During the 2021-22 season, Kansas captured its second National Championship under Bill Self. In defeating North Carolina, 72-69, in the title game, Self’s squad finished the season with an overall record of 34-6, including 14-4 in Big 12 play.

Kansas closed out the season by winning its final 11 games, which included victories over TCU, Texas, West Virginia (Big 12 Tournament), TCU (Big 12 Tournament), Texas Tech (Big 12 Tournament), Texas Southern (NCAA Tournament), Creighton (NCAA Tournament), Providence (NCAA Tournament), Miami-FL (NCAA Tournament), Villanova (Final Four), and North Carolina in the National Championship game.

However, since cutting down the nets in New Orleans, La., during the 2021-22 season, the NCAA Tournament has been anything but memorable for Self and Kansas.

Kansas finished the 2022-23 season with an overall record of 28-8 and 13-5 in the Big 12. After losing to Texas in the Big 12 Tournament championship game, the Jayhawks were awarded a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and were scheduled to face Howard, the No. 16 seed, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.

Kansas, with Jalen Wilson (20), Gradey Dick (19), KJ Adams, Jr. (13), Dajuan Harris, Jr. (11), and Kevin McCullar, Jr. (10), thumped Howard, 96-68.

Up next for Kansas was a showdown against Arkansas, the No. 8 seed in the region. Despite leading by double-digits in the second half, the Jayhawks ultimately stumbled down the stretch, 72-71. Early on, it looked like Norm Roberts and Kansas would cruise past Arkansas and advance to the Sweet 16, but it was the Razorbacks that emerged victorious late.

Much like this season, Kansas entered last season as the No. 1 ranked team in college basketball. With the likes of Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris, Jr., Johny Furphy, Elmarko Jackson, Kevin McCullar, Jr., Parker Braun, KJ Adams, Jr., and Nicolas Timberlake, the Jayhawks appeared to be a legitimate National Championship contender.

Three big additions, Arterio Morris, Chris Johnson, and Marcus Adams, Jr., all left well before the start of the season. Jackson and Timberlake just didn't have the type of impact that most, if not all, expected heading into the season, while Dickinson and McCullar, Jr., suffered injuries at different points in the season.

With most of the starters playing a majority of the minutes, Kansas, down the stretch, simply ran out of gas. Awarded a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Jayhawks slipped past Samford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but eventually fell to Gonzaga, the No. 5 seed, 89-68, in Utah.

A National Championship contender when the season started, the Jayhawks finished with a final record of 23-11 and 10-8 in the Big 12. At times, Kansas looked like a legitimate title contender, but injuries and limited options off the bench prevented the Jayhawks from reaching their full potential.

Kansas, with another season of college basketball right around the corner, finds itself in a familiar spot. Self’s squad, just like last year, will enter the season as the No. 1 ranked team in college basketball.

Dickinson, Harris, Jr., McDowell, Adams, Jr., and Zach Clemence (redshirted last year) all return. Self also added Shakeel Moore, AJ Storr, Zeke Mayo, Rylan Griffen, Nosh Shelby, and David Coit from the portal, along with Rakease Passmore and Flory Bidunga from the high school ranks. Jackson, who played significant minutes last season, suffered a torn left patellar tendon this past summer and will miss the entire season.

With a loaded roster that features Dickinson, Harris, Jr., Storr, Mayo, Griffen, and others, the time for Kansas to make a deep run, a National Championship run, is now.

“It's super important,” said Dajuan Harris, Jr., when asked about the importance of making a deep run in March. “I'm tired of losing in the first weekend (NCAA Tournament) and then watching everybody else play the next four weekends.

“I want to go out with a bang,” he added. “I know they (teammates) do too. We’re all seniors, and we got a whole bunch of other seniors too, so I feel like we're an older team and I think that's going to help us with the experience-wise.”

Expectations are always high at the University of Kansas when it comes to its men’s basketball team, and this year is no different. If everything falls into place for Self and the Jayhawks, winning a third National Championship under Self is very much in play.

The journey from start to finish won’t be easy. Aside from an extremely challenging Big 12 schedule, KU’s non-conference schedule features North Carolina, Michigan State, Duke, Creighton, Missouri, and N.C. State.

By the time Selection Sunday arrives, few teams, if any at all, will be as battle-tested as Kansas.

“Well, first of all, excited to be here and excited for the season,” said Bill Self at Big 12 media day on Wednesday. “It's going to be another great year for our league, obviously, and the expectations are high. I think the expectations may be actually undersold a bit because I think there's actually more great teams in our league than maybe what people are talking about.

“I'm excited about my group,” he added. “I think we're better. I think we've got a better roster. I think we're deeper. How that translates into winning games when you play the schedule you're playing, I don't exactly know. But if things could fall right and have some good fortune, obviously, like everybody else from a health standpoint, if the pieces fit like I think they could, then I think potentially this could be one of our better teams.”