Red Raiders Maul Jayhawks

The Kansas Jayhawks needed a big win on the road over Texas Tech to maintain a strong position in the Big 12 title race. Unfortunately, they very much did not get it, suffering a 91-62 beatdown at the hands of the Red Raiders. No one wants to rehash that game, so I'll focus on what it means moving forward.

The most important thing at this point is KU's NCAA Tournament positioning. It's hard to see Kansas moving up to the 2 seed line, as there seems to be a big gap between the top 8 teams and the 3 seeds, as identified in the NCAA's early bracket reveal two weeks ago. However, a road loss to another strong team is unlikely to send them tumbling down the ranks. A win over Kansas State will help them maintain their standing as a 3 seed with a legitimate chance of playing in Kansas City in the first weekend.

As far as the Big 12 title race (and the streak) goes, KU is technically not out of it. However, they are behind the 8 ball and will need a lot of help to get a share of the title. They now sit two games behind KSU, and have fallen into third place with Tech moving ahead of them. The Jayhawks can close the gap between themselves and K-State to one with a win in Lawrence Monday night, but it's safe to assume they'll still be a game behind Tech, who hosts Oklahoma State.

From there, KU still has road games against both Oklahoma schools, and a home tilt with Baylor, with whom they're now tied for third. If they sweep those games, and both Tech and KSU drop one game, they can still do it.

However, using KenPom's win probabilities, KU has just a 21% chance of winning out, and asking both Tech and KSU to drop two out of four is an unenviable position. For now all they can do is put the Wildcats in their sights, and focus on winning the games in front of them.