Why Kansas won't potentially play in Kansas City in the Sweet Sixteen
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The Kansas Jayhawk fanbase and men's basketball program is mostly disappointed with their location for the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
The Jayhawks are the number one seed in the West Region going to Des Moines, Iowa in the First and Second Round, with a trip to Las Vegas on the line for the Sweet 16.
Houston received the number one seed in the Midwest Region with a trip to Kansas City for them if they make the Sweet 16.
They received that region because they were a higher overall seed than Kansas at number two with Kansas at number three.
According to NCAA selection committee chair Chris Reynolds, Houston's Quad 1 and 2 wins were slightly more impressive than Kansas'.
"Houston, they were competitive in all their games that they lost except for today," Reynolds said on the broadcast. Reynolds noted that Houston lost the American Athletic Conference Tournament Final to Memphis without their best player, guard Marcus Sasser.
Reynolds also said head coach Bill Self's hospitalization with a heart procedure factored into the seeding as well. Self is expected to join the team on Monday.
The quadrant system is based on the NET rankings and helps the committee determine how many quality wins a team has on its resume.
In addition to the rankings, the location of the game also helps determine which quad a win or loss falls into.
NET rankings replaced RPI as the committee's evaluation tool when placing teams with at-large bids into the tournament.
The four quadrants are:
- Quad 1: Home 1-30, Neutral court 1-50, Away 1-75
- Quad 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
- Quad 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 136-240
- Quad 4: Home 161-357, Neutral 201-257, Away 241-357
Houston was 15-2 in Quad 1 and 2 games while KU was 21-7 in Q1+2 games. Kansas also has the number one strength of schedule in the country while Houston's is at 96.
The Jayhawks said they're ready to play anywhere but made it clear that it is disappointing to not be playing close to home.
“I’m still shocked we didn’t get the Midwest Regional,” forward KJ Adams said.
“You’re still the number one, but obviously we would have loved to play in Kansas City,” assistant coach Norm Roberts said.
KU will face 16-seed Howard in the First Round on Thursday, March 16 at 1 p.m. on TBS.