ESPN College Gameday comes to Iowa State today*, the Cyclones’ first ever appearance on the show (basketball or football), and the fourth-to-last power-conference school to be featured either as the home or away opponent. If ISU was ever going to get it, this is the only way it was going to happen — at Hilton Coliseum against Kansas.
In 107 years of playing in a conference in basketball, the Kansas Jayhawks have won 42 outright conference championships and shared 15 more. That’s starting in 1907-08, Phog Allen’s first year, and continuing right through Bill Self’s decade of dominance.
Put another way, Kansas has won a conference championship more often than not. The Jayhawks have had one seven-year drought (1979-85), one six-year drought (1916-21), and one five-year drought (1961-65).
So when the Jayhawks assume a divine right of king of basketball…they don’t say it without some history to back them up. And when you come at the king, you best not take an obvious charge on your home court with five seconds left miss.
*Preceded, somehow, by the Travelocity Roaming Gnome getting into a staring contest with Fred Hoiberg.