Kansas Jayhawks: Remembering Big 12 Titles From Bill Self Era
Kansas Jayhawks guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (12) Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
2014-2015 Season
So here we are; The most current season in the Jayhawks’ Big 12 dynasty. As I finish this, KU had just beaten Baylor in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament and are currently waiting for their opponent in the finals.
A combined eight players left KU before the start of this season. Forwards Justin Wesley and Tarik Black and guard Nico Roberts graduated, guard Andrew Wiggins and center Joel Embiid both declared for the NBA draft, guard Naadir Tharpe declared for the NBA Developmental League draft.
With those players, guards Andrew White III and Conner Frankamp transferred to other schools.
As you can see from that long list of people that left, Bill Self was in need of some talent. He brought in four key players: power forward Cliff Alexander, point guard Devonte Graham, small forward Kelly Oubre, and shooting guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.
Each of these four players have been solid contributors to the Jayhawks’ success this season.
The Associated Press must like to keep KU at fifth or something. They had the Jayhawks ranked fifth for the preseason for the second year in a row.
KU would only lose two of their non-conference games, one of which was a 40-72 blowout to currently-undefeated Kentucky.
This year’s team has the talent to take the Big 12 tournament and, I think, make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.
Upon the start of conference play, the Jayhawks would win eight of the first nine games. Perry Ellis has been the work-horse for this team, currently scoring 14.2 points per game according to ESPN.com.
A positive note for this season is that KU went a perfect 15-0 inside Allen Fieldhouse. This proves that the Big 12 championship still runs through Lawrence, KS.
I’ll admit, I haven’t been able to watch many KU games this season due to my schooling but what games I do watch I can see that this KU team is very dangerous behind the three-point line. This is something that I haven’t really seen from KU.
Sure, KU has been decent at three-point range but they’ve been great this year with the exception of the poor streak they’ve been on lately.
The end of this regular season had the Jayhawks at 24-7 with a 13-5 record in Big 12 play. As we all know, this was good enough for Bill Self’s 11th consecutive conference championship.
This year’s team has the talent to take the Big 12 tournament and, I think, make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the Jayhawks are poised to be the second seeded team in the east bracket.
If the Jayhawks can find their three-point shot and can get forward Cliff Alexander back from an NCAA-imposed ineligibility, they could go far. I’d be lying if I said that I can see them making it all the way, but they could very well reach the Elite Eight again.
Well, there you have it; a look back at each of the 11 seasons that the Kansas Jayhawks have won (either outright or shared) the Big 12 championship.
Which season do you remember the most? Which was your favorite?