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Kansas coach Bill Self shows dejection after a Kansas State basket in the second half of the Sunflower Showdown game against Kansas inside Bramlage Coliseum on Feb. 5. Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kansas men's basketball isn't a national title contender this season

By Max Rego | Last updated 2/13/24

Another road test, another loss for Bill Self and the Jayhawks.

No. 6 Kansas were boat raced by Texas Tech on Monday evening, as the Red Raiders never trailed en route to a 79-50 home victory. Kansas shot a meager 32.7% from the field, hit just three triples and was outrebounded 42-26.

It marked the Jayhawks’ four Big 12 road loss in as many tries, and their worst defeat to a conference opponent since a 29-point loss to Texas Tech in February of 2019. Oh, and Self was ejected with just under six minutes to go for protesting the officiating.

"They're down. I didn't spend a lot of time talking," Self told reporters of the postgame mood in the locker room. "I mean, this isn't the time to talk. So we'll bounce back, but they're down."

Bill Self is ejected from Kansas' game at Texas Tech. pic.twitter.com/xrYZwb1Y8q
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) February 13, 2024

From a micro perspective, Kansas (19-6, 7-5 in the Big 12) will move forward and get things corrected, there’s no doubt about that. Self is too good of a coach, and the Jayhawks — who are just 1.5 games back of No. 3 Houston for first place in the conference — have too much to play for.

But the macro look yields a grimmer truth for the Jayhawks. Monday night’s drubbing was a symptom of a concerning diagnosis — Kansas is not a national championship contender this season.

Before you throw your hands up in disgust, let me explain. First, the metrics. Kansas is 18th at KenPom, behind struggling Wisconsin and underperforming Michigan State, and 13th at Bart Torvik. That type of profile does not quite scream contender, wouldn’t you say?

Plus, there’s the Jayhawks’ disturbing lack of depth. Their five leading scorers — wing Kevin McCullar Jr., big man Hunter Dickinson, forward K.J. Adams Jr. and guards Johnny Furphy and Darren Harris Jr. — can make up an elite starting and closing lineup.

But other than that group, does Kansas have any true difference-makers? The Jayhawks have no other players that average at least five points per game, and rank 340th nationally in bench points per contest (11.96).

In the NCAA Tournament, when a key piece inevitably deals with foul trouble, Self needs to have someone he can rely on to fill the gaps. As of right now, it’s unclear whether that player exists for Kansas.

The Jayhawks are not, of course, on the verge of falling apart. As of Tuesday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has them penciled in as the final No. 2 seed.

Upcoming matchups against No. 25 Oklahoma (Saturday), Texas (Feb. 24), No. 19 BYU (Feb. 27) and No. 12 Baylor (Mar. 2), pose a challenge, but also an opportunity for Kansas to right the ship. Self acknowledged on Monday that, coming off a grueling 64-61 win over the Bears last Saturday, the Jayhawks “need to get our legs back under us.”

But Kansas’ current reality is this: it’s a team capable of knocking off any team in the toughest conference in the country, but one that struggles to stack wins when the stakes rise.

That’s not quite contender material.

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