Why KU coach Bill Self isn’t paying attention to bracketology ahead of 2025 postseason
Kansas, which currently is ranked No. 4 in the country in men’s basketball strength of schedule by ESPN.com (BPI), No. 14 by KenPom.com and No. 21 in NET, will close with perhaps its toughest three-game stretch of the entire 2024-25 season.
The unranked Jayhawks (19-9, 10-7) will play host to Texas Tech (21-7, 12-5) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse, travel to Houston (24-4, 16-1) for an 8 p.m. game Monday, then finish with a 3:30 p.m. home contest against Arizona (18-9, 12-4) a week from Saturday.
The Red Raiders currently are No. 10 in the AP Top 25, while Houston is No. 4 and Arizona No. 22.
“I could be wrong because I don’t know who everybody finishes with in the SEC, but there’s nobody that’s got a harder finish to their regular season than what we do,” KU coach Bill Self said Wednesday on his weekly Hawk Talk radio show.
ESPN ranks KU’s remaining schedule No. 2 in the country, behind only Alabama, which closes with Tennessee, Florida and Auburn.
“I mean, it’s a good, hard schedule. But it’s a great opportunity schedule, too,” Self said. “We need to get some momentum by playing against the best going into the postseason. Our guys will be very excited about it. I know I am.”
The Jayhawks, who have won two games in a row (Oklahoma State, Colorado) since dropping two on a road trip to Utah (Utah, BYU), currently are listed as a No. 6 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracketology of ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
That could change dramatically depending on how the Jayhawks fare in their final three contests.
“I probably in other years have looked by now, but I promise you I haven’t studied it. I don’t know Quad 1 wins and who has what or anything like that,” Self said of bracketology.
His Jayhawks are 4-7 versus Quad 1 teams and 5-2 against Quad 2.
“The bottom line is we’re in a position that we could be anywhere at all. We could be play our butts off from from this point forward and get a relatively good seed, or we could not close and then hope like heck on on a (Selection) Sunday. So I haven’t been thinking about anything other than us and we don’t need to rely on somebody else helping us. We need to go out and take care of our business,” KU’s 22nd year coach stated.
Saturday’s foe, Texas Tech, is 3-3 in its last six games. Included is a 69-61 loss to Houston on Monday in Lubbock, Texas.
The Red Raiders used just six players against Houston because of injuries.
To be successful Saturday, “we need to rebound the ball better,” Self said. “What did Colorado shoot the other day (38%)? I bet you our first-shot defense was 28%. When you make people miss, you’ve got to make them pay, and we’ve got to do a better job rebounding the ball and getting out and running it after that.
“I would say taking care of the ball and of course finishing possessions ... we’re going to have to do that obviously Saturday.”
Colorado outrebounded KU 46-31 in the Jayhawks’ 71-64 victory over the Buffs on Monday in Boulder.
KU senior Hunter Dickinson grabbed 13 boards to go with his KU-personal best 32 points. In the previous game, Saturday’s 96-64 win over Oklahoma State, Dickinson had 16 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. In each of the last two games, he’s had a steal that led to his own breakaway dunk (vs. OSU) and layup (vs. CU).
“Hunter has had a good last two games, no doubt, but that good week needs to stretch to Saturday. He needs to keep building off of that,” Self said of the 7-foot-2 senior.
Starters Dickinson, Dajuan Harris and KJ Adams all will be playing the final three regular-season games of their college careers in this upcoming stretch.
“When you are young you have a safety net underneath you and there’s always more time. But as you get older, and they’re older now, hey, there’s no longer a safety net,” Self said. “I mean, this is it. They’re on the highwire and that’s the way it is.”
