The Kansas Jayhawks have seen a topsy-turvy start to their 2025-26 campaign. Despite what a 3-2 record may initially read, there have been both flashes of brilliance and, to put it bluntly, missed opportunities every time the Jayhawks have stepped onto the court.
The one thing that Kansas has shown in nearly every minute under head coach Bill Self is that they are one of the elite teams in the nation. The Jayhawk fandom has grown all too comfortable with a ranking beside their name, but now things are different.
Minutes ago, the AP Top 25 poll was revealed, and Kansas found itself excluded for the first time since 2021, according to Henry Greenstein of The Lawrence Journal-World.
There was a 12-year streak that ended in 2021, then resumed for another four years.
— Henry Greenstein (@HenryGreenstein) November 24, 2025
Is this fair?
This is not a black-and-white answer; when that usually is the case, the answer is “maybe.” Listen, when Kansas has five-star Darryn Peterson on the court, many people assume it is a one-man band, when in reality, yes, Peterson will draw the headlines and deservedly so, but the floor is opened up a lot more when the attention gravitates towards No. 22, but it also gives space for players like Flory Bidunga to dominate more in the middle, and it allows for kickout which open up sharp nights from Bryston Tiller like in Kansas’ 87-74 loss to the No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels.
So when you take away Peterson, the team does grow more flat, but it is not due to the fact that the players Self fields are not top-rated talent; rather, they just miss the cog that helps make things flow.
In the second half against the Tar Heels, the Jayhawks allowed a monster 58-point period. Unacceptable for a team of elk. Yet, days later, without Peterson, Kansas stood a very good chance of taking down the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils, drawing Duke’s lead to three late in the second half before simply running out of gas, in the eventual 78-66 loss.
Assuming Peterson was there, Kansas likely would have been the victors, but the game can not be played in hypotheticals. And the Jayhawks have had two games against elite competition to prove they could keep up with and without Peterson, and in both those matchups, Kansas has fallen short.
However, if the Jayhawks can pull together a strong Players Era Festival, which tips off at 2:30 on TNT against Notre Dame, then against Syracuse tomorrow, the Jayhawks should be able to soar back to where they belong.
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