Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown in college basketball these days. Just ask Texas and Kentucky, the last two schools to briefly hold onto No. 1 before swiftly stumbling.
But with Saturday's 81-79 overtime victory at No. 10 Kansas State, the Kansas Jayhawks have returned to where they began the season as overwhelming favorites to cut down the nets at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on the first Monday night of April.
Not that KU seems overwhelmed by again ascending to the polls penthouse for the first time in three weeks.
"The only No. 1 that matters is when you're No. 1 at the end of the year," said point guard Sherron Collins, whose basket with 9.2 seconds left in overtime sealed the win at K-State.
"My goal for this team," Kansas coach Bill Self told the Kansas City Star on Sunday, "is to play to that ranking as opposed to being there."
Numero Uno is almost always an uncomfortable perch in college hoops during the regular season, even if the Jayhawks (20-1, 6-0 Big 12) handled it quite nicely until visiting Tennessee on Jan. 10.
KU was 14-0 at that point and seemingly invincible, its average margin of victory more than 25 points a game.
But the Volunteers changed all that with a stunning 76-68 triumph with only six scholarship players in uniform. Self was so enraged he kept his team inside the locker room for more than an hour after the defeat.
When he finally emerged, the coach who guided three schools -- Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas -- to the Elite Eight before winning it all with KU in 2008, said sourly, "I thought we were guys on islands. I thought we were looking out for ourselves. I do not think Kansas is a team yet."
Added center Cole Aldrich when asked to compare these Jayhawks to the national champions he played on as a freshman: "That team knew who it was. We're still figuring that out."
Of course, KU hasn't lost since, winning its six Big 12 games by an average of 15 points.
"They're at a different level than us as a basketball team," Texas Tech coach Pat Knight said after Kansas routed the Red Raiders 89-63 a couple of weeks ago. "They are probably at a different level than most of the teams in this league."
If they are, it begins with Collins and Aldrich, KU's axis of achievement. Now a savvy senior, Collins leads the team in scoring (16 ppg) and assists (4.3). Aldrich scores about 12 points a game, pulls down 10 rebounds a game and blocks more than three shots a contest.
Said Self of Collins after the K-State victory: "Sherron can play poorly, can play great, but regardless of the situation he can usually make a positive play when it matters most."
Said Kansas State coach Frank Martin of Aldrich after watching the 6-foot-11 junior total 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks: "Cole is the best center in college basketball."
Yet as the regular season hits its final third, the notion that Kansas is a prohibitive favorite is less certain, partly because of the uneven play of its many pieces beyond Collins and Aldrich.
Just last week, wing Tyshawn Taylor (7.2 ppg, 3.5 assists) was embroiled in a mini-controversy over a possible transfer. Fellow wing Xavier Henry, reportedly one of the nation's top five freshmen, has gone from hitting nearly 50 percent of his 3-pointers in the nonconference to just 24 percent in league games.
And as deep as the Jayhawks appear to be -- eight players average at least 15 minutes a contest -- they also appear slightly vulnerable to quick teams that can drive and dish, such as Baylor, Tennessee and K-State.
Some of the questions may be answered Monday night, when the Jayhawks travel to Texas, which has more athletes than anyone, even if it has had a harder time keeping them on the same page.
But assuming Kansas goes on to win the Big 12 and earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, a final thought from Texas Tech's Knight is worth repeating.
"Every once in awhile, special teams come around loaded with NBA-caliber guys," Bob Knight's son said. "Kansas is one of those teams."