How many games will it take to win Big 12? KU basketball’s Bill Self gives his guess

Shreyas Laddha
Nick Krug/AP

Five. That’s the number of conference losses Kansas basketball coach Bill Self believes guarantees a conference title this Big 12 this season.

Currently, No. 5 KU (21-5, 9-4 Big 12) is tied with No. 6 Texas (20-6, 9-4 Big 12) and No. 9 Baylor (20-6, 9-4 Big 12) for first in the conference.

Each team has five conference games left, including all three schools playing each other one more time.

  • Kansas’ final five games: Baylor, TCU, West Virginia, Texas Tech and Texas.

  • Baylor’s final five: KU, K-State, Texas, Oklahoma State and Iowa State.

  • Texas’ final five: Oklahoma, ISU, Baylor, TCU and Kansas.

To reach 13-5, Self’s projected league-winning record, each of those teams would have to go 4-1.

Kansas plays Baylor at 3 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. ESPN will air College GameDay in Lawrence prior to the matchup.

“GameDay adds to it, but I don’t think GameDay ... makes it a bigger game (to the players),” Self said. “I think it’s a pretty (darn) big game regardless of whether GameDay was here or not. I still think both teams would be excited to play.

“It’s a big game. It’s a big game for a lot of reasons: One, it’s the next game. It’s not the biggest game we are going to play this year. It’s certainly not the biggest game Baylor’s gonna play this year. But up until this point, probably about the biggest game we’ve played this year.”

Self believes the conference race comes down to simple math — which heats up in Saturday’s matchup.

“Anybody that goes 13-5 in our league — because when you look at (it), we play each other,” Self said on Thursday. “So somebody has got to lose in the games we play each other. Obviously, if a team were to win out, it would be done.

“There’s opportunities for great wins and there’s also opportunities for somebody to get you on everybody’s schedule.”

Self didn’t rule out a team winning the conference with more than five losses.

“Getting to 12 (wins), although I don’t think that’s the percentage play, I do think there’s a chance that could get a piece of it,” Self said.

Ultimately, it’s been an eventful conference season for the Jayhawks.

“(Being tied for first) means a lot; it feels like the season has been flying by,” Kansas forward Jalen Wilson said. “It feels just like yesterday we lost three in a row (after starting 5-0 in conference play), but now we’ve been putting up some good games, good games on the road.”

Wilson believes the Jayhawks’ rise up the standings coincides with Self’s defense-oriented reputation.

“Now we are back right in the position we want to be in,” Wilson said. “It means a lot to really nail down what we really need to do to win, and that’s continuing to play good on the defensive end. These last two, three games, we’ve really keyed in and focused in on that.”

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