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For the first time in 15 years, Kansas will not earn a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.
The Jayhawks suffered an 81-68 loss to Oklahoma on Tuesday, which will officially prevent them from earning a share of the championship. The team had at least tied for first place in each of the last 14 seasons dating back to 2005.
Mike Katzif @mikekatzif
Kansas Jayhawks’ remarkable streak of 14 consecutive Big 12 Conference titles coming to an end tonight. We will likely never see anything quite like this again. But what a run. https://t.co/5N14IJunVu
The loss dropped Kansas to 11-6 on the season in Big 12 play with one game against Baylor still to go.
Texas Tech and Kansas State are currently tied for first place with 13-4 records in conference. The Red Raiders will go on the road against Iowa State on Saturday while the Wildcats will try to clinch a title against Oklahoma.
While Kansas couldn’t keep its past success going, the streak itself was impressive before coming to an end:
Seth Davis @SethDavisHoops
Let us stand back and behold how incredible it was that Kansas won or shared 14 straight conference titles. An incredible accomplishment in an era with such intense roster turnover. All good things must end!
Jason King @JasonKingBR
@JayBilas said in my book, “Beyond the Streak” (shameless plug, sorry) that Kansas’ run of 14 straight Big 12 titles is “one of the most impressive accomplishments in the history of sport.” Let’s not forget that. This is a steak that will never be broken. https://t.co/L3R57VYRUV
Dan Wolken @DanWolken
Last time Kansas failed to win the Big 12, the AP All-American team was Josh Childress, Ryan Gomes, Jameer Nelson, Emeka Okafor and Lawrence Roberts. Luol Deng and Chris Paul won freshman of the year awards and Paul Millsap led the NCAA with 12.5 rebounds per game.
Jon Rothstein @JonRothstein
February 3, 1959: The Day the Music Died
March 5, 2019: The Day the Streak Died
This is March.
Head coach Bill Self took over the program in 2003-04, and he was able to tie Oklahoma for the Big 12 title in his second season. He kept it going for an incredible stretch, which also featured eight conference tournament titles, three Final Four appearances and one NCAA title.
Unfortunately, things haven’t gone quite as smoothly this season.
The team lost a lot of production to the NBA last year and struggled with depth after Silvio De Sousa was ruled ineligible by the NCAA. The squad then suffered a major setback with the injury to Udoka Azubuike, while Lagerald Vick’s absence has seemingly been the final straw.
Kansas can still be dangerous in the NCAA tournament thanks to Dedric Lawson and plenty of young talent, but this group wasn’t good enough to live up to the level of past Jayhawks squads.
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