Kansas leaves no doubt it is No. 1 overall seed by winning Big 12
There will be some level of drama Sunday for almost every team that has earned an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament and those waiting on pins and needles for at-large bids.
Some want to know if they get to go dancing at all. Others are just waiting on a seed, a site and the next opponent.
Kansas is the known quantity.
Coach Bill Self and his team go into Sunday comfortable in the fact they are the No. 1 overall seed this season, with no other team having any kind of serious argument for the March Madness poll position.
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The Jayhawks handled West Virginia’s press Saturday afternoon with mixed results but still captured the Big 12 tournament championship with an 81-71 win after previously winning the regular season title for the 12th consecutive season.
Kansas hasn’t lost since a tough 2 1/2-week stretch in January in which it suffered its only three setbacks in conference play. It boasts 20 wins over the RPI top-100 and its only bad loss all season came Jan. 19 against Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks have won 14 straight in one of the toughest conferences in the nation and are the clear favorite to cut down the nets in Houston in early April.
Of course, the reason millions will be filling out brackets and entering office pools and talking trash with their friends in the coming days is because favorites don’t always pan out in this sport in its marquee tournament.
[Wayne Selden’s dunk on Baylor was the best of 2016 postseason]
How Kansas handles the pressure of being the frontrunner will go along way in determining if it’s able finish the year on a 20-game winning streak and hold up the national championship trophy once again.
West Virginia big man Devin Williams did his best to fight the Jayhawks for the Big 12 title. He scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds before fouling out in the final minute. Williams was the only West Virginia player to score in double figures.
West Virginia forced 20 turnovers out of Kansas with its pressure defense. Normally that would have been good enough to earn the Mountaineers a win, but Kansas also forced 20 turnovers in a push.
Devonte’ Graham scored 27 points to lead the Jayhawks and was named the MVP of the Big 12 tournament. Wayne Selden Jr. scored 21 and Perry Ellis added 17 in the championship game.
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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
