Kansas Jayhawks maintain NCAA Tournament streak, earn 4 seed in Midwest
The Kansas Jayhawks have one of the most impressive streaks in the history of the NCAA Tournament. The last time that the team from Lawrence received a seed lower than 4 was in the 1999-2000 season, when the Roy Williams-led squad received an 8 seed. For the entirety of the Bill Self era, Kansas has maintained that streak, and they are don't plan to break it any time soon.
On Sunday evening, the NCAA released the tournament seedings, and the Jayhawks earned a 4 seed in the Midwest Regional. They will begin their tournament in Salt Lake City, UT, facing the 13th-seeded Samford Bulldogs. Should they advance past that game, they will face the winner of 5th-seeded Gonzaga and 12-seeded McNeese. Waiting in the regional is 1st-seeded Purdue, 2nd seeded Tennessee and 3rd seeded Creighton, all teams that Kansas can match up well with assuming they are healthy.
The UConn Huskies received the overall #1 seed in the tournament this season, as they are the only team that did not lose in their conference tournament leading up to the bracket release. Houston received the overall #2 selection, with Purdue and North Carolina rounding out the top seeds.
This is the worst seeding for the Jayhawks since the 2019 NCAA Tournament, where they also received a 4 seed. That year, they lost to the 5th-seeded Auburn Tigers in the second round.
Kansas has been struggling with injuries all season long, with starting guard Kevin McCullar missing multiple games due to a bone bruise in his knee. Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson dislocated his shoulder in the final game of the season against Houston, and both sat out during the Big 12 Tournament. The bench depth has been an issue as well, as the Jayhawks have one of the worst scoring benches in all of college basketball.
The Jayhawks are in action on Thursday in Salt Lake City, UT. The tip time and broadcast information will be released shortly.
