Few –if any– teams in the country have the pedigree of the Kansas Jayhawks. For head coach Bill Self, this 2025/26 iteration will be his 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament with Kansas, and the Jayhawks’ 36th consecutive appearance.
For several of Self’s years, KU was always tipped as one of the favorites to make it out of their region or at least to the region semifinal.
When an impressive mark like this was not reached, it was often seen as one of the biggest storylines across the nation, thanks to the reputation that Self and his predecessors have built.
However, since the Jayhawks lifted the 2022 national title, there has been a steady drop-off in KU’s performances as Self and Co. have not made it past the second round in the following three tournaments, slightly dimming the fear factor that Kansas once had.
Kansas has been firmly moved out of the spotlight
On Sunday, several CBS Sports analysts laid out their selections for who they each predicted to lift the national title come April, and unsurprisingly, none of the panel tipped No. 4 Kansas to even make it out of the East Region.
Clark Kellogg, Bruce Pearl & Seth Davis make their official Final Four predictions 👀#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/b2idbD1DvO
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 15, 2026
A daunting road ahead for Kansas to get back to national acclaim
In this year’s East Region, the Jayhawks were handed title contenders all around them in No. 1 Duke, No. 2 UConn, No. 3 Michigan State, and even the No. 5 seed St. John’s.
Now, by no means is it impossible for the Jayhawks to make it out of the region. Kansas has already faced the Blue Devils and the Huskies, and while both of those early-season matchups ended in losses, both were close in crunch time, and both were without the likes of Darryn Peterson.
Speaking of which, Peterson will have to have his fingerprints all over every game in order for KU to advance. While across the Big 12 Tournament, Peterson was most useful at getting to the line and drawing fouls with sprinkles of playmaking littered between Kansas’ two games, his shotmaking was way off the mark as the former five-star finished with just a 28.35% field goal rate that leaves a lot to be desired.
If Self can get players like Melvin Council Jr. and Tre White back to their best form, then the Jayhawks could easily soar into Elite Eight, Final Four contention. Both White and Council have gone on their own separate runs throughout the season to prove their ability to take over against any opponent. But with Kansas entering the Big Dance with a 4-4 record over its last eight games, there still lies plenty of room for doubt.
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