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Kansas Jayhawks : A Quarter-Century of Consistent Dominance

By Mike Norris

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Feb 2, 2015; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks fans cheer from the stands prior to the Jayhawks

The Kansas Jayhawks’ basketball team has won “only” one National Championship in the past 25 years.

Although that is one more than about 300 other Division I schools during that time.

It’s the only reason why they are not nationally considered the greatest program of the past quarter century.

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With a 73-51 victory Tuesday night at Texas Tech, the Jayhawks extended their current record streak of 26 straight seasons of at least 20 wins.

That. Is. Impressive.

That is until you look at some other accomplishments the Legends from Lawrence have achieved over the past 25 years leading up to this season.

The 1989-90 season was Roy Williams’ second with team, and they would finish, 30-5.

While 20 wins is no slouch of a year, in today’s game where teams play 35-40, it is not as hard to accomplish, yet the Jayhawks are the only team to do so the past 26 years.

Let’s take a look at some other accomplishments since that fateful ’89-’90 season.

The Jayhaws have had:

  • 25 NCAA Tournament appearances (on track for number 26 this year)
  • 60 NCAA Tournament wins
  • 16 Sweet Sixteen appearances
  • 10 Elite Eight appearances
  • 6 Final Four appearances
  • 1 National Championship
  • 2 First-Round NCAA Tournament losses
  • 724 Total wins

Worst season: 1998-99 — 23-10, lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament

Let that sink in for a minute. For some teams, the 1998-99 Kansas season would have been their best over that time period.

To put all of this in perspective, let’s look at the six other schools who have been at the top of college basketball with KU between 1989-2014.

Duke

  • 24 NCAA Tournament appearances
  • 66 NCAA Tournament wins
  • 17 Sweet Sixteen appearances
  • 10 Elite Eight appearances
  • 8 Final Four appearances
  • 4 National Championships
  • 4 First-Round NCAA Tournament losses
  • 712 Total wins

Worst season: 1994-95 — 13-18, failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament

North Carolina

  • 22 NCAA Tournament appearances
  • 62 NCAA Tournament wins
  • 14 Sweet Sixteen appearances
  • 12 Elite Eight appearances
  • 9 Final Four appearances
  • 3 National Championships
  • 1 First-Round NCAA Tournament loss
  • 651 Total wins

Worst season: 2001-02 — 8-20, failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament

Kentucky

  • 21 NCAA Tournament appearances
  • 63 NCAA Tournament wins
  • 15 Sweet Sixteen appearances
  • 13 Elite Eight appearances
  • 7 Final Four appearances
  • 3 National Championships
  • 1 First-Round NCAA Tournament loss
  • 674 Total wins

Worst season: 2008-09 — 22-14, failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament

Michigan State

  • 22 NCAA Tournament appearances
  • 47 NCAA Tournament wins
  • 13 Sweet Sixteen appearances
  • 8 Elite Eight appearances
  • 6 Final Four appearances
  • 1 National Championship
  • 5 First-Round NCAA Tournament losses
  • 594 Total wins

Worst season: 1995-96 — 16-16, failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament

Syracuse

  • 19 NCAA Tournament appearances
  • 37 NCAA Tournament wins
  • 11 Sweet Sixteen appearances
  • 4 Elite Eight appearances
  • 3 Final Four appearances
  • 1 National Championship
  • 3 First-Round NCAA Tournament losses
  • 631 Total wins

Worst season: 1996-97 — 19-13, failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament

Connecticut

  • 19 NCAA Tournament appearances
  • 54 NCAA Tournament wins
  • 14 Sweet Sixteen appearances
  • 10 Elite Eight appearances
  • 5 Final Four appearances
  • 4 National Championships
  • 2 First-Round NCAA Tournament losses
  • 630 Total wins

Worst season: 2006-07 — 17-13, failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament

That’s a lot of numbers to take in, and frankly they are very similar. Here is how KU ranks in each category between these seven powerhouses:

  •  NCAA Tournament appearances — 1st
  • NCAA Tournament wins — 4th
  • Sweet Sixteen appearances — 2nd
  • Elite Eight appearances — (t)3rd
  • Final Four appearances — 4th
  • National Championships — (t)5th
  • First-Round NCAA Tournament losses — (t)3rd
  • Total wins — 1st
  • Worst season — 1st

As you can see, Kansas can hang with every team on this list the past 25 years, they fall short only in the National Championship category.

Of course you could argue that is the most important, but let’s be honest, the tournament can be a bit of a crap-shoot at times.

Look no further than last season when UCONN got hot as a seven seed and claimed the title. This year, they will be lucky to make the NIT.

Even the Jayhawks claimed national title number two in 1988 as a six seed, and have had much better teams fall short in the tournament.

The most consistent program over the past 25 years has been KU, as evident by their most total wins (724) and most tournament appearances (25), not to mention never having a down season during the period.

This dominance comes without even mentioning the fact Kansas has won its conference regular season 19 times the past 25 years, including 10 in a row.

The best of the best are certainly judged by how many times they reach the ultimate summit of their respective careers. But, when it comes to building a wining tradition, no one has done it better in the game of college basketball than the University of Kansas the past 25 years.

Now with their latest win, they can make it 26.

*Note: Michigan State was added to original post.

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