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Kansas has lost to a No. 9 seed or lower five times under Bill Self

Iowa State Cyclones v Kansas Jayhawks

Iowa State Cyclones v Kansas Jayhawks

Jamie Squire

Kansas head coach Bill Self is widely regarded as one of, if not the best basketball coach at the collegiate level.

That’s what happens when you win a regular season title in a power conference every year for an entire decade.
MORE: Kansas lost to No. 10 Stanford on Sunday

But that doesn’t mean that Self is immune to the Madness of March. Since 2004, his Kansas team has been knocked off by a No. 9-seed or lower in the NCAA tournament five times:


  • In 2005, the No. 3 seed Jayhawks were upset in the opening round of the tournament by No. 14 Bucknell.
  • One year later, No. 4 Kansas got knocked out of the dance on the first day by No. 13 Bradley, who ended up playing their way into the Sweet 16 that season. The Braves had a lottery pick at center that season named Patrick O’Bryant.
  • In 2010, Kansas was the No. 1 overall seed and the favorite to win the National Title when they lost to No. 9 Northern Iowa in the Round of 32, which featured one of the most memorable shots in NCAA tournament history.
  • In 2011, Kansas was a No. 1 seed and made it all the way to the Elite 8 where they became the fifth victim of Shaka Smart’s No. 11 VCU Rams, who went from the First Four to the Final Four.
  • And this season, Kansas lost to No. 10 Stanford in the Round of 32 as a No. 2 seed.

This isn’t meant to bring down Bill Self as a head coach. It’s not his fault that he happened to run into a team with a massive front line without one of the best front court players in the country in Joel Embiid.

But it does go to show you that no one is immune from the Madness that happens in March.