CBS Sports Projects Where Kansas Basketball Will Finish in Big 12 Standings

The annual Preseason AP Top 25 was released last week, and the Kansas Jayhawks came in at No. 19 in the country.

They are the sixth Big 12 school featured in the poll, which lines up with where most national outlets expect them to finish.

On Monday, CBS Sports analyst Gary Parrish released his Big 12 preseason projections and placed Kansas at No. 5 in the conference. KU sits behind Houston, Texas Tech, BYU, and Arizona.

CBS Sports Projects Big 12 Basketball Standings

1. Houston
2. Texas Tech
3. BYU
4. Arizona
5. Kansas
6. Iowa State
7. Baylor
8. Cincinnati
9. Kansas State
10. TCU
11. Oklahoma State
12. West Virginia
13. Arizona State
14. Utah
15. UCF
16. Colorado

"After winning at least a share of 16 Big 12 regular-season championships in his first 20 years at Kansas, all while never finishing worse than third in the league standings, Bill Self has finished fifth (2024) and sixth (2025) in the conference the past two seasons," Parrish wrote. "Clearly, the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach, and two-time national champion, needs a bounce-back season -- and Self will have to out-perform the expectations placed upon his team here to truly produce one."

Parrish picked freshman Darryn Peterson as his CBS Sports Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year, which matches the official Big 12 preseason awards.

He also included a note about Bill Self and whether the Hall of Fame coach can return to his winning ways after two subpar seasons in Lawrence.

"Kansas has finished outside of the top four in the Big 12 in each of the past two seasons -- and hasn't made the Sweet 16 since 2022. So it'll be interesting to see if Self can get things back this season to where they used to just always be pretty much no matter what."

Parrish's uncertainty about Kansas is understandable. After back-to-back down years, it is hard to predict which version of the Jayhawks we will see this season.

KU will be led by an unproven freshman in Peterson, unlike recent years with veterans like Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris, and KJ Adams running the show.

However, this roster might be one of the most talented of the Self era, with multiple future NBA players and high-upside newcomers. The range of outcomes is wide, but the expectation is that this revamped 2025-26 squad can bring Kansas back to Big 12 dominance.

The Jayhawks will get their first unofficial test this Friday with a scrimmage against Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center.