In a mini surprise, recent No. 1 seed Kansas has climbed ahead of Duke and Gonzaga into second position among the current top-line teams. It's unusual for the Jayhawks to fly under any radar, but the combination of an early loss to Dayton and the dominance of defending champ Baylor in the Big 12 has obscured another national title contender from Lawrence. Another factor behind Kansas' rise is the ability this season to pass those on pause due to COVID (Gonzaga, UCLA) or others getting little or no bump from their conference (Duke). So it's time to circle the home-and-home dates for Kansas and Baylor (Feb. 5 and Feb. 26), as they could decide both the Big 12 race and the NCAA tournament's No. 1 overall seed.
