It’s not what the Kansas Jayhawks were hoping for, but they’ll take it.
“Should be a No. 1 seed,” senior guard Tyshawn Taylor said. “But we’re cool with that No. 2 seed.”
The Jayhawks (27-6, 16-2) enter the 68-team NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest region. Their first matchup is on Friday against No. 15 seed Detroit (22-13, 11-7) of the Horizon League in Omaha, Neb. If they defeat Detroit, they will face the winner of No. 7 Saint Mary’s and No. 10 Purdue.
No matter the seed for Kansas, it takes six victories to win a national championship.
Coach Bill Self said that while his team hoped for a No. 1 seed, it won’t harp on what could have been. Year after the year, the supposedly mighty always fall, so seeds are irrelevant.
“It never plays out the way that you had envisioned it,” Self said.
The Jayhawks have been a No. 1 seed the past two seasons, but they lost to No. 9 seed Northern Iowa in 2010 and No. 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth last year.
With all the prestige and national attention of a No. 1 seed, so too comes the pressure of expectations.
“We kind of felt like we had to win it,” Taylor said of those two teams. “I think we feel the same way this year, but I don’t feel like it’s on us as much.”
The Jayhawks weren’t surprised to hear that the selection committee chose them as a No. 2 seed behind No. 1 seeds Kentucky, Syracuse, North Carolina and Michigan State. Self briefed his team before the seeds were announced.
“I told them we blew that by not performing in Kansas City,” Self said.
In Friday night’s Big 12 tournament semifinal at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., Kansas fell 81-72 to the Baylor Bears. Despite defeating the Bears twice by an average of 16 points this season, the Jayhawks said they were tired. They played without the vigor that usually carries them to victories.
“When we do really guard and rebound, which I think are two key elements of toughness,” Self said, “our team takes a whole different dimension.”
Kansas’ first opponent, the Detroit Titans, started the season 9-11, but finished 13-2 en route to a Horizon League tournament championship. The Titans feature five double-digit scorers and are led by Ray McCallum Jr., the son of coach Ray McCallum Sr.
McCallum Jr., who was recruited by Self before he joined his father’s team, averages 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
“Ray is good enough to play for anybody, anywhere,” Self said. “Certainly whoever guards him, Elijah or Tyshawn, will have a big challenge ahead of him.”
The brackets are set. The teams are ready. And no matter the seeds, it’s on. It’s time for March Madness.
“If we prepare like we want to win and we’re kind of like an underdog,” Taylor said, “I think it’s going to be hard to beat us.”