Kansas head coach Bill Self as he speaks to media members during a news conference following the NCAA Tournament selection show on CBS, Sunday, March 13, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan. The Jayhawks were given the No. 1 seed in the South Regional and will play Austin Peay on Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa. (Nick Krug/The Lawrence Journal-World via AP) MANDATORY CREDITDES MOINES, Iowa – Kansas might never have a better shot at its second national title under coach Bill Self than this year.
The Jayhawks (30-4) won the Big 12 Conference’s regular-season and tournament titles and were the best men’s basketball team in arguably the best league in America. They open NCAA tournament play today against surprising Austin Peay (18-17) as the No. 1 seed in the South Region.
But after second-round losses in its past two NCAA tournaments as a No. 2 seed, Kansas is more focused on the first weekend than the Final Four.
“It motivates us a lot,” Jayhawks senior Perry Ellis said. “We’ve experienced what it feels like to lose, and we just don’t want that. I feel like we’re a really focused team and we’re ready to get after it.”
Austin Peay was 12-17 as recently as mid-February before a stunning run through the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. The Governors needed a loss by Eastern Kentucky on the last day of the regular season to even make their league tournament, where they became the first No. 8 seed to reach the final. They then made a school-record 16 3-pointers to beat UT-Martin and clinch their first NCAA bid in eight years.