Kansas Basketball Secures Favorable No. 3 Seed in Big 12 Tournament

The Kansas Jayhawks got some good news late Saturday night regarding their position in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament. With BYU’s win over Texas Tech and KU's win over Kansas State, the Jayhawks will now be the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament which begins on Tuesday inside T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.

As a No. 3 seed, KU will have a double-bye and play on Thursday at approximately 8:30 p.m. CT. The Jayhawks’ opponent will be determined by a pair of games taking place Tuesday and Wednesday night.

No. 11 Colorado will play No. 14 Oklahoma State on Tuesday. The winner of that game will play No. 6 TCU on Wednesday, and KU will then face the winner of that matchup on Thursday night.

Why the No. 3 seed is big for KU

The No. 3 seed gives Kansas a much more favorable path to win the Big 12 Tournament than if they had been given the No. 4 seed where they would have had to likely get past No. 5 seed Iowa State and No. 1 Arizona just to reach the title game.

KU owns wins over Colorado, Oklahoma State, and TCU this year. And the Jayhawks will have a major home crowd advantage over whichever of the three teams they face in the quarterfinals – especially with an evening time slot compared to the 11:30 a.m. start they would have had as a No. 4 seed.

Should the Jayhawks win, they’ll face No. 2 seed Houston, whom KU beat by double digits (69-56) just two weeks ago in Allen Fieldhouse. The Cougars have also struggled down the stretch of Big 12 play, losing four of their last six games.

It’s about as favorable of a setup as you could ask for if you’re Kansas, who will need a couple of wins if they hope to secure a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and/or get a favorable site location in Oklahoma City for the first two rounds and Chicago as the regional site for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.

Winning two games against two NCAA Tournament teams in TCU and Houston may be enough, but a Big 12 Tournament title would almost certainly seal the deal. If it happens, it would also be the first Big 12 Tournament Championship for the Jayhawks since 2022 – the same year they last won the NCAA title.

Postseason basketball is what it’s all about at Kansas, and now it’s officially arrived.

A historic #Big12MBB season has led us to this moment.

The OFFICIAL 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket is here 👀 pic.twitter.com/tkKZYPWggt
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 8, 2026

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