Is it appropriate to say that college basketball has entered crunch time? I think we can officially call it that with just six games to play.
With limited margin for error, the Jayhawks now have to set themselves apart from the rest of the Big 12 and not put a foot wrong until the final buzzer rings against Kansas State on March 7th. Oh yeah, and then compete in both the conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to Kansas’ upcoming trip to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys, head coach Bill Self broke down just how important the next few weeks are.
“I think every game this late in the season means more and more as you go without question,” quoted the two-time title-winning coach.
Kansas currently sits fourth in the Big 12 with a 9-3 conference record, 1.5 games behind the conference-leading Houston Cougars. Sitting ahead of the Jayhawks are the Iowa State Cyclones, the Arizona Wildcats, and Kelvin Sampson’s Houston.
“Just like a game, you can make a mistake in the first five or ten minutes, and there's time to recover. You get under the five-minute mark, and there may not be time to recover. It's the same thing in seasons and scheduling, too. So, yeah, I do think they all take on an added importance, once you get into mid-late February.”
Kansas is yet to face Houston, and the two sides will meet on the 23rd. The Jayhawks took down Tommy Lloyd’s No. 1 Arizona team on the 9th, but will square off again on the 28th.
The Jayhawks split their season series with the Cyclones. Neither contest was particularly close as Kansas dismantled Iowa State to kickstart an eight-game winning streak. However, T.J. Otzelberger’s squad returned the favor with a 74-56 loss this past weekend.
Over KU’s next six games, two of them are currently against ranked opponents (Houston and Arizona); however, the ever-dangerous Big 12 will always leave room for an upset that Kansas must be weary for.
The Jayhawks are set to take on the Cowboys Wednesday night with tipoff set for 8 p.m. CT and streaming available on Peacock.
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