Kansas‘ season hit rock bottom on Tuesday with a 91-57 loss to BYU on the road. The 34-point loss tied the largest margin of defeat of the Bill Self era, which dates back to the 2003-04 season, and was the second-largest loss in Kansas program history. The previous record was a 37-point loss to Kentucky in 1974.
The Jayhawks, the preseason No. 1 team, dropped to 17-9 overall (8-7 in Big 12 play) and are now off to their worst 26-game start since the 1988-89 season, which was former coach Roy Williams’ first year with the program. Kansas now has 15 total losses (and counting) in Big 12 play dating back to last season, the most conference losses in consecutive seasons the program has suffered since 1983-84.
And things have gone from bad to worse for the Jayhawks since the calendar turned to 2025. Kansas is 3-5 in its last eight games — all in Big 12 play. Four of the losses came to unranked opponents. Last season, Kansas finished 10-8 in Big 12 play, which marked the most league losses a Self-led team suffered during his tenure. This year, Kansas has seven Big 12 losses with five regular season games remaining.
The loss that started Kansas’ slide came against Houston at home last month. Houston trailed by six points with 1:09 remaining before miraculously forcing overtime thanks to multiple Kansas miscues. Then, Houston trailed again by six points with eight seconds remaining in overtime and responded with two late 3-pointers to force a second overtime, including one off an inexplicable turnover on an inbounds play. Houston went on to win that game 92-86 to start a miserable 3-5 stretch for the Jayhawks.
Where does Kansas go from here? First, the team just needs to “get away from each other,” according to Self.
Kansas was on the No. 4 seed line (15th overall) in the NCAA’s early bracket reveal last weekend. The Jayhawks haven’t been worse than a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament since 2000. That streak is tracking to end next month.
With more on the downtrodden Jayhawks leading the way, here are five of the biggest takeaways from Tuesday’s college basketball slate.
It’s time to sound the alarms at Kansas
The team that began the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll didn’t look like the team that lost by 34 points to BYU. The No. 23 Jayhawks are in a freefall, and it might be time to hit the panic button. CBS Sports’ Eric Bossi answered three burning questions around Kansas earlier this week, citing the offense not being as dynamic as part of the issue.
That assessment came to fruition against the Cougars. In the first half, Kansas had almost as many turnovers (eight) as made field goals (11) and fell behind by 20 against a BYU team desperate for a win to stay off the bubble. Kansas finished with just 23 made field goals and 15 turnovers.
From preseason No. 1 to fifth in a so-so Big 12 Conference: What’s wrong with the Kansas Jayhawks?
Eric Bossi
Kansas had a huge transfer portal haul this offseason that included former Wisconsin forward AJ Storr and Alabama guard Rylan Griffen. For the most part, neither have been able to provide the offensive pop this team needed. Kansas doesn’t have the offensive firepower to come back from large deficits.
No matter what happens the rest of the season — whether it’s a first-round exit or a run to the Final Four — there is hope on the horizon for Kansas fans. Incoming five-star guard Darryn Peterson could help solve some of Kansas’ issues on offense. Peterson is a projected top-three pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and has been one of the most dynamic scorers in high school basketball.
Oklahoma’s strong start is heading toward a lackluster end
Around this time seven weeks ago, Oklahoma, Florida and Tennessee were the final three undefeated teams remaining in Division l basketball. Fast forward to Tuesday, and the gap between the elite teams in the SEC and Oklahoma continued to expand. Florida handed Oklahoma its fifth consecutive loss with a blowout 85-63 in Gainesville. The Sooners have now dropped six of their last seven games and after starting 13-0. With a brutal stretch on the horizon (No. 21 Mississippi State, No. 17 Kentucky, No. 24 Ole Miss, No. 15 Missouri and Texas) to close the regular season, they are in serious danger of missing the NCAA Tournament altogether.
Oklahoma’s 180-degree turn in the opposite direction is similar to what happened to Ole Miss last year. The SEC is significantly better this season than it was a year ago, and Oklahoma had much better nonconference wins than Chris Beard’s squad did, but the tale of the tape is somewhat similar.
| 2024-25 Oklahoma | 2023-24 Ole Miss | |
| Nonconference record | 13-0 | 13-0 |
| SEC record through 13 games | 3-10 | 6-7 |
| Average margin of defeat during first 10 SEC losses | 14.6 | 13 |
| Missed NCAA Tournament? | ??? | Yes |
In CBS Sports’ latest Bracketology by Jerry Palm, Oklahoma was on the No. 10 line. Realistically, Oklahoma will have to win maybe one or two more games on its schedule to feel comfortable heading into Selection Sunday. Per KenPom.com, Oklahoma is only expected to be favored in one (against Mississippi State) of those final five games.
