The 2020-21 college hoops was good to Kansas and its ever-present rivalry with fellow blue blood Kentucky.
After opening the season 16 victories (2,318-2,302) behind the Wildcats on college basketball’s all-time wins list, the Jayhawks now trail UK by just five games (2,327-2,322), with time to close the gap even more.
Kansas enters the NCAA Tournament at 20-8 and Kentucky is done for the season at 9-16.
Asked about the wins race on Sunday night, KU coach Bill Self said he was aware of it and added that he realized that Kansas would have to win a national championship in order to pass the Wildcats before the end of the 2020-21 season.
“If we were able to do that then I would tell everybody in the world that this was what was going on,” Self said.
Although KU’s Hall of Fame coach is not usually one to get caught up in these types of chases or historic records, Self admitted on Sunday that this one has some meaning.
“Kentucky has, rightfully so, used that as a recruiting tool for decades, ‘We’re the winningest program in the history of college basketball,'” Self said. “And, rightfully so, we’ve said we’re the second winningest program in the history of college basketball. I don’t know that either one of those statements actually gets you a player in today’s time, but I do think it adds interest and it certainly adds pride with your loyal fan bases and your alums.
“I do wish that we had that feather in our cap,” Self added. “And I know that Kentucky’s been very proud that they’ve had that feather in their cap for a long time. So it’d be nice to catch them. It would be. But a lot of work left to do before that can happen.”
Jayhawks drop a spot
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Despite winning the only game it played last week, the Kansas men’s basketball team dropped one spot in the Associated Press poll on Monday.
KU will enter the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the NCAA’s NET rankings.
The Jayhawks (20-8) are one of a college-basketball-best six Big 12 teams ranked in this week’s AP poll.
Baylor (22-2), which spent mosts of the season ranked second behind Gonzaga, also dropped a spot this week, from No. 2 to No. 3, after its loss to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tourney semifinals.
Texas (19-7), which won the Big 12 tournament, jumped from No. 13 to No. 9, and Oklahoma State (20-8) slid into the No. 11 spot after reaching the Big 12 title game.
No. 13 West Virginia (18-9) and No. 21 Texas Tech (17-10) round out the Big 12 teams in the top 25. Oklahoma, which Kansas defeated in the Big 12 quarterfinals, dropped out of the poll but did still receive votes.
Zags eyeing history
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Top overall seed Gonzaga maintained its spot atop the AP poll on Monday, earning all 60 first-place votes and becoming the first team since Kentucky in 2014-15 to be No. 1 in every poll of the college basketball season.
Only 13 other teams had ever achieved that feat.
The next step for unbeaten Gonzaga (26-0) is to see if it can run through the NCAA Tournament to become college basketball’s first undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976.
After a quick look at the picks by experts and analysts across the country on Monday, it seems clear that the Zags are by far the most popular pick to do just that.
