Five. That’s the number of conference losses Kansas basketball coach Bill Self believes he guarantees a conference title this Big 12 this season.
Currently, the KU no. 5 (21-5, 9-4 Big 12) is tied with No. 6 Texas (20-6, 9-4 Big 12) and No. ) first in the conference.
Each team has five conference games left, including all three schools playing each other once again.
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Kansas’ last five games: Baylor, TCU, West Virginia, Texas Tech and Texas.
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Baylor’s bottom five: KU, K-State, Texas, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State.
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Texas bottom five: Oklahoma, ISU, Baylor, TCU and Kansas.
To break the 13-5, league winning record Self predicted, each of these teams would need to go 4-1.
Kansas plays Baylor on Saturday at 3:00 PM at Allen Fieldhouse. ESPN will broadcast College GameDay in Lawrence before the game.
“GameDay adds to it, but I don’t think GameDay … makes it a bigger game (for gamers),” Self said. “I think it’s a pretty (damn) important game, whether GameDay was here or not. I still think both teams would be thrilled to play.
“It’s a great game. It’s a great game for many reasons: one, it’s the next game. It’s not the most important game we’ll play this year. It’s hardly the biggest game Baylor will play this year. But up to this point, probably the most important game we’ve played this year.”
Self believes the conference race comes down to simple math, which heats up in Saturday’s matchup.
“Anyone who goes 13-5 in our league, because when you look at it, we play each other,” Self said Thursday. “So someone has to lose in the games we play with each other. Obviously, if one team were to win, it would be done.
“There are opportunities for big wins, and there are also opportunities for someone to put you on everyone’s schedule.”
Self did not rule out a team winning the conference with more than five losses.
“Going to 12 (wins), while I don’t think it’s percentage played, I think there’s a chance he can get some of it,” Self said.
Ultimately, it was an eventful conference season for the Jayhawks.
“(Being tied first) means a lot; it seems like the season has flown by,” said Kansas forward Jalen Wilson. “It seems like just yesterday that we lost three games in a row (after starting 5-0 in conference play), but now we have put up some nice games, some good away games”.
Wilson believes the Jayhawks’ rise in the standings coincides with Self’s defense-oriented reputation.
“Now we’re back in the position we want to be in,” Wilson said. “It means a lot to really define what we really need to do to win, and that is to keep playing well defensively. In these last two, three games, we’ve really focused and focused on that.
