Kansas Jayhawks Score No. 2 Seed In Midwest Region
By John Viril

The good news is the Kansas Jayhawks landed a no. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The bad news is that they will have to beat undefeated Kentucky to make the Final Four after the 34-0 Wildcats earned the no. 1 seed in the Midwest.
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On Saturday, the Kansas Jayhawks lost the Big 12 title game to the 13th ranked Iowa State Cyclones 70-66 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. The loss is only the second time in the history of the Big 12 that KU lost the title game (2002).
On Sunday, the 9th ranked Kansas Jayhawks (26-8) received a no. 2 seed from the NCAA and a match-up against the 23-10 New Mexico State Aggies.
The Kansas Jayhawks made the NCAA tournament for the 25th consecutive time, which is the longest active streak in college basketball.
The Kansas Jayhawks have been something of an enigma this season, never able to show true dominance despite sporting three solid big men in forwards Cliff Alexander and Perry Ellis, along with center Hunter Mickelson. The team also has decent guard play from Wayne Seldon and likely one-and-done freshman Kelly Oubre.
Even so, this team never really seemed to gel. The Kansas Jayhawks lost on Saturday against the Cyclones after blowing a 17-point second-half lead. The loss, however, probably made little difference, since the Jayhawks seemed destined for a no. 2 seed no matter the result.
While coach Fred Hoiberg’s Cyclones are on a roll, pulling off their fifth straight win after overcoming a double digit lead, the loss is yet another disappointment for this year’s KU squad.
Earlier in the season, the Kentucky Wildcats rolled over the Jayhawks 72-40 in an embarrassing display on November 18 of last year, indicating this team simply wasn’t really ready for prime time.
Another 77-52 rout followed against the Temple Owls on December 22, and doubt began to set in among the Kansas Jayhawk faithful.
Kansas fans began calling the 2015 edition the worst team in the Bill Self era. Junior forward Jamari Taylor seemed puzzled by such talk. He told ESPN.com’s Dennis Dodd on March 13:
"“I’ve heard that [word] a couple years since I’ve been here,” junior forward Jamari Traylor countered. “We’re winning games.”"
Yet, Kansas Jayhawk fans cannot help but feel this team has under-achieved. In the same article Dodd wrote:
"Seasons shouldn’t be judged in a snapshot. For Self, this team has sometimes been a day-to-day proposition. Freshman five-star forward Cliff Alexander has underachieved and is currently sitting out with NCAA issues. Junior forward Perry Ellis is a 4.0 student whose major (flaw) has been aggressiveness. That doesn’t make him a bad person but it does raise questions with the fan base."
If the Kansas Jayhawks get past New Mexico as expected, they will face the winner between Wichita State and Indiana, with Notre Dame looming as the no. 3 seed in the bottom half of the draw.
There’s still time for Bill Self’s team to get it together. An NCAA tournament run could fix any lingering disappointment from the regular season.
But, the Kansas Jayhawks will still need to redeem themselves against no. 1 Kentucky.
Next: Remembering Big 12 Title Of The Bill Self Era
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