So we can clinch on Saturday...

Yep!

Link to standings, remaining Big 12 schedules and analysis

As I reminded konza63, no Self team has ever been swept in Big 12 play (Tech and OSU), and KU has not lost a Senior Night game (Texas) in an eternity. Being a huge fan of tradition, I am very optimistic our boys will soon clinch #14.

I was very pleased to see that TT lost. It gives us a little "room for error."

At the same time, that can be deceptive, and the last thing we want is for our guys to have the above mentality on Saturday.

I still believe the TT game is super important. Reason: We still have to go to Stillwater ourselves, where TT just lost, and Self and his squads rarely do well there. We do not want to see a scenario in which KU loses Saturday, TT wins out (though they still have to go to WVU), and KU is in a "win or lose the title" mode in Stillwater. Best scenario of all is beat TT and UT, and OSU is relatively meaningless (perhaps outright vs. shared title or not even that on the line).

Bottom line: Saturday, ultimately, could still be a must-win game for the good guys in pursuit of #14.

Get 'er done, boys...

konza63 wrote: Bottom line: Saturday, ultimately, could still be a must-win game for the good guys in pursuit of #14.

I agree with your bottom line, konza.

I'll go even further and say that the TT game is going to prove to be *the* critical game the rest of the way, it's that much of a "must win" fulcrum point for our Jayhawks.

Win it and no other wins are required for at least a share of #14.
Lose it, and *EVERY* game after it falls into the "must win" category just to ensure at least a tie with Tech in case they don't lose again.

If Tech wins its last 3 (against KU in Lubbock, where Tech is undefeated extending back into last season; against WVU in Morgantown, and finally closing out against TCU in Lubbock), KU must defeat Texas on Senior Night and OSU in Stillwater (where Self has his only road losing record in Big 12 conference play @4-6) in order to tie Tech for the title.

In KU's favor is Tech (3-5 on the road in Big 12 play this year) @WVU (5-2 at home in Big 12 play, 12-3 overall at home and seemingly playing well again), but the 2 home games in Lubbock have to be considered as being in Tech's favor (even though I like KU's chances there). Also in KU's favor is that even though Tech's injured All Big 12 candidate PG and leading scorer Keenan Evans played against OSU and will almost certainly play against KU on Saturday, he did not play well at all against OSU last night, a sign that his toe injury is really bothering him. He even left the game for a while last night to get his injured toe tended to before returning, but was still only a shadow of his pre-injury self. We all would love to be able to look back and say KU won at Lubbock, and won against a Tech with its best but injured player playing well. But we have all seen far too many instances where injury and what not hurt KU's chances, so we have to hope that KU can take advantage of what today looks like a golden opportunity to catch Tech at home with Evans still not up to his high standard.

We know the history of Self's KU teams - never swept in the regular season (TT and OSU this year still have the chance to break that record) and haven't lost on Senior Night (KU hasn't lost the Senior game since March 1983, Ted Owens last season, 34 years running). But we have also seen KU lose in AFH not once but 3 times this year (currently 13-3 with only the Senior Night game against Texas left), something that has not happened since Roy's 1998-99 squad went 10-3 in AFH.

So AFH has not been secure this year, and both TT and OSU played very well in beating us earlier this year, so they certainly have good chances to make history by sweeping.

The way Texas has been playing I really do not see them beating KU in AFH, but nothing is certain. So KU absolutely needs to win at Lubbock on Saturday so the guys can enter the last two games able to play more relaxed but still with the urgency of (1) extending the Senior Night winning streak to 35 to send Devonté and Svi out on high notes and (2) winning the title all for themselves.

So, while losing at Tech on Saturday would not be the end of their chances for #14, winning secures #14 and history, and means a lot more fun playing out the regular season.

Here's to our guys having their best game of the season with the chips on the line!

Continuing with my earlier thoughts...

A KU loss on Saturday not only leaves Tech alive in the race, it also leaves KSU and WVU with the slightest windows of opportunity to forge ties for the conference title. Consider this scenario.

KU (11-4) loses to Tech, beats Texas in AFH then loses to OSU to end the season 12-6

Tech (10-5) beats KU, loses to WVU then beats TCU in Lubbock to end the season 12-6

KSU (9-6) beats OU in Norman, beats TCU in Fort Worth and beats BU in Manhattan to end the season 12-6

WVU (9-6) beats ISU and Tech in Morgantown and beats Texas in Austin to end the season 12-6

I'm pretty sure that the odds of that scenario playing out are not good, but they are not an impossibility.

Of course, there is also a scenario were KU loses all 3 games to finish 11-7, Tech goes 1-2 to finish 11-7, and WVU and/or KSU win out to win at least a share of the Big 12 title with each other, if not the title outright if the other loses a game, at 12-6.

So here's to our guys scuttling it all by winning Saturday in Lubbock and then sending D&Svi out with a Senior Night victory and sole possession of the 2017-18 Big 12 Conference title.
#14StraightTitles?

Seems Coach just might know a little about what he talks about...