The Historic Impact and Implications of this Kansas NCAA Tournament Run

Breaking down a few of the stats and records either achieved or within reach for the Kansas Jayhawks this week.

The Kansas Jayhawks are one of 16 teams still dancing this March, and while Saturday’s grind-it-out victory over Creighton was still just one step in a greater goal, it — and what may not lie ahead — had both short-term and big-picture historical implications.

Let’s start with the short term. The second round has been a fairly significant hurdle for the Jayhawks and Bill Self, especially of late. Kansas has been blasted in the last two second rounds before Saturday, and heading into Saturday’s game, Self was 10-5 in the second round at KU.

Apropos of nothing:

Bill Self at Kansas
First Round: 16-2
Second Round: 10-5
Sweet 16: 8-2
Elite Eight: 3-5
Final Four: 2-1
NC Game: 1-1

Odd rounds: 26-5 (83.9%)
Odd rounds w/o first round: 10-3 (76.9%)
Even rounds: 14-11 (56%)

— Kevin Flaherty (@KFlahertyKCSN) March 18, 2022

Making the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament has been the point of distinction between the good and potentially great Kansas teams. The flaws of the 2019 and 2021 teams, among others (I’m thinking of the 2015 team that lost to Wichita State), showed themselves in the second round, especially, as Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star points out, those opponents have shot as well as Creighton did.

Now, as Kevin Flaherty outlines in the tweet above, the Jayhawks will go into the Sweet 16 as a favorite in a situation where Self has historically been hard to beat with five days to prepare. But the win, and more victories in Chicago this week, could shape the narratives of both players and program in bigger ways.

The program significance has been discussed at length. Kansas and Kentucky are currently tied for the most program wins all time, and a trip to the Elite 8 would put the Jayhawks atop the college basketball mountain heading into next season. But there’s a few others to touch on as well. 

• The Sweet 16 appearance also tied Duke for four all-time at 32.
• An Elite 8 run would be Kansas’ 25th all time.
• A trip to the Final Four would be KU’s 16th, also tied with Duke (barring that the Blue Devils don’t make it this year) for fourth most all time.
• This is Self’s 10th 30-win season at Kansas and his 11th as a head coach. It’s also worth noting those 10 30-win seasons at KU are in a 16-year span 

The second weekend could also help a few specific players move up in the record books and hit specific milestones.

For Remy Martin, his late-season surge is inching him closer to a huge career accomplishment. Martin only needs 36 points to reach 2,000 career points.

Meanwhile, Ochai Agbaji is not only four points away from 1,600 for his career, but his 676 points this season are close to getting him in the top 10 at Kansas for most points in a single season. He needs 16 points to pass Thomas Robinson for 10th and join the likes of Danny Manning, Wilt Chamberlain, Paul Pierce, Frank Mason, and Nick Collison on that list.

And speaking of single-season records, David McCormack is just 10 offensive rebounds shy of tying Drew Gooden for the most offensive boards grabbed in a season at 126. McCormack is currently in fourth place, as Nick Collison grabbed 124 and 125 in back-to-back seasons.

Finally, moving to the defensive glass, Jalen Wilson is 14 defensive rebounds away from passing Wayne Simien for 10th on the single-season defensive rebounding list all time at 203.

Multiple reporters covering the sport have mentioned that this is not one of Bill Self’s most talented teams, while applauding its intangibles. This may be the case, but the members of this team are on pace to be among the most productive and accomplished in recent KU history.