LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball bounced back Monday with a win at home against No. 4 Houston, earning a key victory as postseason play approaches.
The No. 14 Jayhawks (21-7, 11-4 in Big 12) had days earlier suffered a disappointing loss at home against Cincinnati. A win against Houston both puts KU’s season back on the right track, and gives it a resume victory for the NCAA tournament selection committee to consider. And the opportunities for more resume success continue Saturday at No. 2 Arizona.
That game against Arizona is one of three remaining regular season games for the Jayhawks, with a road game at Arizona State and a home game against Kansas State to follow. The Big 12 Conference tournament comes next, ahead of the NCAA tournament. Whether KU sweeps the rest of its regular season games or not, or wins the Big 12 tournament, it’s in position to be one of the top seeds in the NCAA tournament.
Ahead of these upcoming matchups, though, as of Tuesday morning here are the most recent NCAA tournament bracketology projections for Kansas:
USA TODAY — No. 4 seed
This projection places Kansas as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region, with a round of 64 matchup against No. 13 seed UNC Wilmington. Win, and the Jayhawks would go up against either No. 5 seed Alabama or No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin. The No. 1 seed in this region is Michigan.
ESPN — No. 3 seed
This projection places Kansas as the No. 3 seed in the East Region, with a round of 64 matchup against No. 14 seed Austin Peay. Win, and the Jayhawks would go up against either No. 6 seed Louisville, or one of a pair of No. 11 seeds in Missouri or Santa Clara. Of course, KU is well versed in what Missouri’s capable of having already beaten them during a neutral site game this season, and the Jayhawks beat Louisville in a preseason exhibition road game, too.
CBS Sports — No. 3 seed
This projection places Kansas as the No. 3 seed in the South Region, with a round of 64 matchup against No. 14 seed Austin Peay. Win, and the Jayhawks would go up against either No. 6 seed BYU or No. 11 seed Santa Clara. KU does have a win this season at home against BYU.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas basketball NCAA tournament bracketology projections for 2026