After Saturday’s loss at West Virginia, KU dropped to 11–5 on the season and 1–2 in the Big 12 for the first time in 20 years. Whenever a historic program like Kansas struggles to win games, regardless of resume, it is sure to spark conversation across social media, and the dialogue is typically not very pretty.
With the Jayhawks already securing quality victories over the likes of Tennessee, NC State, and TCU, it’s not all bad in Lawrence. However, KU fans were hoping this year would tell a different story than the past two seasons (23–11 in 2023–24; 21–13 last season). Despite having Darryn Peterson back in the lineup since the start of Big 12 play, Kansas has once again been trending in the wrong direction.
Social Media Discourse
Most of the national reporters quickly took to social media to share their opinions on this Jayhawks team, with many fans prematurely weighing in, most often on Peterson and Bill Self.
One person who weighed in on the loss to the Mountaineers was CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein. After the game’s conclusion, Rothstein tweeted two of his three most-viewed tweets of the weekend. The first tweet started out light, saying, "West Virginia Basketball. Tougher than a long weekend at your in-laws."
Rothstein followed that up with a more critical tweet about the losing side, saying, "I'll say it again: Kansas is not a top-five team in the Big 12 with or without Darryn Peterson." His statement sparked debate across the platform, with Jayhawk fans genuinely questioning whether it could be true.
Is Kansas a Top-Five Team in the Big 12?
It’s obvious that KU is no longer accustomed to the dominance it has seen in the past and is clearly outside the top group of teams in the conference. Arizona (16–0), Iowa State (16–0), Houston (15–1), and BYU (15–1) have a remarkable combined record of 62–2 this season. The Jayhawks already have more than twice as many losses as those four teams combined.
Though Kansas may never catch this elite group of four in the regular season, they still have time to prove they belong in the top five of the conference. Outside of the Jayhawks, the main competition for that fifth spot in the Big 12 will likely come from Texas Tech, and possibly teams such as UCF, West Virginia, or TCU as well.
Although KU had a positive non-conference slate despite Darryn Peterson missing the majority of it, the team has struggled to win since he returned to the rotation. It would be ludicrous to suggest that the potential top pick in the NBA Draft has been a negative asset, as such a claim is completely false.
It has undeniably taken an extended period of time for the lineup to mesh and get used to one another since Peterson returned. Bill Self said the team has not yet adapted to the mentality he has been trying to instill, noting that they need to stop allowing opponents to believe they can win, especially as Kansas navigates the gauntlet that is the Big 12.
If it weren’t for the Jayhawks’ marvelous comeback against TCU last Tuesday night, this team would be in an extremely rough spot at 0–3 in Big 12 play, a scenario that would be hard to fathom for Bill Self and this program, though it came very close to happening.
Kansas went 1–2 during one of the easiest stretches of Big 12 play, and it will only get tougher from here. Five of KU’s next six games will either be home matchups against ranked teams (vs. Iowa State, vs. BYU) or difficult road contests (at Colorado, at Kansas State, at Texas Tech). Now is the time for Darryn Peterson, Bill Self, and the Jayhawks to prove they still belong in the national conversation.
Undefeated Iowa State is Coming to Town
Only time will tell whether Kansas is truly a top-five team in the Big 12. Appropriately, they'll have an enormous opportunity to show the country who they are on Tuesday night in Lawrence, as they face off against second-ranked Iowa State. A win would likely catapult KU back into the Top 25 and place the program on the positive side of the media once again.
The Cyclones have already pulled off the biggest win in college basketball this season, capturing a massive 23-point road victory over the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena in December.
It will be an extremely tall task and one of the few all-time games in which Kansas will be underdogs at home, but if there is any team–venue combination capable of taking down a Goliath, it’s the Jayhawks inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Tune in as KU attempts to avoid falling to 1–3 in Big 12 play for the first time since 1988, when they were in the Big 8 and coached by Larry Brown. Ironically, despite starting 1–4 in Big 8 play that season, Kansas went on to capture its second national title, fueled by Danny Manning’s miraculous run during the NCAA Tournament.
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. local time, and the game will be televised on ESPN.
All it takes is one big win for a team to get its season back on track. Can the Jayhawks pull off the difficult task tonight against the undefeated Cyclones in the Phog?
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