photo by: AP Photo/Doug McSchooler

Kansas forward K.J. Adams Jr. (24) shoots while being defended by Indiana forward Malik Reneau (5) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, in Bloomington, Ind.

Another men’s basketball program with plenty of history is starting to gain traction as a potential NCAA Tournament opponent for Kansas.

In recent updates to his bracket projections, including Wednesday’s, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has positioned KU as a No. 7 seed in Cleveland, a popular destination for the Jayhawks in recent days — and somewhere they have never before played — facing off against Indiana.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi moved the Jayhawks up to the No. 6 line, but he also has IU as a potential opponent for KU in Providence, Rhode Island, if the Hoosiers make it out of a First Four matchup with Oklahoma.

The Hoosiers’ embattled head coach Mike Woodson is coaching his final games with the programs after stepping down in early February. But IU, which opens Big Ten tournament play against Oregon on Thursday, has rallied in a similar fashion to Arkansas down the stretch, with key victories over the likes of Michigan State and Purdue.

In such a tournament matchup, KU would face Indiana for the third straight season after beating the Hoosiers in both halves of a home-and-home, 84-62 at Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 17, 2022, and 75-71 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Dec. 16, 2023.

IU this year is led by sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo, who previously played at Gonzaga and Arizona and averages 13.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, along with returning forwards Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau.

Palm places the Jayhawks and Hoosiers with No. 15 Wofford and No. 2 Tennessee, while Lunardi has KU and the First Four slot alongside No. 14 Lipscomb and No. 3 St. John’s.

Close to home

Recently crowned Naismith Boys High School Player of the Year Darryn Peterson — the jewel of KU’s 2026 recruiting class and, to hear head coach Bill Self tell it, KU’s best signee in a long time — has a high chance of playing in Lawrence as he winds down his high school career.

Peterson’s school Prolific Prep, out of Napa, California, is currently playing on a circuit called The Grind Session and is the No. 1 seed in the circuit’s Men’s World Championship. If Prolific Prep can win two games at Highland High School in Salt Lake City this week, beginning on Friday against The Patrick School of New Jersey, it will earn a spot in the final four teams.

As it happens, the semifinals and final of The Grind Session are set for March 22-23 at Haskell Indian Nations University.

“If his team, if Prolific gets to play at Haskell,” Self said, “I think it’d be great if people went out and watched him, or watched them, their team, or watched the entire event, because there’ll be some pretty good players playing in it.”

Beyond the rare opportunity for Peterson to play in Lawrence prior to the start of his college basketball career, there’s also a chance the circuit could reunite him with AJ Dybantsa, the consensus top player in the 2026 class (Peterson is widely regarded as second or third best) who is headed to BYU next season. Dybantsa’s Utah Prep squad, though, is just a No. 6 seed in the bracket.

Peterson and Dybantsa recently battled in a Grind Session game in Atlanta on Feb. 8, in which Dybantsa scored 49 points but Peterson came out on top with 61 and the game-winning shot.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony recently ranked Peterson No. 1 in a 2026 NBA Draft projection. Self was asked on Monday if he felt Peterson could have a similar impact to this year’s projected top pick, Cooper Flagg, who currently plays for Duke.

“If we win at the level that Duke’s won at this year, he’ll get the lion’s share of the credit, I think,” Self said. “Because he’ll be different, he’ll be new, and he’ll help create an atmosphere of culture that I’m sure Cooper has helped with at Duke in an immense way — as (Johni) Broome has helped at Auburn an immense way, even though he’s been there for more than one (year).”

Less of Moore

Self said on Monday that KU guard Shakeel Moore, who recently reinjured his previously broken foot, will not play during the Big 12 tournament.

The news came two days after Moore very briefly participated in warmups ahead of his senior day when the Jayhawks hosted Arizona.

“The medical staff has told me that he’s improving to the point where he may be serviceable,” Self said, “but in my thinking, serviceable to me is practicing at least two or three days before you go out there, so I can’t see that happening this week.”

Later on Monday, though, Self said on his “Hawk Talk” radio show that Moore had practiced that afternoon, “much to my surprise.”

Self has previously suggested that KU is holding onto hope it might have Moore available at some point during the postseason. The fifth-year Mississippi State transfer, a defensive specialist, has not played since the Jayhawks lost to BYU on Feb. 18.