Had Kansas played to its preseason No. 1 ranking, the Jayhawks would be entering Selection Sunday as a lock for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional with a first-round (and possible second-round) game to be contested in a convenient locale — Wichita.

Kansas basketball saw its Big 12 tournament run end in the quarterfinals. Now, looking ahead to the NCAA tournament, what do its chances look like?

Kansas basketball’s regular season finale arrived. Here is what happened during this game between the Jayhawks and Wildcats in Lawrence.

Instead, the No. 6-seeded Jayhawks wilted in an 88-77 loss at T-Mobile Center. A prime example came when Kansas trailed by five with 4:06 left. Kansas turned the ball over on two straight possessions and eventually lost another winnable game.

But the No. 14-seed Knights kept battling throughout this second round matchup. And while UCF came close in both regulation and overtime to upsetting KU, coach Bill Self and company survived and will advance.

Kansas basketball had a chance to prove it was better than its record during the Big 12 tournament, but the Jayhawks weren’t able to do that.

The Jayhawks in action on Thursday night at the Big 12 Conference Tournament Quarterfinals at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Trailing Arizona 45-37 at halftime

Because of the way the bracket was laid out, the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament ends up being the last of 16 teams to play. Turns out it was worth the wait for Arizona. The Wildcats trailed for only 97 seconds in a nearly wire-to-wire 88-77 win over Kansas in the Big 12 tourney quarterfinals on Thursday night in Kansas City.