Top 13: Kansas Makes it Nine Straight Big 12 Titles, Advances to Sweet 16

Kansas Athletics and Jayhawk student-athletes had numerous successful athletic and academc accomplishments during the 2013 calendar year and will relive the top 13 moments in a nearly two week series leading up to New Years Eve. One crowning moment will be posted to KUAthletics.com and across the department’s social media platforms. Like, favorite or vote for your favorite 2013 moment and a top three, based on fan votes, will be revealed on New Year’s Eve. Check back daily for video highlights, a recap and your chance to weigh in on your favorite moments of 2013.

KU won its ninth-straight, 13th Big 12 and NCAA-leading 56th all-time conference regular-season title by going 14-4 and tying Kansas State for the league crown. Kansas then won its ninth Big 12 postseason championship and its 13th overall conference tournament title. KU has won six tourney championships in the Bill Self era.

The Jayhawks went 31-6 in 2012-13, posting 30 or more wins for the 12th time in school history, including each of the last four years and six of the last seven years. The four-straight seasons of 30 or more wins ties for the most consecutive 30-win seasons in NCAA history with Memphis (2006-09) who later vacated the 2007-08 season.

KU climbed to as high as No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches’ poll and No. 2 in the Associated Press poll. Kansas ranked in the top 10 in all but two polls during the season and seventh or higher in 13 polls.

Kansas led the nation in field goal percentage defense holding opponents to 36.1 percent shooting. The Jayhawks have led the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense eight of the 10 seasons under Bill Self. The 2013 season was the second time in the Self era KU has led the nation (2006).

Kansas head coach Bill Self won his 300th game as Kansas head coach in his 10th season roaming the KU sidelines for an average of 30 wins per season. He became the fastest coach in KU history to reach 300 wins. Self also won his 500th career game and tied for the ninth fastest in NCAA Division I history, accomplishing the feat in 662 games.

Kansas entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed. It marked the 11th time since the NCAA Tournament started seeding in 1979: 1986-92-95-97-98-2002-07-08-10-11-13. It was the fifth time in head coach Bill Self’s 10 seasons at Kansas the Jayhawks were a No. 1 seed. Kansas appeared in its 42nd NCAA Tournament, as well as its 24th-consecutive trip to the tournament, the longest active streak in the nation.

This season was the third-straight year the Jayhawks have advanced to the Sweet 16 and seventh time under 10-year head coach Bill Self. Historically, KU played in its 30th game in the round of 16 in NCAA Tournament history. The season ended with an 87-85 overtime loss to eventual NCAA runner-up Michigan in the Sweet 16 in Arlington, Texas.

With Kansas’ women’s team advancing to the 2013 NCAA Sweet 16, KU is the only school to have both its men’s and women’s teams reach the Sweet 16 each of the last two years.

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