Kansas Jayhawks Basketball: Competition in Big 12 Getting Tougher

The Kansas Jayhawks have been used to winning the Big 12 over the past ten years, but this year the conference has looked even more solid than in the past. The Big 12 is normally one of the better college basketball conferences, but this year, it may be the best it has been in awhile.

Coming into the season, the preseason AP Top 25 had just four teams from the Big 12 included, but now about 10 weeks later, seven of the 10 Big 12 schools are in the AP Top 25 rankings. This includes:

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#9 Kansas

#11 Iowa State

#16 West Virginia

#18 Oklahoma

#20 Texas

#22 Baylor

#24 Oklahoma State

This counts for the most teams by far in the AP Top 25 than any other conference. The Big 12 is obviously getting tougher, and is starting to prove it’s dominance in college basketball this year.

Every team but Texas tech has appeared at least once this season in the Top 25. That in itself is pretty impressive.

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This is a good thing for the most part, as it makes for some good basketball for the fans. It can obviously be a bad thing as well, as this inexperienced Kansas squad is going to be challenged, and probably will lose a few more times before the tournaments begin.

The Kansas Jayhawks are now two games (and two wins) into their Big 12 schedule, and are heading into a tough stretch that includes Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Unfortunately, I think the Jayhawks will struggle against all four of these teams, and will be lucky to come out 3-1, in my opinion.

In fact, Kansas has 11 of their next 16 games against ranked opponents (as of the AP Top 25 rankings of week 10) in the Big 12, so a few more losses wouldn’t shock me at all with the way this team has looked at times.

Kansas has been inconsistent at times this season, and have the two worst losses in the Bill Self era when they were trampled by Kentucky and Temple during the non-conference portion of the schedule.

At times, they can look very good, as they did for most of the Texas Tech, but they need to play consistently better against the quality opponents ahead. This team still needs to find an identity, but hopefully that will emerge sooner rather than later.

Kansas fans should be ready for some good basketball games up ahead, but just prepare yourselves for a tough road from here on out for the Jayhawks.

Next: 2008 Champs: Where Are They Now?

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