If Oklahoma misses the tournament for the fourth consecutive season under coach Porter Moser, his seat will get a lot warmer.
The Big Ten title race is down to three teams
No. 14 Michigan State defeated No. 13 Purdue 75-66 at home to stay in contention to win the Big regular season title. The Spartans entered the week trailing Michigan by one game in the conference standings and Friday’s matchup between the in-state rivals will determine who is in the driver’s seat to win the league heading into March.
After going through a tough West Coast road trip with losses to unranked USC and UCLA earlier this month, Michigan State has won its last two games against ranked opponents. Michigan State has yet to face No. 12 Michigan this season and will play them twice during a two-and-a-half-week stretch. This week’s game is in Ann Arbor, while the final game of the regular season for both teams will see the the Spartans and Wolverines square off in East Lansing on March 9.
Friday’s matchup should have some extra juice. Not that it needed it because it’s a rivalry game, but the team that walks away with a win should feel comfortable about earning the No. 1 seed in next month’s Big Ten Tournament.
The other team with an outside chance of making up ground is No. 11 Wisconsin. The Badgers have only four losses against Big Ten competition but lost their first and only meeting against Michigan earlier this season. Wisconsin picked up a key 95-74 win over Illinois on Tuesday to stay alive in the conference title race. The Badgers have a key game against Michigan State next month, which could make or break their Big Ten title hopes.
Adrian Autry’s seat may be warming up at Syracuse
With 10:54 remaining in the first half of Syracuse’s road clash with Pitt, the Orange built a 22-6 advantage. After that moment, Pitt outscored Syracuse 74-47 and held on for an 80-69 win. Year 2 of the Autry era has been a mixed bag. Syracuse wasn’t expected to be an NCAA Tournament team, but there was hope the program could make some strides. That hasn’t happened.
Could Syracuse go in a different direction less than two years after Jim Boeheim retired? That remains to be seen. But losses to Pitt, Miami, Stanford and Florida State won’t help Autry’s cause. Syracuse went 20-12 (11-9 ACC play) in its first season with Autry, a longtime Boeheim assistant, leading the program. This year, the Orange sit at 11-16 (5-11) with four games left in the regular season.
If Syracuse does run it back with Autry and gives him at least another season with the program, considerable improvement during the 2025-26 campaign will be essential. Syracuse has two top-35 players set to enter the program next season in four-star forward Sadiq White Jr. and four-star guard Kiyan Anthony, the son of one of the greatest players in Syracuse history, Carmelo Anthony.
If the younger Anthony can replicate what his father did during his freshman season over two decades ago, Syracuse will be back in business. No pressure, kid.
Liam McNeeley is key to another UConn run
The return of UConn star freshman Liam McNeeley has been a welcome sight for coach Dan Hurley. After UConn trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half against Villanova, the Huskies rallied down the stretch and closed the game on a 14-1 run to secure a 66-59 win.
UConn can thank McNeeley for helping lead the charge in the second half. The former five-star recruit scored 16 of his 20 points after halftime and made all nine of his free-throw attempts to help his team avoid what would’ve been another devastating loss for the program’s NCAA Tournament hopes. The two-time reigning national champions were coming off a loss to Seton Hall last weekend and entered the day on the No. 9 seed line in Palm’s latest Bracketology projections.
UConn mounts second-half rally to avoid Villanova upset as Dan Hurley says season was ‘hanging in the balance’
Kyle Boone
Hurley helped produce two lottery picks last summer: Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan. If McNeeley keeps playing like this, he will go higher than people think in the 2025 NBA Draft. McNeeley missed over a month with an ankle injury and has looked like a different and more polished player since returning. He is averaging 21.8 points and 9.3 rebounds since making his return against St. John’s earlier this month.
This UConn team may be flawed, but if the Huskies get hot and McNeeley takes another jump, another deep run in the NCAA Tournament has to be on the table.
