Kansas is no stranger to that top seed, but it’s come with mixed results. In those 11 previous seasons, Kansas compiled a 358-45 record. That’s a winning percentage of .889. Only one of those seasons resulted in a national championship.
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The Jayhawks, as a No. 1 seed, have never lost in the first round in the tournament (to be fair, nobody has). Kansas is 8-3 in the second round, 5-3 in the Sweet 16, 3-2 in the Elite Eight and 1-2 in the Final Four. The 2008 team is the only one that played in the national championship game.
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This season’s Jayhawks will try to buck the trend. Here’s a look at those previous Kansas teams that played with the No. 1 seed.
1986
Record: 35-4Coach: Larry BrownStar players: Danny Manning (16.7 ppg.), Ron Kellogg (15.9)Reached: Final FourWhat happened: Kansas won its first four tournament games by an average of 16.3 points before falling 71-67 to Duke in the Final Four.
1992
Record: 27-5Coach: Roy WilliamsStar players: Rex Walters (16.3), Adonis Jordan (13.1)Reached: Second roundWhat happened: Kansas cruised in the first round before a shocking second-round loss to No. 9 seed UTEP. The Miners beat the Jayhawks 66-60.
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1995
Record: 25-6Coach: Roy WilliamsStar player: Jerod Haase (15.0), Raef LaFrentz (11.4), Jacque Vaughn (9.7)Reached: Sweet 16What happened: The Jayhawks ran into No. 4 seed Virginia in the Sweet 16, and a hot-shooting Harold Deane scored 22 points in a 67-58 victory.
1997
Record: 34-2Coach: Roy WilliamsStar players: Raef LaFrentz (18.5), Paul Pierce (16.3), Jeord Haase (12.0)Reached: Sweet 16What happened: This one hurts. The Jayhawks lost one game in the regular season, a two-overtime loss at Missouri. No. 4 seed Arizona, led by 21 points from Mike Bibby, beat the Jayhawks in the Sweet 16. Arizona went on to win the national championship.
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1998
Record: 35-4Coach: Roy WilliamsStar players: Paul Pierce (20.4), Raef LaFrentz (19.8)Reached: Second roundWhat happened: No. 8 seed Rhode Island shot 50 percent from the floor and got 27 points from Cuttino Mobley in an 80-75 victory.
2002
Record: 33-4Coach: Roy WilliamsStar players: Drew Gooden (19.8), Nick Collison (15.6), Kirk Hinrich (14.8)Reached: Final FourWhat happened: The Jayhawks won their first four tournament games by an average of 14 points per game before running into another top seed in Maryland in the Final Four. Juan Dixon scored 33 points to lead the Terrapins to a 97-88 victory.
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2007
Record: 33-5Coach: Bill SelfStar players: Brandon Rush (13.8), Mario Chalmers (12.2)Reached: Elite EightWhat happened: Kansas cruised through the first weekend before surviving 61-58 in the Sweet 16 against Southern Illinois. No. 2 seed UCLA denied Kansas a trip to the Final Four, however, in a 68-55 victory in the Elite Eight.
2008
Record: 37-3Coach: Bill SelfStar players: Brandon Rush (13.3), Mario Chalmers (12.8), Darrell Arthur (12.8)Reached: National championWhat happened: This is the team that got it done. Kansas nipped Steph Curry-led Davidson 59-57 in the Elite Eight before steam-rolling North Carolina 84-66 in the Final Four. Chalmers’ 3-pointer forced overtime against Memphis, and the Jayhawks went on to a 75-68 victory.
2010
Record: 33-3Coach: Bill SelfStar players: Sherron Collins (15.5), Xavier Henry (13.4), Marcus Morris (12.8)Reached: Second roundWhat happened: Ali Farokhmanesh and No. 9 seed Northern Iowa busted your bracket. Farokhmanesh drilled a three-pointer in the final minute to seal a shocking 69-67 upset.
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2011
Record: 35-3Coach: Bill SelfStar players: Marcus Morris (17.2), Markieff Morris (13.6)Reached: Elite EightWhat happened: Kansas had convincing wins against Boston, Illinois and Richmond to advance to the Elite Eight before falling victim to VCU and “Havoc.” The Rams beat the Jayhawks 71-61.
2013
Record: 31-6Coach: Bill SelfStar players: Ben McLemore (17.4), Jeff Withey (13.8), Travis Releford (10.8)Reached: Sweet 16What happened: The Jayhawks cruised to the Sweet 16, but Kansas blew a five-point lead with 21 seconds left when No. 4 Michigan’s Trey Burke hit a long-distance three-pointer to tie the game. The Wolverines won 87-85 in overtime.
