Kansas is a flawed team.
The Jayhawks don't shoot threes the way most modern offenses do, barely offensive rebound at all and have a bench that provides nearly nothing. If Bill Self doesn't win the Big 12's regular-season title for what would be the 18th time in a 20-year span, one of those things will likely be the reason; it could be all three of those things.
But, flawed as it might be, Kansas is still an obvious national championship contender, largely because of the presence of its Hall of Fame coach. Saturday served as the latest reminder when the Jayhawks hosted a Houston team that's still No. 1 in most computers and beat the Cougars with few issues.
Final score: Kansas 78, Houston 65.
Hunter Dickinson finished with a team-high 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists.The Jayhawks led by as many as 20 and won by 13 despite closing as a slight (and rare) underdog at home inside Allen Fieldhouse.
"That's sacrilege," said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson. "How is Kansas not favored in any game -- especially here? ... You challenge the Jayhawk pride by telling them they're not favored. We're not some superteam."
No, Houston is not some superteam -- but the Cougars are still 19-3 overall and tied for first in the Big 12 standings. They're 8-3 in the first two quadrants with six Q1 wins and zero losses outside of Q1. Simply put, nobody other than Purdue and UConn has a better body of work than that, which is why Houston is still No. 3 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue remains No. 1 for the 25th straight day.
Kansas is up to No. 6.
To understand just how impressive the Jayhawks were this weekend, consider that they shot 68.9% from the field against Houston, which is the best any opponent has ever shot from the field against the Cougars in Sampson's 10 years at the school. The best effort might've come from Johnny Furphy, who took seven shots, made six of them and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. It was the 6-foot-9 freshman's seventh straight start after beginning the season as a reserve. For what it's worth, in this seven-game stretch with Furphy in the starting lineup, the Jayhawks are performing like a top-three team, according to BartTorvik.com.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds in Wednesday's 105-96 win over Northwestern. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday at Wisconsin. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Cam Spencer finished with 23 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 77-64 win at St. John's. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Baylor. | -- | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | Jamal Shead was 2 of 9 from the field in Saturday's 78-65 loss at Kansas. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 93-84 win over Duke. The Tar Heels' next game is Tuesday against Clemson. | -- | 29-8 |
| 5 |  | Nolan Winter was 1 of 6 from the field in Thursday's 80-72 loss at Nebraska. The Badgers' next game is Sunday against Purdue. | -- | 22-14 |
| 6 |  | Johnny Furphy finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 78-65 win over Houston. The Jayhawks' next game is Monday at Kansas State. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 7 |  | Zakai Zeigler finished with 26 points and 13 assists in Saturday's 103-92 win at Kentucky. The Vols' next game is Wednesday against LSU. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 8 |  | Kam Jones finished with 31 points and two steals in Saturday's 91-57 win at Georgetown. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday against St. John's. | 2 | 27-10 |
| 9 |  | DaRon Holmes II finished with 34 points and seven rebounds in Friday's 76-71 win over St. Bonaventure. The Flyers' next game is Tuesday at Saint Joseph's. | 3 | 25-8 |
| 10 |  | Oumar Ballo finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds in Thursday's 91-65 win over Cal. The Wildcats' next game is Sunday against Stanford. | 3 | 27-9 |
| 11 |  | Jayden Nunn finished with 16 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 70-68 win over Iowa State. The Bears' next game is Tuesday against Texas Tech. | 4 | 24-11 |
| 12 |  | Tre King was 1 of 8 from the field in Saturday's 70-68 loss at Baylor. The Cyclones' next game is Tuesday at Texas. | 6 | 29-8 |
| 13 |  | Collin Murray-Boyles finished with 16 points and four assists in Saturday's 72-62 win at Georgia. The Gamecocks' next game is Tuesday against Ole Miss. | 1 | 26-8 |
| 14 |  | Johni Broome finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 91-77 win at Ole Miss. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday against Alabama. | 2 | 27-8 |
| 15 |  | Tyrese Proctor was 1 of 6 from the field in Saturday's 93-84 loss at North Carolina. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday against Notre Dame. | 4 | 27-9 |
| 16 |  | Ian Martinez was 1 of 7 from the field in Saturday's 81-67 loss at San Diego State. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday against Nevada. | 7 | 28-7 |
| 17 |  | Fousseyni Traore finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 86-73 win at West Virginia. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday at Oklahoma. | -- | 23-11 |
| 18 |  | Marcus Domask finished with 23 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 87-75 win at Ohio State. The Illini's next game is Sunday against Nebraska. | -- | 29-9 |
| 19 |  | Mark Sears finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 99-67 win over Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday at Auburn. | -- | 25-12 |
| 20 |  | Creighton let Butler shoot 55.1% from the field in Friday's 99-98 loss to the Bulldogs. The Bluejays' next game is Wednesday at Providence. | -- | 25-10 |
| 21 |  | Joel Scott finished with 14 points and six assists in Saturday's 73-61 win at Fresno State. The Rams' next game is Tuesday against Boise State. | 3 | 25-11 |
| 22 |  | Robbie Avila finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 75-67 win over Drake. The Sycamores' next game is Wednesday against Valparaiso. | 4 | 32-7 |
| 23 |  | Jaedon LeDee finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 81-67 win over Utah State. The Aztecs' next game is Tuesday at Air Force. | NR | 26-11 |
| 24 |  | Johnell Davis finished with 24 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 102-70 win over Tulsa. The Owls' next game is Thursday at UAB. | NR | 25-9 |
| 25 |  | Tyson Degenhart finished with 29 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 94-56 win over Air Force. The Broncos' next game is Tuesday at Colorado State. | NR | 22-11 |
| 26 |  | Aidan Mahaney finished with 20 points and one assist in Saturday's 64-62 win at Gonzaga. The Gaels' next game is Tuesday at Pacific. | NR | 26-8 |
