Kansas will be stumbling into the Big 12 Conference Tournament as a number 1 seed by winning both games against Kansas State whom they share the regular season conference title with. KU lost their last regular season game to Baylor, allowing Kansas State to share the title. What’s a little more distressing to the Jayhawk nation is the manner in which they lost. Kansas was beaten up by the Bears and lost by more than 20 points. It wasn’t even close and Kansas looked bad.
Even with a number 1 seed, it’s not a slam dunk that Kansas will take home the tournament title. KU has proved that no game is a clear cut win. After losing to TCU on the road and losing in the manner they did to Baylor, KU has a lot of holes that need to be covered in they are not firing on all cylinders. The chances of the Jayhawks getting a number 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament are also slim to none. They will need to win out in the Big 12 tournament and hope that higher ranked teams go out early in their respective tournaments.
Kansas will face the winner of the West Virginia versus Texas Tech game Thursday, March 14 at 2 P.M., on ESPN2 at Sprint Center in Kansas City. The Mountaineers and Red Raiders will play Wednesday, March 13 at 6 PM.
From KUAthletics.com, Kansas is 17-1 at home, 7-3 in road games and 2-1 on neutral courts in 2012-13. In his 10th season at KU, Bill Self holds a 295-58 record for an 83.6 winning percentage. KU averages 74.6 points per game and leads the Big 12 with a +13.4 scoring margin. KU also leads the league in rebounding at 39.5, rebound margin at +6.5, field goal percentage at 47.3, field goal percentage defense at 35.8, which leads the nation, and blocked shots at 6.7.
Kansas and West Virginia have met only two times in men’s basketball, both this season when the Jayhawks defeated the Mountaineers 61-56 on January 28 in Morgantown and 91-65 on March 2 in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 2-0 all-time against West Virginia, while Bob Huggins is 0-6 versus Kansas.
Kansas leads the overall series with Texas Tech 24-4 as the Jayhawks have won seven straight and eight of the last nine meetings. Kansas head coach Bill Self is 11-6 all-time against Texas Tech, including 10-3 while at Kansas. Texas Tech interim head coach Chris Walker is 0-2 versus Kansas.
Here are some notable mentions about Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament
- Kansas has won more Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships than any other school with eight.
- KU won the first three events in 1997-98-99, then the 2006-07-08-10-11 titles.
- KU is 8-1 in tourney title games having only lost the 2002 title to Oklahoma.
- Kansas is the only team to have won at least 30 games in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. The Jayhawks are 32-8 (80.0 percent) in the event, while Oklahoma State (21-14) and Texas (21-16) are second with 21 wins each.
- With an 18-4 (81.8 percent) record, KU head coach Bill Self has the highest winning percentage in Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship history.
- Kansas has been the No. 1 seed 10 times (1997-98-2002-03-07-09-10-11-12-13)
- Kansas has won 15 of its 16 first games in the Big 12 Championship.
- KU has reached the semifinals in 14 of the 16 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships.
- Kansas has won five of its eight titles as the No. 1 seed – 1997, 1998, 2007, 2010 and 2011.
Should Kansas win on March 14, the Jayhawks would play the winner of the Oklahoma versus Iowa State game on Friday, March 15 at 6:30 P.M. in the semifinals. The semifinal contest will be televised on the Big 12 Network and either ESPN3 or ESPNU.
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