Kansas players huddle up during the second half, Friday, March 13, 2026, at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Photo by Nick Krug

After Kansas’ grim 69-47 loss to Houston on Friday night at the T-Mobile Center, KU coach Bill Self took a bit of a clean-slate approach when he said that after Sunday, no one will remember what took place at the Big 12 tournament.

“I would love to have played longer, I would have loved to have been more competitive tonight, and everything,” he said, “but the reality of it is, on Sunday is a new day that everybody’s 0-0 and everybody will be fired up to play.”

And the Jayhawks will certainly need to be, because they are now out of additional chances: “The only thing next week is win or go home,” guard Melvin Council Jr. said.

With that in mind, every detail of KU’s potential matchups for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is critical. And plenty remains unknown ahead of Sunday evening’s selection show, set for 5 p.m. on CBS.

The most salient question is whether the Jayhawks’ initial victory over TCU on Thursday was enough to cement them as a No. 4 seed or if the loss to Houston a day later, despite the Cougars’ high ranking, could push them to the No. 5 line.

KU has never been a No. 5 seed under Self; in fact, it had never been lower than a No. 4 prior to last season’s No. 7 seed. The only teams in program history to receive No. 5 seeds were Larry Brown’s first (1983-84) and fourth (1986-87) teams, one of which lost in the second round before the other reached the third. On the other hand, KU has during the Self era received a No. 4 seed in each of 2004, 2006, 2019 and 2024.

CBS Sports, which for some time had the Jayhawks about a seed line lower than most other bracketology sites, did not drop KU in its Saturday morning update. In fact, after losses by Alabama and Nebraska on Friday, CBS has the Jayhawks ahead of both as the highest-ranked No. 4 seed.

The CBS projection had KU in the East region (Washington) facing No. 13 High Point, paired with No. 5 St. John’s and No. 12 Akron.

High Point did not miss a beat despite an offseason coaching change and earned its second straight — and second all-time — trip to the postseason at the Division I level by winning the Big South tournament. The Panthers are 30-4 overall and 15-1 in league play and beat Winthrop 91-76 for an automatic bid. Guard Rob Martin, a SEMO transfer averaging 15.8 points per game in conference play, was the league’s newcomer of the year, as forward Terry Anderson averaged 18.5 points on 55.2% shooting and added 6.1 rebounds.

St. John’s, which was also paired with KU in last year’s pod in Providence, Rhode Island, features former Jayhawk Zuby Ejiofor, who was the Big East player of the year this season and led the Red Storm in points, rebounds, assists and blocks. Akron got a good chance at an automatic bid because the previously unbeaten MAC top seed Miami (Ohio) suffered an upset loss in the league tournament.

Elsewhere in the world of bracketology, ESPN also placed KU on the No. 4 line, as part of the Midwest region (Chicago) at the Philadelphia site, in a four-team pod that would likely bring back plenty of bad memories for Jayhawk fans.

KU’s first-round opponent in ESPN’s projection is No. 13 seed Northern Iowa. The Panthers famously knocked off top-seeded Kansas in the second round in 2010 in the Ali Farokhmanesh game.

This year’s UNI team won four games in four days and pulled off several upsets in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament after it had gone just 11-9 in league play during the regular season, at one point losing five straight. The Panthers’ top player is guard Trey Campbell, a four-year starter who is an all-league second-team and all-defensive selection.

The other half of KU’s pod includes Akron on the No. 12 line, but also a familiar sight: No. 5 Arkansas. The Razorbacks eliminated the Jayhawks in 2023 and 2025 (to say nothing of the other KU sports teams that have met untimely ends against or in Arkansas in recent seasons). They are coached by John Calipari and this year led by guard Darius Acuff Jr., the SEC freshman and player of the year and a onetime Kansas recruiting target before the Jayhawks signed Darryn Peterson.

Fox Sports has KU and Northern Iowa in the East region with No. 5 seed Alabama — the Crimson Tide, who also feature a former KU signee in Labaron Philon Jr., suffered an upset loss to Ole Miss in their SEC tournament opener — and High Point as a No. 12 seed.

On3 actually dropped the Jayhawks to the No. 5 line. In James Fletcher III’s projection, KU would find itself in the South region (Houston) facing Akron in Portland, Oregon, paired with No. 4 Gonzaga (which eliminated the Jayhawks in 2024) and No. 13 Northern Iowa.

While many of these predictions pair KU with similar No. 12 and No. 13 seeds, there remains a great deal of uncertainty about whom the Jayhawks will face and where. The 4-5 stretch with which KU concluded the season derailed its hopes of a higher seed and an opportunity to play close to home in Oklahoma City (which will cater to the likes of Houston and Nebraska) or St. Louis (Illinois and Iowa State).

photo by: AP Photo/Amanda Loman

Moda Center is seen before an NBA basketball game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Portland, Ore.

photo by: AP Photo/Adam Hunger

St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor reacts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Seton Hall, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Newark, N.J.

photo by: AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

Northern Iowa’s Trey Campbell looks to pass during the second half of the championship game in the Missouri Valley Conference NCAA college basketball tournament against UIC Sunday, March 8, 2026, in St. Louis.

photo by: AP Photo/Michael Woods

Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. shoots a free throw against Texas during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Fayetteville, Ark.

photo by: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Shown is the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.