KU’s Bill Self had a strong feeling Jayhawks would be matched against Arkansas
Placement in the NCAA Tournament West Regional as a 7 seed, with a first-round matchup against No. 10 seed Arkansas at 6:10 p.m. Central Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island, all made sense to Kansas basketball coach Bill Self on Selection Sunday.
“Nothing surprised me,” Self, KU’s 22nd-year coach, said Sunday night of the bracket reveal on CBS. “I didn’t have any anticipation, but I told my staff a week ago, ‘You watch. (It will be) 7 versus 10. We’re playing Arkansas.’ You could ask any of them (assistant coaches). I’ve been saying that for a week.”
Though he correctly predicted KU’s initial tourney matchup, Self acknowledged he sensed the possibility of KU actually winding up as a 6 seed. Being a 6 seed might have been good enough for the Jayhawks to be sent to nearby Wichita instead of far away.
Illinois as a 6 was assigned to nearby Milwaukee and Louisville as an 8 was sent to Lexington, Kentucky.
“When Louisville went to an 8 and UCLA was a 7, that opened an opportunity maybe to be a 6,” Self said. “But then Memphis jumped us because they went from an 8 to a 5 because they won their tournament (American Athletic Conference), so that kind of leveled that out.
“We didn’t deserve to be playing in Wichita,” Self quickly added. “So there’s absolutely no thought that that would actually occur.”
When asked about certain assignments made by the tourney committee, Self in contrast to his “nothing surprised me” comment stated, “I was kind of surprised Missouri (as 6 seed) got sent to Wichita considering Texas Tech is going to have to play them if the higher seeds win (in a second-round game).”
He also added: “If Louisville wins, they’ve got Auburn and Auburn’s got to play Louisville in Lexington.”
Self insists he doesn’t mind taking his team all the way to Providence, located 1,433 miles from Lawrence.
In Arkansas, KU will be playing a 20-13 team that played host to the Jayhawks in an exhibition game back in late October. Arkansas, coached by John Calipari, won 85-69. KU’s Hunter Dickinson did not play in that game.
“It’ll be a fun, competitive game,” Self said. “I know we’re going to have to play really well to win, and I believe they’re going to have to play well to win, too. We’ve gone against each other quite a bit over time (6-6 in head to head matchups between Calipari and Self).”
Self also noted he and Calipari split two head-to-head meetings in NCAA championship games. “So it’ll be a much talked about matchup, I assume,” Self concluded.
KU beat Calipari’s Memphis Tigers in the 2008 NCAA title game and lost to Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats in the 2012 title contest.
If KU, a 7 seed for the second time in history (the other in 1981), beats Arkansas in Thursday’s 6:10 p.m. Central contest, it would meet either St. John’s or Omaha on Saturday in Rhode Island at a yet-to-be-determined time. The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight round games will be March 27-29 in San Francisco.
Former KU forward Zuby Ejiofor is a first-team all-Big East selection for St. John’s.
“I’m sure if I see him I’ll give him a big hug and everything,” Self said of Ejiofor. “Of course, we love ‘Zu’ and we didn’t want him to leave (via transfer after his freshman year) but those things all changed when ‘Hunt’ came (to KU from Michigan in the portal). He’s had an unbelievable year and it sounds to me like coach (Rick) Pitino thinks the world of him, but yes, we’ll be excited to see him. But I’ll only be excited if we get a chance to play.”
Of the opener against Arkansas, KU senior Dickinson said: “I feel like the committee kind of knew what they were doing with this one ... Bill Self and John Calipari, two of the most prestigious coaches in college basketball history going at it, and then the winner gets to play Rick Pitino in Providence.
“And so I feel they kind of knew what they were doing with that, but it’ll be fun playing against an Arkansas team that has really come on as of late. They were kind of iffy to make the tournament in the middle of the season, but they finished the season really strong, and I think they’re coming in pretty hot. They’ll have a lot of confidence coming into the game, but I feel like we have a lot of confidence going into the game as well. Because we feel like we deserve to be here. We feel we’re a very good team. I think it would make for a really good matchup in Providence.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2025 at 9:31 PM with the headline "KU’s Bill Self had a strong feeling Jayhawks would be matched against Arkansas."
