Bill Self and the University of Kansas men’s basketball team arrived at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., ahead of last week's Big 12 Tournament with something to prove.

Kansas, the No. 6 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, defeated UCF, the No. 14 seed, 98-94 in overtime. The following night, Self’s squad fell to Arizona, the No. 3 seed, 88-77.

In the two games against Central Florida and Arizona, Zeke Mayo logged 74 minutes, hit 12-25 field goals, 10-of-12 shots from behind the arc, pulled down 12 rebounds, dished out five assists, and committed six turnovers.

Mayo, during that two-game stretch, scored 44 points and, like he’s done so many times this season, converted a number of big shots when his team needed it the most.

Like every other team in the NCAA Tournament, Kansas has reached the point in the season where its next loss will be its last. On Sunday night, Self’s squad was awarded the No. 7 seed in the West Region and will open up NCAA Tournament play against Arkansas, the No. 10 seed, in Providence, R.I., on Thursday night.

Not long after the NCAA Tournament field was announced, Mayo, sitting next to Hunter Dickinson, talked about KU’s draw in the opening round.

“I mean, I think we like our draw, but I mean it's going to be tough no matter who you are in the tournament,” said Zeke Mayo while addressing a room full of media on Sunday night. “I mean it's March Madness, anything can happen.

“So I mean, we like where we're at,” he added. “We’re going to be a tough two games to win, but we're going to prepare as best as we can and look forward to it.”

Kansas, without question, will need Mayo, the 6-foot-4, 185-pound guard from Lawrence, Kan., to be at his very best when Kansas takes the court against Arkansas at 6:10 p.m. CT on Thursday night.

There’s no doubt that Mayo has the ability to be a difference-maker on the offensive end of the court for Kansas. He scored 19 points against Howard, 21 points against North Carolina, 26 points against N.C. State, 25 points against Brown, 27 points against West Virginia, 23 points against Arizona State, 24 points against Kansas State, 20 points against Arizona, 24 points against UCF, and, most recently, 29 points against Arizona in the Big 12 Tournament.

In fact, Mayo has scored in double figures 22 times this season. Additionally, he’s connected on two or more three-pointers 21 times this season. Mayo, in KU’s last three games, Arizona, UCF, and Arizona, hit 15-of-26 shots from behind the arc.

Playing the best basketball of his (Kansas) career, the NCAA Tournament can't begin soon enough for the native of Lawrence, Kan. For Self’s squad, the expectations might not be as high as in previous years, but when it comes to the NCAA Tournament, Mayo knows that anything is possible.

Those possibilities begin against Arkansas on Thursday night.

“Yeah, I mean, anybody should be excited for the month of March and then obviously heading into early April,” said Mayo. “But I mean, March Madness is the best tournament there is. I mean, anything can happen, upsets happen, but just to have the opportunity to go out there and play on a neutral floor, nobody really has an advantage.

“So it's just hooping at the end of the day and we're really excited for that,” he added.

As good as Mayo has been the previous three games, he hasn’t carried the scoring load entirely by himself.

Hunter Dickinson, the 7-foot-2, 265-pound center from Alexandria, Va., averages 17.6 points (leads team) and 7.3 rebounds (leads team) per game.

Dickinson, in the previous three games, has logged 104 minutes, hit 32-of-59 field goals, 6-of-11 shots from behind the arc, 7-of-9 free-throws, pulled down 35 rebounds, dished out seven assists, blocked three shots, was credited with four steals and scored a total of 75 points.

“Yeah, I mean whenever you get a chance to make the tournament, you can’t take it for granted because in my five years, I didn't make it one year, unfortunately, and that was a real bummer because it's the most fun experience of my life so far playing in those NCA tournament games,” said Hunter Dickinson when talking to a room full of reporters on Sunday. “They are so fun and it means so much and it happens so quick.

When Shakeel Moore (battling injury), Hunter Dickinson, AJ Storr, Dajuan Harris, Rakease Passmore, Zeke Mayo, Rylan Griffen, David Coit, KJ Adams, and Flory Bidunga are clicking on all cylinders, this particular Kansas team is capable of beating any team in the NCAA Tournament.

This season, Kansas has wins over North Carolina, Michigan State, Duke, Iowa State, and several others. Had the ball bounced differently on a number of occasions, including at home against West Virginia, Houston and Texas Tech, KU’s seed, along with expectations, would be quite different.

However, as Kansas fans are well aware, Self’s squad is also capable of losing to any team in the NCAA Tournament. It's not yet known which version of this year's Kansas team will take the court on Thursday night, but with the tournament opener against Arkansas looming, Dickinson is interested to see how the Jayhawks respond in Providence, R.I.

“You’ve got to try to value it and try to live in the moment as much as you can, but also, I think it's just being really conscientious of trying to give it your all, and I think as a team, I think we're already,” said Dickinson. “I think we know that our backs are kind of against the wall and that we don't have any margin for error anymore in that any mistakes that we make could be the end of our season, so it'll be interesting to see how we respond.”

When Kansas and Arkansas met (exhibition) back on October 25 inside Bud Walton Arena, the Razorbacks defeated the Jayhawks, 85-69. D.J. Wagner (24), Boogie Fland (22), and Zvonimir Ivisic (18) led the way for Arkansas in that first meeting.

Kansas, playing without Hunter Dickinson and Rylan Griffen, was led by Dajuan Harris (26) and Rakease Passmore (11).

Offensively, Arkansas shot 28-of-58 (48.3%) from the field, 6-of-24 (25.0%) from behind the arc, and 23-of-28 (82.1%) from the free-throw line.

Kansas, in the exhibition loss, shot 29-of-64 (45.3%) from the field, 7-of-23 (30.4%) from behind the arc, and 4-of-10 (40.0%) from the free-throw line.

Bill Self’s squad won the battle on the paint 44-40, had more second-chance points (13-8), and scored more points off the bench (13-10). However, Arkansas scored 21 points off turnovers to KU’s 12.

Self, when asked about facing Arkansas, said both teams are different this time around.

"Well, they're a different team obviously, and we will be a different team. Hunter didn't suit in that game, but a lot of that probably depends, for them, on health situation and how those two guys are from a health standpoint," said Self. "But it's a hard draw. But you deserve a hard draw. I mean, you're a seven seed, you're going to play a team that's similar to you regardless, and then you're going to have to play a team that's had one of the best years in the country in the second game, regardless if it was Arkansas, regardless if it was St. John's.

“So yeah, it's a hard draw, but that's the position that we're in, and every other No. 7 is in, but one, I like it. I'm looking forward to it. I think it'll be fun."