featured the return of several other former Jayhawks, too. Included on the list of Jayhawk greats who watched Saturday’s win from the stands were: Nick Collison, Cole Aldrich, Brandon Rush, Landen Lucas, Tyshawn Taylor, Sherron Collins, Tyrel Reed, Wayne Simien and Archie Marshall, along with the guys on Self’s staff who played for the program and are there night in and night out.
Former KU great Walt Wesley was also honored during a break in the action Saturday as part of KU’s game-long celebration of Black History Month.
Wesley, who played at KU from 1964-66 under Ted Owens, was celebrated in a short video during the game’s second media timeout.
The video was narrated by current Jayhawk Kevin McCullar Jr. and featured a video message from Wesley at his home.
“Whew. What an honor,” he said. “I really didn’t know what to expect when I came to KU, but my coaches and teammates made me feel like I belonged and my experiences at KU will be treasured forever.”
In addition, the KU players wore black shooting shirts with Wesley’s name and No. 13 on the backs.
Saturday’s victory moved KU to 10-4 in Big 12 play, giving the Jayhawks 10 conference wins or more for the 29th consecutive season. That streak, which began in 1994-95, is the longest active Division I streak of its kind… KU now leads the all-time series with Baylor, 36-9, including a 19-1 record at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks are now 13-1 inside their home venue this season… With Kansas improving to 22-5 overall, KU coach Bill Self now has led the Jayhawks to 22 wins or more in 19 of his 20 seasons in charge. Self’s teams have won 22 games or more 24 times during his 30 seasons as a head coach at KU, Illinois, Tulsa and Oral Roberts… KU improved its record when trailing at halftime to 2-5 this season… Saturday’s win was the first since 2015 in which KU trailed by double digits and went on to win by double digits… The 17-point deficit overcome was the largest by a Kansas team since March 3, 2015, when KU trailed West Virginia 40-22 and went on to win in overtime.
