Instead, the No. 6-seeded Jayhawks wilted in an 88-77 loss at T-Mobile Center. A prime example came when Kansas trailed by five with 4:06 left. Kansas turned the ball over on two straight possessions and eventually lost another winnable game.

Kansas basketball had a chance to advance to the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament. To get there, though, the Jayhawks had to beat Arizona.

The Jayhawks, now a pedestrian 21-12, were going to hold that underdog designation a) only if they won Thursday in the Big 12 quarterfinals against Wildcats and b) because they had backed into their current plight to begin with.