WATCHETOLOGY: KU still on top, but does a sexy second-round match-up loom?

By Matt Tait Feb 25, 2016

Kansas guard Frank Mason III (0) shoots over Wichita State guard Fred VanVleet (23) in the Jayhawks' third-round NCAA Tournament game against Wichita State Sunday, March 22, 2015 at the CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Neb.

It’s been 10 days since our last “Watchetology” blog, and, unless you’ve been without electricity or on another planet, you know it’s been a very good 10 days for the Jayhawks.

Wins over Oklahoma State and at Kansas State and Baylor pushed KU’s winning streak to eight in a row and vaulted the Jayhawks into position to play for the No. 1 spot in the polls this weekend against Texas Tech on Saturday.

Knock off the Red Raiders at Allen Fieldhouse and it’s all but certain that KU will take over the top spot from Villanova, who lost to Xavier on Wednesday night, when the new polls come out on Monday, the final day of February.

The Jayhawks just might be the hottest team in college basketball right now and [Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology update][1] certainly reflects that.

Lunardi has KU as a 1 seed in the Midwest — first and second rounds in Des Moines, Iowa, and third and fourth rounds in Chicago — and it looks as if the Jayhawks are his No. 1 overall seed, based on Miami being the 2 seed in the Jayahwks’ regional.

Kentucky at No. 4, which would set up a very interesting potential rematch in the Sweet 16, and a good Iowa team in the 3 spot certainly make KU’s region anything but a cakewalk.

But by far the most interesting aspect of this latest version is what appears in the 8-9 game, where fellow Sunflower State power Wichita State sits in the 8 spot, setting up a potential rematch of last year’s second-round showdown won by No. 7 seed Wichita State over No. 2 seed Kansas in Omaha.

The likelihood of this happening seems like a stretch. For one, I think WSU will get a slightly higher seed and, for two, I’m not sure the odds would work that strongly against Kansas the way they have against Roy Williams, who has drawn the Jayhawks a few too many times in the tournament for his taste since leaving KU.

Time will tell.

Both KU and Wichita State are different teams than they were a year ago, but I’m not sure either program would be all that thrilled with seeing the other this early in the 2016 tournament.

[1]: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

KU wide receiver Shakiem Barbel granted additional season

48343WATCHETOLOGY: KU still on top, but does a sexy second-round match-up loom?

Show/Post Comments

Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.