Time for Some Self Reflection: The NCAA Block Squares Pool

Over the years of me writing things to this blog, I have had a tendency toward being fascinated with the demise or ineptitude of people and programs. I have written in this space on topics that should not have surprised us, like the demise of Tiger Woods back in 2011. Or, why it is sad and funny to have watch trash fires like the University of Virginia just a couple of years ago. The point one may make here is that your commissioner is just a petty a-hole. That would also be true, but my point here is that I enjoy the hate. Maybe that is a different way to make the same point. Oh, well.

Today, lets talk about the University of Kansas, Bill Self and that early exit yesterday against Arkansas. Once again, we got an underwhelming finish to a season that had much higher expectations. The Jayhawks entered this season with one of the top prizes in the transfer portal (Hunter Dickinson) and a preseason Number 1 ranking. They ultimately limped to the finish line in an average Big 12 with a 21-13 record and nine loses in conference. They entered the NCAA tournament as an unranked 7-seed and went out in the first round without much noise. 

You might ask why this is important to me. Well, while this season was a little different, we are use to seeing underwhelming performances from the Jayhawks at this time of year even with the National Championship won in 2022. 

Let me stat you down a little.

Prior to this year, Kansas had not entered the tournament as lower than a 4 seed in a quarter century. In that time, they entered as a 1-seed 11 times! Three times, Kansas was the top seeded team in the tournament (2008, 2016, 2018) and while two titles (2008, 2022) in this stretch is a great achievement, the remainder of the run has been lackluster at best. 

Do you remember in 2005 and 2006 when Kansas went out in the first round of the tournament at the hands of those powers Bucknell and Bradley? Maybe not, but then there is this list of round of 32 losses over the last 15 years:

• Northern Iowa - 2010
• Stanford - 2014
• Wichita State - 2015
• Auburn - 2019
• Southern California - 2021
• Arkansas - 2023
• Gonzaga - 2024

See a trend emerging in the last five years? The Natty that the program sandwiched in there in 2022 should be investigated for its outlier status! 

I am calling it now. We are at the end of the Bill Self era. Kansas fans, you may want to start thinking about what a rebuild looks like. 

On to the tournament. 16 games are down from a long, exciting first day of basketball. We already have two multiple winners (Tony Marinucci and Rob Jones), and we had a number of late bad beats for some people. Tough to watch some of those meaningless layups (to some) at the ends of games wasn't it?

The Round 1, Day 1 winners are below.

Enjoy Day 2 and remember to pace yourself, it is a long weekend!

--Your Commissioner