In no world is losing a game ever a good thing, especially when you get handled by the No. 5 Iowa State Cyclones on the road in a 74-56 loss. A loss that put the brakes on an electric eight-game winning run.Â
You would be hard-pressed to find a meaningful bit of good when looking at Kansas’ most recent loss. KU notched just 27 points in the first half and was consistently pinned into situations that suffocated the 9th-ranked team and forced 10 turnovers over the first 20 minutes alone.
 A day to forget to say the least.
Yet, if you wanted to find a silver lining, one is staring directly at you in that the Jayhawks took down the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats in an 82-78 upset just five days beforehand, which you could argue has cushioned the blow of Saturday’s loss.Â
CBS Sports gives Kansas a big break
Earlier Sunday, CBS Sports updated its bracketology projections ahead of March, and Kansas was selected as the third seed in the East Region.Â
If you were to assume the highest seed wins in every matchup, Kansas would face No. 14 UC Irvine, No. 6 Tennessee, and No. 2 Nebraska, to whom they would eventually lose.Â
What is next for the Jayhawks?
It is safe to say that Bill Self and Kansas deserve a slight reprieve as each of Kansas’ next two opponents —Oklahoma State and Cincinnati— sit outside the top 50 in the KenPom, before the Jayhawks’ schedule amps back up and sees them take on No. 3 Houston and No. 1 Arizona with the latter away from home.Â
While Kansas has already beaten Arizona in the aforementioned upset, the Jayhawks have not taken on Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars yet this season, but currently hold a 6-5 all-time record and haven’t won since February 3rd, 2024, which has since resulted in a three-game losing streak against the gritty Cougars.
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