The experts agree Kansas University’s No. 4-ranked men’s basketball team has all but locked up a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Yet there is no consensus that the Big 12 Conference champion Jayhawks (24-6 overall, 14-2 Big 12) will play first- and second-round NCAA games in Oklahoma City, pod system be darned.

As Big 12 tournament week begins, ESPN predicts the Jayhawks will play their first two NCAA games in Oklahoma City, about 325 miles from Lawrence, compared to Indianapolis (537 miles) and Nashville, Tenn. (598).

ESPN has another potential No. 1 seed, Texas, joining Kansas in Oklahoma City with possible No. 2 seed Oklahoma headed to Nashville, Tenn. — about a 690-mile drive from Norman, Okla. Other pundits, however, think KU will be shipped to Indianapolis or Nashville, with Oklahoma and Texas playing in Oklahoma City’s sold-out Ford Center.

One thing is for sure: If KU is not sent to Oklahoma City, the pod system — meant to reward top-seeded teams with games closest to home — would be working against the Jayhawks.

“I’m being honest. I’m probably the worst coach in America for knowing where the first- and second-round games are,” KU coach Roy Williams said Monday.

“The only thing I always say is, I’d like to go someplace warmer, and it’s nice when parents get to see their kids play. Wherever they put us, we’ve got to play. I spend zero time thinking about where they might send us.”

KU’s coach does believe, in theory, higher seeds deserve to play closer to home.

“There is no question I agree with that, because I think the committee should try to reward people for great regular seasons and not just what happens in a three-day deal,” Williams said. “If a No. 1, 2, or 3 seed can play closer to home, I think they’ve earned that through the course of what they’ve accomplished during the regular season, and I think that’s one of the ways that we can be not like the NBA, where the only thing that’s important is the playoffs.”

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Tourney sites: First- and second-round tourney sites for this year’s NCAA Tournament: Boston; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Birmingham, Ala.; Nashville, Tenn.; Oklahoma City; Indianapolis; Salt Lake City and Spokane, Wash.

The Regional sites are Albany, N.Y.; San Antonio; Minneapolis and Anaheim, Calif. The Final Four is in New Orleans.

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League title revisited: Williams, who might be named Big 12 Coach of the Year later this week, admits he’s proud his troops wrapped up the undisputed league title Sunday at Missouri. The Jayhawks, who will play Texas A&M or Iowa State at noon Friday in Dallas, finished 14-2, compared to runner-up Texas’ 13-3 mark.

“One of my buddies told me last night he thought it was more remarkable just because of how difficult the league was this year,” Williams said.

“And I think that there is something to be said for that. I think it’s the strongest league in the country, and it’s very satisfying to us. We’ve had some adversity. You know, we didn’t get off to the best start early in the season. We were 3-3 at one point. And then we started playing a little bit better, and then we lose one of our most significant, if not our most productive player, in Wayne Simien. Then we think we’re going to get him back and then lose him again, so there were a lot of ups and downs, and we didn’t have the strongest or deepest bench to begin with. So it has been a very satisfying year for us.”

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Thumb OK: KU sophomore Keith Langford scored 12 points Sunday in KU’s 79-74 victory against Missouri despite playing with a jammed left thumb.

“Keith jammed his thumb badly at Friday’s practice,” Williams said on Monday’s Hawk Talk radio show. “I was really concerned about it. I had a nice call Friday night from Mark (Cairns, trainer) when I was out recruiting saying there was no fracture or anything. Keith really did some nice things. Defensively he got after it a bit.”

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Scholarships: KU, which has awarded scholarships to J.R. Giddens, David Padgett, Omar Wilkes and Jeremy Case, has one scholarship left.

“We will probably hold it and put it in the following class,” Williams said on his radio show.

KU has three scholarships to award next year.