Fort Worth, Texas ? Bill Self never has coached a No. 1-ranked men’s basketball team.

That likely will change today when his first Kansas University squad likely will ascend to the top spot in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls.

“We were preseason No. 2 at Illinois (two years ago), and that lasted for about two weeks, and I think we got to No. 3 my first year (at U of I). That’s as high as I’ve ever been,” Self said Sunday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.

He huddled with his players after practice about the possibility of the Jayhawks — No. 6 in the AP poll last week and No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Today poll — passing Nos. 1-4 Connecticut, Duke, Michigan State and Arizona, who all lost. Missouri, No. 5 in the AP poll, was an unimpressive five-point winner over Oakland (Michigan) in its opener.

“I told our guys I am not sure anybody deserves to be No. 1 at this juncture of the season,” said Self, whose Jayhawks meet TCU tonight at Meyer Coliseum in a 10 p.m. tipoff, “but, hey, if it’s got to be somebody, it might just as well be us.

“It’d certainly bring some attention to the program. More importantly, it’d allow us to play with the bullseye even bigger on our back. Hopefully, it’d make us tougher, but it means absolutely nothing this early.”

The only undefeated teams beside Missouri that figure to have a shot at overtaking Kansas at No. 1 today when the polls are released are 2-0 Florida, a one-point winner over Arizona, Kentucky (2-0), North Carolina (2-0 ), Texas (3-0) and Illinois (3-0).

Florida was ranked eighth, Carolina ninth, Kentucky 10th, Texas 11th and Illinois 12th in the AP last week.

Not that any of that truly matters in the grand scheme of things.

KU likely to put No. 1 ranking on line tonight Dougherty eager to face Jayhawks Roster Schedule Notebook Live updates via cell phone

“You can’t tell me you can tell who the best team in America is based on one week of play, and we haven’t gone away from home yet,” Self said.

“Most of these teams that have lost or been challenged … it’s all been on neutral or away courts. It means nothing this time of year.”

Kansas last was ranked No. 1 two seasons ago.

Self has watched with interest as some powerhouse teams have gone down. He caught half of UConn’s loss to Georgia Tech, but missed seventh-ranked Syracuse’s loss to Charlotte. Also, Duke lost to Purdue and Arizona to Florida.

“It goes to show you everybody has players, and early in the season expect the unexpected,” Self said. “Once you get into the season there will be upsets, but there probably will be less of them. Teams will do a better job of scouting, knowing personnel better.”

Of the way he expects his team to respond if indeed the Jayhawks move up to No. 1 somewhat by default, Self said, “They understand.”

The coaches in tonight’s game understand how they became saddled with such a late tipoff.

“Well, TV controlled it. It wasn’t us,” TCU coach Neil Dougherty said. “It was originally set for 8 p.m. They didn’t want to go head-up with Monday Night Football.”

Coaches, like Texas Tech’s Bob Knight, have spoken out against start times after 8 p.m.

“No, it probably shouldn’t be going on,” Self said of late starts. “When the game was scheduled, it was only scheduled because it was a TV game. It was originally schedule for 8, and they asked us would we do that. I felt we should, not as much for us, but TCU. They scheduled the game with the impression they’d definitely get national exposure for their program.”

That certainly is the case.

“If I can get the University of Kansas to come play a game,” Dougherty said, “I will not worry what time. What it will do for our program is very good. If they’d say we have to play Kansas on Wednesday at 1:45 p.m., I’d say yes.”

Self said the late start would not pose any major problems, noting both teams would have to adjust to it.

“The only thing that will be different will be the day — Monday. When you get in NCAA Tournament play, a lot of times you can have a game start at least that late,” Self said. “I’ve played in one that started after that. You have to manage your time that day, not make too long a day out of it.”

Self is keeping a sense of humor about the situation, suggesting the Jayhawks might be late starters. KU beat Michigan State in a game that tipped off at 8 p.m. The Jayhawks struggled against Tennessee-Chattanooga, falling behind by 10 before rallying for a win in a game that tipped off at 7 p.m.

“Eight was good,” Self joked. “Maybe 10 will be better.”

The Jayhawks chartered a flight to TCU Sunday afternoon and will head home after the contest.

“I will not like waiting around all day,” KU’s Aaron Miles said. “When the game comes around, we’ll be excited and prepared to play.”

¢

Wilkes’ playing time addressed: The collarbone injury to Michael Lee might mean some additional playing time for Omar Wilkes. It might not.

Wilkes, KU’s 6-foot-4 freshman from Los Angeles, didn’t play against Michigan State after logging one minute versus UT Chattanooga.

“Omar has not played much. He will be a player in time,” Self said. “I feel Omar will be a good player. He needs to get physically stronger, as does Jeremy (Case). Omar is probably a little behind the other guys now, the way we see it. It doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. Playing time is a unique thing. We have a lot of depth on the perimeter. You can’t play everybody, but all of them deserve to play.”

Sunday, Self said J.R. Giddens would start in place of Lee tonight. That means KU has two freshmen — Giddens and David Padgett — plus three juniors — Keith Langford, Wayne Simien and Aaron Miles — in the starting lineup.

¢

Frogs improved: Self on TCU, 1-1 after Saturday’s 76-64 loss to Tulsa.

“They are much improved. They’ll pressure us, get after us and pressure everywhere,” Self said. “They will play much like Kansas teams in the past played here. It’s a similar system, the same system.”

Dougherty served as an assistant for former KU coach Roy Williams for seven years.