The 2022 calendar year has been one to remember for fans of the Kansas men’s basketball team, with a national title secured and a promising follow-up campaign underway.
In its first season since Kansas sports betting launched, Bill Self’s squad has jumped out to a 10-1 start, with its lone loss coming to Tennessee, 64-50.
Aside from that stumble, the Jayhawks have looked just as confident as they did last spring, when they secured the program’s first national title in 14 years.
It appears oddsmakers at BetMGM Sportsbook Kansas see Self’s squad as a solid bet in 2023, with the Jayhawks sitting in a tie for sixth with Kentucky, Baylor and Gonzaga at +1600 to win it all.
Unsurprisingly enough, the Jayhawks are among the leaders to win the Big 12, with BetMGM listing Kansas at +225 to capture their 17th conference crown in 18 years, ranking behind Texas, which is listed at +150.
BetKansas.com took a look at how Self’s squads have fared in Big 12 play since the Oklahoma native came to Lawrence two decades ago.
Kansas’ Big 12 records under Bill Self
- 2003-04: 12-4 (3rd)
- 2004-05: 12-4 (1st)
- 2005-06: 13-3 (1st)
- 2006-07: 14-2 (1st)
- 2007-08: 13-3 (1st)
- 2008-09: 14-2 (1st)
- 2009-10: 15-1 (1st)
- 2010-11: 14-2 (1st)
- 2011-12: 16-2 (1st)
- 2012-13: 14-4 (1st)
- 2013-14: 14-4 (1st)
- 2014-15: 13-5 (1st)
- 2015-16: 15-3 (1st)
- 2016-17: 16-2 (1st)
- 2017-18: 13-5 (1st)
- 2018-19: 12-6 (3rd)
- 2019-20: 17-1 (1st)
- 2020-21: 12-6 (2nd)
- 2021-22: 14-4 (1st)
- Total: 263-63 (.807)
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Big 12 Play a Slam Dunk for Jayhawks Under Self
Self took what was already a well-oiled machine and made it a five-man tour de force in Lawrence, breaking the NCAA’s record for consecutive regular season conference titles in a row while making Big 12 play look like child’s play.
KU managed to win either a share of or the outright Big 12 regular season title each season between 2005 and 2018, which set a record for the longest streak in NCAA history.
The Jayhawks still hold the record for the longest NCAA Tournament appearance run, which currently is at 32 seasons and counting, with the last KU squad to miss out on the Big Dance being Roy Williams’ first squad in 1989.
Since arriving in Lawrence from Champaign-Urbana in 2003, Self has posted a Big 12 winning percentage above .800, while building on the legacy Williams left when he departed for UNC.
Self has won at least 12 Big 12 games in each of his first 19 seasons, with KU going 144-42 since the conference expanded league play to 18 games in 2011-12.
How the Jayhawks Look Entering Big 12 Play
Things are looking rather rosy in Lawrence this winter as well, with the Jayhawks hammering each of their last four opponents, in Texas Southern, Seton Hall, Missouri, and Indiana — all of whom KU beat by double digits.
Self and company have one more non-conference tune-up game against Harvard at Phog Allen Fieldhouse on Thursday, before opening Big 12 play — the first since Kansas sports betting apps were made legal in September — at home against Oklahoma State on New Year’s Eve.
KU is one of four Big 12 programs, along with Kansas State, TCU, and Texas, to have one loss at this juncture.
The Jayhawks conference opener will come against the team with the lowest win percentage of the bunch, as Oklahoma State is currently 7-4 this season.
From there, KU heads on the road to play Texas Tech and West Virginia in early January, before returning home for a two-game homestand against Oklahoma and Iowa State.
With a good start, Self’s squad will be well positioned to capture the program’s 18th Big 12 regular season title in 19 years, continuing a run that’s unmatched in major college basketball.
