The Kansas basketball team is reeling after consecutive losses on the road to both of the Big 12 Conference’s schools in Utah. Days after the Jayhawks were upset by the Utes in Salt Lake City, BYU clobbered them by 34 points to hand Bill Self the worst loss of his KU tenure.
No one has faith in KU right now, not even the majority of its fanbase. That’s why it is difficult to understand why Jay Bilas placed the Jayhawks so far up in his latest college basketball power rankings. While they will likely be unranked in the next AP Poll, Bilas listed them as the 15th-best team in the country:
NEW: College Basketball Top 25 per @JayBilas🏀https://t.co/QLOabrwL3G pic.twitter.com/pGrqTUWfse
— On3 (@On3sports) February 20, 2025
Jay Bilas inexplicably places Kansas at No. 15 in power rankings
Bilas has long been an advocate for Bill Self and the Jayhawks, even as a Duke graduate. He always praises Allen Fieldhouse and has called it one of the best venues in the sport on multiple occasions. With that being said, what was he thinking here?
"Jay, I love the optimism but I’m not sure KU is top 15 in the Big 12 right now," one KU fan joked.
This might have been a good landing spot for Kansas a few weeks ago, but the Jayhawks have completely crumbled in Big 12 play. They are tied for fifth in the conference with an 8-7 record and are on pace for the most losses in league play since 1983. It has been nothing short of a disastrous campaign for the preseason No. 1 squad.
It would be understandable to place them toward the back of the top 25 if he thinks the Jayhawks can rediscover the team they once were at the beginning of the season. But placing them at No. 15, which aligns with a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, is simply outrageous.
Bilas clearly has a different perspective about KU than others, so the Jayhawk faithful can only hope that he is right. Kansas’ next two games are against Oklahoma State and Colorado, two very winnable meetings.