Kansas Jayhawks strenous schedule will bode well for them in March

The Jayhawks had lost three straight games before their two consecutive wins, and they were all to other Big 12 opponents. Even if the Jayhawks endure another minuscule losing skid, there should not be any worries about their seeding in March.

Strength of Schedule

Every single game the rest of the way for Bill Self’s squad will be a tough one. This is not one of the more dominant KU teams, but they are a very capable group. The fact of the matter is that the Big 12 is the best conference in college basketball — this is no longer an arguable statement.

As of today, the Big 12 makes up six of the top fifteen teams in the country.  For six teams in a conference to be considered as a potential top-five seed in March is an unheard-of feat, let alone one with only ten schools in it.

Whether KU is able to take home the Big 12 regular season title remains to be seen, but they will be a top-seeded team in March regardless. Currently, they have the #1 strength of schedule (SOS) in all Division I basketball. For reference, they have squared off against seven currently ranked teams, and one of their four losses was to No. 2 ranked Tennessee.

Almost all analytical databases list the Jayhawks SOS higher than any other team, and that will continue to be the case when they travel to the Hilton Coliseum to face the No. 13 ranked Iowa State Cyclones. Kenpom’s SOS equation has them #1 in the country at +12.07. So why does this matter for Kansas?

Even though no team is going to be searching for a loss on any given day, some losses are more valuable than others. When the Jayhawks were defeated by one point in overtime by the Kansas State Wildcats, that loss is not going to affect them as much as KSU’s loss to sub-.500 Butler would. As long as the Jayhawks continue to beat the teams that they should, they should have no issue sneaking as a No. 2 or 3 seed come Selection Sunday. This is even more true if they are able to win a few games in the Big 12 conference tournament.

Kansas fans were in panic mode just a few days ago, but the Jayhawks were in unfamiliar territory. If they can take their next two contests versus Iowa State and Texas, they will be right back in the conversation as a top-five team in the country.