Kansas has been in this spot before, right at home. The Jayhawks roll into KC having with a league title, a big winning streak, serious momentum and the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. So what do they Jayhawks have to play for? Not much, and this thing could go either way.  KU is perfectly capable of being bounced early at Sprint Center, and it’s happened before when they don’t have much to play for.  But they also have a chance to make it 10 tournament titles in 20 years of the Big 12 tournament. Amazing.

In the long run, KU fans understand this event is just some window dressing. An appetizer and salad before your steak is served . For KU, the Big 12 Tournament is for their fans, some of which may not be able to regularly get tickets in Allen Field House. The Big 12 Tournament is awesome, Kansas City continues to do a great job with this event, and it’s here to stay. Tickets For Less has all your ticket needs covered throughout the weekend.

The Big 12, as a conference, has something to prove this month if they want to continue to be called the toughest league in the country. Typically, the Big 12 is great during the regular season, but awful in the NCAA Tournament. People are about to catch on if this league doesn’t produce some strong performances starting next week. ISU, Baylor, and KU all were unable to make it out of the first weekend.  Ridiculous. The perception of the Big 12 by those really paying attention is, “the league that just beats each other up during the regular season and then can’t win in March.” Last year was a prime example.

This year is supposed to be different. The Big 12, at one point,  may have had the two best teams in the country with KU and OU. West Virginia was not far off from them.  There is no doubt the computer believes this is the best conference, but these teams must show up when it counts in the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas is the best team in the country. They have depth, they play great defense when they need to, they have senior leadership, and Bill Self. We have a field this year with elite level teams with senior leadership. It’s not about one-and-dones this year. LSU has Ben Simmons but barring a miracle, they won’t be in the NCAA Tournament. Duke has one that is a lottery pick with Brandon Ingram, but they also have veteran leadership and good shooters.

Even though the one-and-done era has taken over college basketball, recent history shows us that it takes senior leadership to win down the stretch in the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin had a bunch of seniors last year, and beat Kentucky’s one-and-done players. A year before that, UConn with Shabazz Napier beat Kentucky’s one-and-done players.

Everyone is saying this is the year that a mid-major can sneak up on a final four. Maybe, but we know there is no parity when it comes to National Champions. It’s a blue-blood every year that wins it. I don’t think that changes this year. I’m not only predicting a blue blood, I’m calling a title for a blue blood with blue uniforms. Write it down.