Why the 2022 Jayhawks Will Go Down as One of Kansas’ Most Accomplished Teams
Rarely as a blue blood do you get to fly under the radar. Especially at Kansas. Your games are on national TV. Your name is next to a single-digit number in the weekly polls. You’re a one seed in the NCAA Tournament.
And yet, people nationally weren’t talking much about the Jayhawks in terms of being one of the best teams in the tournament, or really even at all. There were too many other storylines: Coach K retiring, Gonzaga trying to win its first title, Saint Peters, teams with one player-of-the-year candidate and not much else, and did I mention Coach K?
Of all the years for this to happen, it is an ironic one, because this year’s Kansas team accomplished more than most recent champions. Only three teams since 2010 have won their conference regular season, conference tournament, and the NCAA title in the same year: 2010 Duke, 2013 Louisville, and this year’s Jayhawks.
Here’s a full breakdown of how NCAA champions have fared in this pursuit of the college basketball version of the triple crown since 2010.
2022 Kansas — won all three (tie in regular season)
2021 Baylor — lost in conference tournament
2020 — no tournament
2019 Virginia — lost in conference tournament
2018 Villanova — second in regular season
2017 North Carolina — lost in conference tournament
2016 Villanova — lost in conference tournament
2015 Duke — lost in conference tournament
2014 UCONN — third in regular season, lost in conference tournament
2013 Louisville — won all three (three-way tie in regular season)
2012 Kentucky — lost in conference tournament
2011 UCONN — ninth in regular season
2010 Duke — won all three (tie in regular season)
In terms of trends, it’s interesting that all three teams shared their regular-season crowns, as did the 2008 Kansas team. Those Jayhawks and Texas finished 13-3 in the Big 12. But neither the 2013 Louisville, 2010 Duke, nor 2008 Kansas had an AP First-Team All-American on the roster like Kansas had in Ochai Agbaji this year.
Add in that Kansas surpassed Kentucky as the program with the most wins all time and it’s hard to fathom a more accomplishment-rich season outside of going undefeated.
Maybe this wasn’t one of Kansas’ most talented teams. That’s left for debates at the bar between friends. But it’s impossible to argue that this isn’t one of Kansas’ most successful teams from an accomplishment standpoint, even if it felt like it wasn’t being acknowledged at the time.
That doesn’t matter now because the 2022 Jayhawks will, from now on, be remembered as such.
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