Ignore Kansas at your own risk. The Jayhawks are in the Elite Eight for the third straight year

The Jayhawks are headed back to the Elite Eight for the third year in a row.

No. 1 Kansas took down No. 5 Clemson on Friday in the Big Dance’s Sweet 16 round, 80-76. Bill Self’s outfit sprinted to a 40-27 lead at halftime and never looked back, riding Malik Newman’s 17 points in the win.

Clemson came close at the end, but the Jayhawks led Friday’s proceedings wire-to-wire.

The second half saw more of the same, though Clemson did spring to life for a time to give Kansas a scare down the stretch. Udoka Azubuike continued his dominance on the inside, Newman stayed hot on the outside, and Lagerald Vick contributed 13 points of his own. Midseason addition Silvio De Sousa came strong off the bench and threw in nine points, six rebounds, and one block.

And now the Jayhawks await either Syracuse or Duke in the Elite Eight.

This year was the 14th straight season that Kansas won the Big 12 title, and they’ve won at least one NCAA tournament game every year since 2006. At times, they’ve earned a reputation for choking out of the Dance a round or two earlier than they perhaps should have, but they do have a national title from 2008 and went on to lose to Kentucky in the tournament final as recently as 2012.

So, why does it seem that this year’s team is flying under the conversational radar?

This incarnation of Self’s club just looks different. The offense isn’t pegged on a two-post player setup — a classically Bill Self staple — so offensive production is generated elsewhere, most notably from the wings.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Vick and Newman are all averaging better than 12 points per outing this year, and they’re all shooting at a clip of better than 44 percent. Vick, for his part, is ripping off a 49.6 field goal percentage, and the team collectively ranks 12th nationally in straight field goal percentage, and 11th in three-point shooting percentage. According to KenPom, the Jayhawks rank fifth in adjusted offense, scoring 121 points per 100 possessions.

The real gem in Self’s back court is Devonte’ Graham, though, who’s averaging 17.4 points per game this year. He’s got outstanding handles and vision, and tossed off a half court alley-oop on Friday as if it was just another day at the office. His physicality also allows for a remarkable inside presence for a guy listed at 6’2, 185 lbs., and he’s just a fun sort of player to watch take someone to the rack.

With real sniping threats all around the perimeter, Self has appointed Azubuike to command the middle, and command it he does. He entered Friday’s contest making 77.5 percent of his shots from the floor, and he continued that pace in the win over Clemson on seven-of-nine shooting.

In short, Bill Self isn’t running a classically Bill Self shop this year, but he’s got pieces in place to quietly run this thing into a tournament championship game.

With that said, it would seem that Kansas isn’t popping up in the national conversation at the moment, a conversation which still seems centered on Duke, Villanova and Michigan. The first two are understandable, the third to a degree less so, but why not Kansas?

Chalk it up to FBI wiretaps, the usual choke artists narrative, or that Kansas isn’t just as shiny a vehicle as it was in 2008 or 2012. But one shouldn’t forget that Self has led this team to its third-straight Elite Eight, and if you aren’t asking the question, the Jayhawks almost certainly are.

Why not Kansas?