As an NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed 10 times in the 22-year Bill Self era, Kansas basketball has entered several postseasons wondering if it would be better to bow out of the Big 12 tourney with an early loss rather than expend too much energy heading into the all-important Big Dance.

A big reason why expectations were so high for this team was star freshman Cooper Flagg. Flagg is one of the best NBA prospects that the game has ever seen, and he was viewed as the #1 2025 draft pick before he even started his Duke career. He is a special player, and he is having a special season.