Several once-highly ranked teams enter conference tournament week in need of wins to make NCAA field
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — This was a time early in the season when Kansas seemed to be an insurmountable juggernaut, full of high-profile transfers such as Zeke Mayo and AJ Storr, All-American candidates such as Hunter Dickinson and veterans accustomed to winning.
They were the preseason No. 1 in the AP Top 25. And for several weeks, the Jayhawks played like it.
But things hardly went according to script the rest of the season. They lost to longtime rival Missouri in a non-conference game, and dropped rare home games to West Virginia, Houston and Texas Tech. They plummeted out of the Top 25 altogether, ending a run of 80 consecutive weeks in the poll, and tumbled down the Big 12 standings.
Now, they enter their conference tournament as the No. 6 seed. And perhaps most importantly, they could be staring at the same seeding — or worse — in the NCAA tourney, where coach Bill Self's teams have never been worse than a No. 4.
'I think we're talented enough. We were the preseason No. 1 team in the country for a reason,' Dickinson said after a confidence-boosting win over Arizona on Saturday. 'We have the talent. But it's just a matter of going out there and showing it.'
They will get their chance beginning Wednesday, when they play Utah or UCF in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Kansas isn't the only once-highly ranked team trying to build some late-season momentum, though. In fact, the Jayhawks are one of 14 teams that were ranked in the preseason poll but no longer reside in it. Many are still locks to make the NCAA field Sunday, but others are teetering on the bubble and a couple may need to win their league tournaments just to qualify.
Unranked locks
Arizona dropped from the Top 25 this week after its loss at Allen Fieldhouse, but the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 tourney is still a good bet for a good seed on Selection Sunday. So is two-time reigning national champion UConn, which was ranked third in the preseason Top 25 but dropped out in early February and is seeded third in the Big East Tournament.
Other unranked locks include Creighton, the second seed in the Big East; Gonzaga, the No. 2 seed in the West Coast behind Saint Mary's; and Ole Miss, which was ranked as high as No. 16 this season and is seeded eighth in the SEC tourney.
Best of the rest
Baylor was ranked eighth in the preseason Top 25 but fell out by mid-January, and going 4-6 over its final 10 games ahead of the Big 12 tourney — where it is seeded seventh — hardly helps. Still, the Bears of VJ Edgecomb and Co. took second-ranked Houston to the wire last weekend, and picking up a win in Kansas City this week should be enough.
Arkansas, which was preseason No. 16, enters the SEC tourney having won four of five, and a win or two as the No. 9 seed could be important. The same goes for preseason No. 17 Indiana, which is likewise seeded ninth in the Big Ten Tournament.
Just keep winning
North Carolina is starting to resemble the preseason No. 9 in the country, but a slew of early losses — Stanford, Wake Forest, Pitt and Duke during one five-game stretch — has made life tough for the Tar Heels. They're seeded fifth in the ACC and could need at least two wins to make the NCAA field, and perhaps to save coach Hubert Davis' job.
Texas also could be playing for its coach, Rodney Terry, along with an NCAA berth. The Longhorns were preseason No. 19 but out by early January. They are are seeded 13th in the SEC and open with fellow bubble-dweller Vanderbilt on Wednesday.
Win it all
Cincinnati was ranked 20th and Rutgers was 25th in the preseason Top 25, but both probably need to win their conference tournaments to make the NCAA field. The Bearcats are seeded 13th in the Big 12 and play Oklahoma State on Tuesday, while the Scarlet Knights are 11th in the Big Ten and open with USC on Wednesday.
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