For the third straight season the Kansas basketball team enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. Jayhawk fans expressed a variety of reaction to the brackets.
Fresh off their Big 12 Tournament championship victory, the Kansas basketball team is preparing for a trip to Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita. The Big 12 regular season champs are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks who are ranked third in overall tournament are comfortable with a top seed. For the eighth time since 2006, the selection committee gave Bill Self’s team a top seed in the big dance.
Each talking head on the CBS/TBS or ESPN coverage of the brackets praised Hall of Fame Coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks. Most also admitted the Jayhawks would advance beyond the first weekend. They also expected Devonte Graham and Svi Mykhailiuk would lead the team into the Elite-8.
The reactions to the No. 1 seed in Midwest Regional on social media varied. Most were just thrilled to finally see the brackets and who the Jayhawks must defeat for a trip to the Final-Four. There are difficult matchups in each region. Depending on your point of view, some have a more challenging path to the final weekend. With two other Hall of Fame coaches in the Midwest Regional, the Jayhawks certainly have no cake walk to San Antonio.
Everyone saying Penn has a chance and would be the 16 seed to do it is perfect for this team. They’ve thrived the last month on what people said they couldn’t do. Kansas by 40. #kubball
— Talkin’ Hawks (@TalkinHawks) March 12, 2018
Close to home not always an advantage
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The Jayhawks are scheduled to arrive in Wichita Tuesday. They have not played there and Self doesn’t believe the short trip makes a difference.
"Regardless if you were playing in California or in Wichita, we’d be leaving on Tuesday at the same time getting there. So there’s absolutely no advantage to me in that."
If the Jayhawks advance past the first weekend, the team will get a trip to Omaha for the Sweet-16. With a thin margin for error, this group of Jayhawks know they must not take anything for granted.