Before 2021, the last time the Jayhawks were unranked was all the way back in 2009, so folks have become accustomed to seeing Bill Self’s squad inside the Top 25.
The fall from the Top 25 ended an 80-week streak for Kansas which was the second longest streak in men’s college basketball.
Early-season wins over North Carolina and Duke made it look like the Jayhawks would be contenders for a national championship when March rolled around, but that no longer seems like the case.
Kansas has struggled at times this season, so as during its current eight-game stretch in which it is 3-5, including losses to unranked teams such as Kansas State, Utah and Baylor.
The Jayhawks are tied for No. 122 in the country in scoring (76.1), and they allow the 59th-most points (67.4) per game.
A blowout victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday was a step in the right direction, but the schedule only gets tougher the rest of the season.
The Jayhawks’ remaining three games after Monday’s bout against Colorado are against No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 4 Houston and No. 22 Arizona. Kansas has lost to Houston once already this season but has not yet matched up against the other two teams.
A rough stretch to end the season could see the Jayhawks on the brink of completely missing out on the NCAA Tournament.
