Bill Self, in his first 20 years at Kansas, won 16 Big 12 regular-season championships and never finished lower than third in the league. Fourteen of those conference titles were collected in consecutive years, which is something I assume will never again be duplicated at the power-conference level. Combine that theory with two national championships, and not only is Self a deserving member of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, he also belongs very high on any list of all-time great college basketball coaches.
But things have slipped.
That’s not an opinion. It’s a fact. And the best way to illustrate it is to, again, highlight that, in Self’s first 20 years at KU, he won 16 Big 12 regular-season championships and never finished lower than third in the league. But the past three seasons have unfolded differently, specifically this way:
- Year 21 at KU for Self: 10-8 in the Big 12, tied for fifth in the league standings.
- Year 22 at KU for Self: 11-9 in the Big 12, alone in sixth in the league standings.
- Year 23 at KU for Self: 1-2 in the Big 12, alone in ninth in the league standings.
Like I noted on Sunday’s episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast, the Jayhawks are now projected to finish 9-9 in the Big 12, according to KenPom.com . If they do, they will have gone 30-26 in league games over a three-year span with three consecutive finishes outside of the top four in the conference standings. That is something that literally never happened in Self’s first two decades guiding this blue-blood program — but it could happen for a third straight year this season unless Kansas outperforms current expectations.
College basketball buy or sell: Is Kansas’ Darryn Peterson still the best prospect in the 2026 NBA Draft?
Cameron Salerno
Which is why Tuesday night’s game with Iowa State, inside Allen Fieldhouse, is a massive contest for Self and his program. There was a time, not too long ago, when you’d never pick against the Jayhawks at home, regardless of their opponent or their opponent’s ranking or record. But, on this Tuesday night, Kansas is actually a 3.5-point underdog to an Iowa State team that’s 16-0 and second in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Arizona remains No. 1.
Is KU still KU?
Tuesday is a statement game, in that regard, one way or another. If the Jayhawks upset the Cyclones, it’ll serve as a reminder that they’re still a blue-blood program still guided by a Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach, and still led by the likely No. 1 overall pick (Darryn Peterson) in the 2026 NBA Draft. That would be ideal for Kansas. But if the Jayhawks lose, whatever troubling questions are already hovering around the program will likely get more intense, and also more reasonable.
Add Comment