The longer the streak extends the more the question gets asked: Which season in the Kansas Jayhawks’ run of consecutive Big 12 regular-season championships was the most difficult or most impressive?
It’s a great debate for those that follow the now 12-time defending kings of the conference. And every year about this time, with the regular season almost over, the man who coached each of those title teams is asked to compare, contrast and find some way to encapsulate the various challenges that come up year after year.
Just last week, KU coach Bill Self said of this season’s competition: “I think there’s more really, really good teams in our league than there ever has been.”
That might turn out to be true. The latest Bracketology projections indicate the Big 12 could easily end up sending seven teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Think about that. No. 1-ranked KU (26-4 overall, 14-3 Big 12) already has won the conference outright and has a 2-game lead in the loss column on second-place West Virginia — in a conference where the best teams play 12 games against tourney-worthy competition. The Mountaineers still have a home game with Texas Tech and a road date with Baylor left to play this week. Let’s say WVU splits those. As long as Kansas defends its home court Saturday against Iowa State, the Jayhawks would win the Big 12 by 3 games.
The 2016 season really might go down as the most impressive in the run, depending on what transpires in the future.
There are plenty of factors that go into such a debate, but for the purposes of this exercise, here is a glance at how Kansas has performed year-by-year during its title streak, with the Jayhawks’ final Big 12 record, a look at the top of the standings, how Kansas performed against the top contender(s) and how many Big 12 teams went dancing.
When you put those factors together, 2010 is pretty remarkable, even if that pre-dated the round robin format now in place.
Immerse yourself in the data and decide for yourself: Which of the Jayhawks’ championship seasons stands out as the best?
*– We’ll add the final numbers for 2016 when the season wraps up this weekend.*
2005 — KU 12-4 in 12-team league
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– Co-champions with Oklahoma
– Lost only regular-season meeting with OU, 71-63, in Norman, Okla.
– Six NCAA Tournament teams in Big 12
2006 — KU 13-3 in 12-team league
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– Co-champions with Texas
– Lost only regular-season meeting with UT, 80-55, in Austin, Texas
– Four NCAA Tournament teams in Big 12
2007 — KU 14-2 in 12-team league
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– Finished 1 game ahead of runner-up Texas A&M
– Lost only regular-season meeting with A&M, 69-66, at Allen Fieldhouse
– Four NCAA Tournament teams in Big 12
2008 — KU 13-3 in 12-team league
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– Co-champions with Texas
– Lost only regular-season meeting with UT, 72-69, in Austin, Texas
– Six NCAA Tournament teams in Big 12
2009 — KU 14-2 in 12-team league
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– Finished 1 game ahead of runner-up Oklahoma
– Won only regular-season meeting with OU, 87-78, in Norman, Okla.
– Six NCAA Tournament teams in Big 12
2010 — KU 15-1 in 12-team league
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– Finished 4 games ahead of second-place teams Kansas State, Baylor and Texas A&M
– Swept K-State — 81-79 (OT) in Manhattan, 82-65 at Allen Fieldhouse
– Won only regular-season meeting with BU, 81-75, at Allen Fieldhouse
– Won only regular-season meting with A&M, 59-54, in College Station, Texas
– Seven NCAA Tournament teams in Big 12
2011 — KU 14-2 in 12-team league
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– Finished 1 game ahead of runner-up Texas
– Lost only regular-season meeting with UT, 74-63, at Allen Fieldhouse
– Five NCAA Tournament teams in Big 12
2012 — KU 16-2 in 10-team league
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– Finished 2 games ahead of runner-up Missouri
– Split regular-season meetings with Mizzou — lost, 74-71, in Columbia, Mo.; won, 87-86 (OT), at Allen Fieldhouse
– Six NCAA Tournament teams in Big 12
2013 — KU 14-4 in 10-team league
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– Co-champions with Kansas State
– Swept regular-season meetings with K-State — 59-55 in Manhattan, 83-62 at Allen Fieldhouse
– Five NCAA Tournament teams in Big 12
2014 — KU 14-4 in 10-team league
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– Finished 2 games ahead of runner-up Oklahoma
– Swept regular-season meetings with OU — 90-83 in Norman, Okla., 83-75 at Allen Fieldhouse
– Seven NCAA Tournament teams in Big 12
2015 — KU 13-5 in 10-team league
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– Finished 1 game ahead of runners-up Iowa State and Oklahoma
– Split regular-season meetings with ISU — lost, 86-81, in Ames, Iowa; won, 89-76, at Allen Fieldhouse
– Split regular-season meetings with OU — won, 85-78, at Allen Fieldhouse; lost, 75-73, in Norman, Okla.
– Seven NCAA Tournament teams in Big 12
2016 — KU 13-5 in 10-team league
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– Finished 2 games ahead of runner-up West Virginia
– Split regular-season meetings with WVU — lost, 74-63, in Morgantown, W. Va.; won, 75-65, at Allen Fieldhouse
– Likely seven NCAA Tournament teams
