Through the Phog
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Kansas basketball: Jayhawks need to ignore Joe Lunardi

By Stan Unruh

LAWRENCE, KS - FEBRUARY 17: A wall at Allen Fieldhouse displays 13 straight Big 12 Conference rings the Kansas Jayhawks have been presented on February 17, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KS - FEBRUARY 17: A wall at Allen Fieldhouse displays 13 straight Big 12 Conference rings the Kansas Jayhawks have been presented on February 17, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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Following a pair of big wins, Kansas basketball is back in the Associated Top 10. Joey Brackets also includes the Jayhawks as No. 1 NCAA Tourney team.

The college basketball polls change each week. It’s enough to make your head spin. It’s difficult to keep track. Some weeks fans don’t want to know where Kansas basketball is ranked. Thanks to the victory in Ames and the exciting rally over the Mountaineers Saturday night, the latest Associated Press Poll moved Bill Self’s guys from No 13 to No. 8 in the land.

With the roller coaster ride this season, the Jayhawks have been up and down both the USA Today and Associated Press polls.  Some of the National TV talking heads also release their personal rankings on Sunday night. They are usually far different than what we read from media and coaches vote on Monday. As a matter of fact, it is always entertaining to compare and discuss.  This weeks was just as contentious.  Some fans are thrilled with the No. 8 ranking. Others are mad at Joe Lunardi.

I know ESPN prefers broadcasting the teams who are moving up in the AP Poll. Especially when they have a feature Big Monday telecast. The folks at the network are probably not happy with Oklahoma’s recent losing streak. They still love Trae Young. However, the game is not as attractive as when the No. 5 ranked Jayhawks and No. 12 Sooners played in January.

In addition to the latest move up in the national polls, bracket guru Joe Lunardi moved Kansas basketball back to one of his top 4 NCAA Tourney seeds.  Most fans love seeing that.  I’m not sure the Jayhawks need that news this week. They have a lot of work ahead of them over the next six days.

Next: Big All-Star weekend for Joel Embiid

Ignore the TV talking heads and just go play basketball

What impact does all this news have on the Jayhawk players? You know they pay attention to the hype. Does the Hall of Fame coach remind them it’s all just somebody’s wild guess? Do the Jayhawks deserve a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament?  I hope it doesn’t increase the pressure on this group of Jayhawks. They need to ignore Lunardi. Devonte Graham and the guys have enough pressure this season.

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