LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball has been projected as a No. 3 seed and a No. 10 overall program in Saturday’s reveal of the top 16 teams by the selection committee for the upcoming NCAA tournament.
The Jayhawks, ranked No. 12 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, were seeded No. 3 in the East Region. Duke, Illinois and Vanderbilt are also in that region, as the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 seeds, respectively. KU has yet to play Illinois or Vanderbilt this season, but did suffer a loss in a neutral-site game against Duke.
Kansas is the fourth-highest Big 12 Conference school in the top 16 teams, trailing No. 3 Arizona, No. 4 Iowa State and No. 6 Houston. Arizona and Iowa State are both No. 1 seeds, while Houston is a No. 2 seed. So far this season, the Jayhawks have defeated Arizona at home and split a home-away series with Iowa State.
Kansas will have the opportunity to improve its seed and overall ranking on Monday, at home against Houston. On Saturday, the Jayhawks face Cincinnati at home. Kansas has yet to lose against a Big 12 opponent inside Allen Fieldhouse this season, but has lost in Lawrence against UConn — which is projected as the No. 5 overall team in the top 16 and a No. 2 seed.
NCAA selection committee’s top 16 ranking
- Michigan
- Duke
- Arizona
- Iowa State
- UConn
- Houston
- Illinois
- Purdue
- Florida
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Gonzaga
- Texas Tech
- Michigan State
- Vanderbilt
- Virginia
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: Where Kansas basketball ranks in NCAA selection committee’s top 16