Why are people (ESPN at least) asking if #2 Wichita State (30-0, 17-0) deserves a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament? Why is that even a question (in their current undefeated state) when the Shockers are #2 in the country with four one seeds to go around, and, at the moment, only four teams in the country with less than three losses?

If the Shockers lose a game, then the question has merit, but as long as Kansas and Duke (and their six losses each) maintain the five and six spots in the rankings, they'll be safe. Unless of course the AP rankings mean anything, which is what ESPN seems to be saying.

Kansas coach Bill Self was the latest to be asked the one-answer question. Even if he believed the Shockers didn't deserve a one-seed, the cost of him voicing that opinion likely outweighs the benefits of it influencing the tournament committee (or worse, if it tilts them the other way).

Still, Self couldn't resist adding a caveat at the end. If the Shockers lose a game, he doesn't seem to believe they should get a top seed (though of course he didn't put it that way).

"I don't want to say never, but I mean, we're pretty locked into what we're trying to do from a scheduling standpoint, and that's not a knock on anybody," Self told ESPN. "We're going to schedule strictly based on what we feel is best for us."

Also interesting from the ESPN article was mention of Kansas' refusal to schedule an out-of-conference game against Wichita State (also in Kansas), of which Self has some control.

"I don't want to say never, but I mean, we're pretty locked into what we're trying to do from a scheduling standpoint, and that's not a knock on anybody," Self said. "We're going to schedule strictly based on what we feel is best for us."

"Best interest" refers to Self's scheduling philosophy, which is basically about recruiting and record-padding, or, as ESPN puts it, "home games to pad the coffers and road games in places advantageous to recruiting."