Upset-minded Kansas to break remarkable Big 12 Tournament streak in quarterfinals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - An unfamiliar sight will be upon the court inside the T-Mobile Center on Thursday night.

When No. 6 seed Kansas takes on No. 3 seed Arizona in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals, the Jayhawks will be the lower-seeded team -- and thus be wearing something other than their home white uniforms -- for the first time since the 2008 Big 12 title game against Texas.

The Jayhawks have played 36 consecutive games as the higher seed in the Big 12 Tournament. The 6 seed in the Big 12 Tournament this season is the worst finish in conference play by KU in the Bill Self era.

“It’s going to be a challenge because they’ve got really good guys and they’ve got a really good team,” Self said Wednesday night of the matchup with Arizona. “The benefit is from a preparation standpoint, (the players) are going to be more familiar with it than -- at least I think they will be than what we normally would be.”

READ MORE: Kansas wins overtime thriller 98-94 over UCF to advance to Big 12 quarterfinals

Over the course of the 16-year streak, Kansas won six Big 12 Tournament titles and appeared in nine of the 15 championship games. The 36-game white jersey streak would’ve been even longer had the 2020 Big 12 Tournament not been canceled when Kansas was the No. 1 ranked team in the country when COVID shut down sports.

Kansas matched up with Arizona a week ago on Senior Day when the Jayhawks beat the Wildcats 83-76 on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.

In the new-look, 16-team Big 12, Kansas will be taking on Arizona in what will be the Wildcats’ first Big 12 Tournament game.

“It’s going to take a great energy-type game,” Self said. “We’re going to have to play big, obviously, and we gotta be able to guard the ball probably better than we did on Saturday.

“I thought Saturday was a really good basketball game that was well played by both teams. It could have gone either way. We just made probably a couple more plays down the stretch.”

Kansas is a 2.5-point underdog against Arizona in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m. CT.

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