Kansas basketball: It doesn’t matter which regional the Jayhawks choose
Kansas basketball has their choice on which regional to pick for March Madness, but the decision doesn’t matter as much as you might think.
One of the newer rules for the NCAA Tournament and Selection Sunday is that the No. 1 overall seed is allowed to choose which regional they play in. Given that Kansas basketball is the consensus best team in the country, they’ll be getting that No.1 overall seed and the choice on which regional to play in.
That choice doesn’t matter as much as you may think though.
At first glance, it does seem like a big deal. You can control generally where you play, and you can use Bracketology to get an idea of who will be in the various regional. Consider this though: when you fill out your bracket every year, how correct are you?
The bottom line is that crazy things happen in March every year. Teams that shouldn’t lose get beat, teams that should lose become Cinderella stories, and nobody can reliably predict what will happen with certainty once the ball tips.
For example, the Midwest region could appear tougher on paper, but end up being one of the easiest regionals if the two and three seeds lose early in the tournament.
The point is that Bill Self and Kansas basketball can try to predict all they want, but deciding on a regional-based off of the teams that might be there is essentially just taking a shot in the dark.
The real power in being able to choose your regional is being able to guarantee the locations your team will play if they advance.
Now, it’s most likely, the Jayhawks will end up choosing the South or Midwest based on the fact that the regions play their first and second rounds in St. Louis or Omaha. That’s a pretty easy drive from the Kansas City area to Omaha or St. Louis, so those two would make the most sense in terms of accessibility for fans.
After that, the South will play Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games in Houston, while the Midwest will play in Indianapolis.
Out of Indianapolis and Houston, the best choice would probably be Houston, but don’t sell Indianapolis short. There’s a lot of Jayhawk alumni in the Chicago area, which is just about three hours from Indy. On the flip side, there’s a huge portion of Jayhawk nation in the state of Texas, and Houston is an easier place to get to that an Indianapolis.
At the end of the day, the regional doesn’t really matter as much as you may think. Flukes are going to happen, fanbases may not travel as well as expected, and Kansas basketball can beat any team they come across.
That being said, the Houston region seems like the best choice based on location and accessibility.
Transfer. Harvard transfer Seth Towns could really help the Jayhawks. light
Bill Self has said that he’s made the decision on which regional to play in according to Scott Chasen on Twitter. We’ll find out that decision on Sunday, March 15 at 5:00 p.m. on CBS.