Brad Tollefson/Associated Press
The Kansas Jayhawks entered the postseason with their wings clipped. Having lost two stars midseason — one to an N.C.A.A. suspension, one to unspecified “personal matters” — they are poised to sustain double-digit losses for only the second time in 19 seasons.
Yet according to the Rating Percentage Index statistic, which typically saturates bracketological prognostications ahead of the N.C.A.A. tournament’s Selection Sunday reveal, Kansas was the No. 1-ranked team in the country on Thursday — higher than Kentucky, which beat Kansas handily in January; higher than Virginia, which has zero losses to teams not named Duke; higher even than Duke and its basketball messiah, Zion Williamson.