Folks, this is the captain speaking, seatbelt light coming on...

...there's some turbulence ahead...

I doubt that I'm alone in my fear of things like our first half performance vs. OU. While the team played great (particularly Frank) in the 2nd half, let's face it: we haven't yet played a tough game against a team that's realistically in contention for the league title.

That's going to change REALLY soon, and I hope that our guys our ready.

First, tomorrow we get another "warmup" game vs. OSU who has yet to win in the league. If we don't blow them out completely, I'll be very scared about our future. OSU is simply not very good this year, and if we want to actually look like the #1 team in the country (as we'll likely be ranked on Monday) taking a 10-15 minute nap at some point in the middle of the game won't cut it.

Speaking of Monday, that's when you need to return to your seat, secure your items in the overhead bin, tighten your seatbelt, and maybe make sure that you've confirmed that you have a barf bag in the seat pocket in front of you...

Here's what's ahead:
>Monday: we take our #1 ranking (likely) and our undefeated conference record to Ames, Iowa. ISU is one game back and can singlehandedly bring us back into a multi-team tie for 1st place (of which they'd be one), and beat the #1 team in the country on their home court. Do you think they'll be fired up for this game? Is Ames an easy place to win EVER?

>After a slight reprieve of hosting Texas at Allen (which turns into a "must win" if we lose at Ames) we get to travel to Morgantown on Tuesday the 24th to play at WVU where we can be guaranteed to get harassed by the players and fans without intervention by the refs.

>Next up, we get to play a somewhat meaningless non-conference exhibition...at Kentucky. Kind of like taking a vacation to a Siberian gulag filled with hillbilly idiots.

>Finally we catch a break...hosting Baylor at Allen. It's not unreasonable to think that we could be heading into that game in the middle of a 1-3 losing streak. If that's the case, I expect all of the chicken littles to be out screaming about falling skies and calling for HCBS' head on a platter.

That's a tough little stretch there folks. Once we get through it, things ease up only slightly when we host ISU, play 2 consecutive road games at KSU and Tech, followed by back to back WVU and @Baylor.

The Baylor game ends the rough patch, and we finish the season vs. TCU, @ Texas, vs. OU and @OSU. Nevertheless, starting Monday and ending on February 18th, that series of games will not only determine whether we get #13, but will also be crucial to our seeding for the tourney. If we get dinged up too badly, AND lose to Kentucky in the process, we'll likely get hammered by the selection committee. On the other hand, if we can emerge on the other end as the clear champs of the conference, a loss at Kentucky won't hurt us, and a win will just cement our status.

Bottom line, we're about to be SEVERELY tested. That also means that we have a tremendous opportunity to show the conference and the nation that we're deserving of a high ranking and high seed in the tourney.

my very team . . .

If I don't get some "Ws", oooooh, I'm gonna fade away . . .



RC

OUCH!!! Your dose of reality was something that I knew was deserved, but it still is tough to handle. Going 1-3 through that stretch would not be a "stretch," IMHO. It also would not be as crushing of a blow as you might think. I have not looked at the scheduling for the other teams, but they doubtless have some turbulence ahead, as well. We have weathered these storms in the past and survived. I have hopes that we will do the same this time around. I do like having our upper classmen on board and I trust that they will take the necessary steps to keep calm, but yet play with intensity. Landon, keep up the good play and consistency that I thought you would in this new year!!!
#enjoytherideJayhawkfans

Valid points, HE. I guess I was looking at it as a.) comparatively easier than the back-to-back WVU then the @Baylor, or @WVU, @UK, Baylor stretches.

If we get through that mess unscathed, we'll likely have enough games up on the other contenders to make those last games somewhat meaningless. Or, as you rightly point out, they could be nail biter, must-win situations where we're ALSO hoping for somebody else to stumble in the stretch.

Newton: If we agree that KU, Baylor, WVU and ISU are the teams most in contention for the title at this point (ISU is there because of their success so far, but may not hang on), then let's look at who's played who so far:

>Baylor beat ISU in Waco, Baylor lost to WVU in Morgantown. 1-1 vs. the top 4, no road wins, no home losses.
>WVU beat Baylor in Morgantown. 1-0 vs. the top 4, no road wins, no home losses. WVU did, however, lose at Tech.
>ISU lost at Baylor. 0-1 vs. the top 4, no home losses, no road wins.
>KU is 0-0 against the top four, no road wins, no home losses.

With that in mind, Baylor is 1/3 of the way through the process with minimal damage (road losses aren't killers). WVU is 1/6 of the way through and has no losses. ISU is 1/6 of the way through, with a "not bad" loss. We have yet to take on this particular task at all.

Another way to look at it: historically if you win half of your road games (and don't lose at home) you have a really good chance of winning it all. With that in mind, everyone has 4.5 road losses to burn. The other 3 have all burned one of these matches, and we still have all 4.5 of them in the book. ISU and Baylor burned ones that were somewhat "expected" to burn. WVU burned one that perhaps they shouldn't have.

For now, we're undefeated, and the optimist in me says that we're the only team in the league that has the chance to go undefeated.

My FAVORITE evah.....evah!

Most people favor "Sympathy....." not me......Gimme Shelter!

My feeling exactly about Mr Lucas.....getting kind of fond of that kid!

For those of you who appreciate visual aides, here is a graph for each team showing their conference schedule in chronological order graphed against the probability of losing (i.e. toughness of the game). The number at the end of the label is the rank of toughness of the opponent (1 through 18).

Baylor: 4 of their 6 toughest games to finish th eseason. They just played their toughest game.

Iowa St.: A tough stretch in games 9 and 10 and they finish with their toughest game in Morgantown. I have a feeling I will be rooting for the Cyclones in that game.

Kansas: With the exception of Texas up next weekend, we play the meat of our schedule starting Monday in Ames. We basically play our 8 toughest games in a row. Then we finish the season with 4 relatively easier games although finishing in Stillwater may end up being tougher than it looks right now.

K-State: Poor K-State just started the meat of their schedule. They are about to be brutalized for 8 of the next 9 games.

Oklahoma: Every game is brutal for the cellar dweller.

Oklahoma St.: Actually started off with 2 tough games in the first 4 and 3 of 5 counting tomorrows game in Lawrence. Their schedule is pretty spread out.

TCU: TCU started tough in their 1st 3 games but they have a brutal run in games 12-16. Then they finish with east games the last 2.

Texas: All tough

Texas Tech: TT had the toughest time in the Big 12 out of the chute. They are in an easy run for 6 of 7 games before finishing with 6 brutal games in their last 7.

West Virginia: Right now West Virginia, thanks to a super high rating, looks like it will skate until game 13 when they travel to Lawrence. Let's hope they come crashing to earth. Thus far they have looked unbeatable when they play to potential. Fortunately they have been fairly inconsistent.

Great info, Corpus! I was hoping to see a tougher stretch for WV. I appreciate your work on this!

Also, NotO, thanks for your further breakdown of those in contention. We truly need some teams to step up as "spoilers" against the others while we take care of business. I guess it always comes down to being able to steal a game or two ourselves while seeing spoilers elsewhere. This year, it looks even more apparent.