San Diego — Nine players, three keys apiece, each of them offering a slightly different take on the answer while circling around the same general theme on the eve of their first NCAA Tournament game of the 2025-26 season.
R1S1 Sports was in the KU locker room at Viejas Arena on Thursday afternoon to find out what this group — some who have been in the Big Dance before and many others who haven’t — believes are the biggest keys to Kansas making the type of postseason run that the program and its fans expect to see.
More coverage from San Diego...
• Cal-Baptist talks about the 1st time they heard about KU's Darryn Peterson
• Jayhawks arrive in San Diego with 'big time' feel & mindset
• How KU's newcomers became a part of the complete KU family
• A sign of serious success for Melvin Council Jr.
While many of them pointed to being the tougher team in every game they play as one of the most important factors, there were other answers, as well.
Some pointed to the game on the floor. Some pointed to the battle between their ears. And some mentioned other things altogether.
Here, in a player by player breakdown, is what each of the Jayhawks that R1S1 Sports talked to on Thursday said were the three biggest keys to a memorable run by the Jayhawks this month.
• Elmarko Jackson
At the risk of catching a cross eye from his head coach, the redshirt-sophomore pointed to the importance of offense in the Big Dance.
“Shooting the ball well is key,” Jackson said. “A lot of people like to put an emphasis on defense, which is very true, but you’ve also got to shoot the ball well in a tournament like this.”
Being prepared for anything and everything was second on his list.
“Being true to scouting report is big,” Jackson said. “But also understanding that it is March Madness and you’re gonna get everyone’s 120%”
And the final thing had to do with the bond of his team.
“Just staying connected, for real,” he said. “There’s gonna be a lot of ups and downs throughout the game, so, if it’s low don’t get too low and if it’s high don’t get too high and play until the final buzzer.”
• Kohl Rosario
The freshman from Miami fired his keys off in list form.
“Stay together, play hard and defense,” Rosario said. “Those are the keys all year. Those are the keys to making it deep in the tournament and those are the keys to win as a program.”
While taking care of that list has been the emphasis since the day he arrived at Kansas, Rosario admitted that what he has experienced in the past few days was new.
“It definitely feels different. It’s a different energy in March Madness. Just walking in, seeing the brackets, seeing the March Madness logo, it’s different energy and a different vibe. This is what everyone works for.”
• Bryson Tiller
“I’d say rebounding, ball movement and toughness,” Tiller said while rattling off his top keys for Kansas during this postseason.
That last one — a Bill Self favorite — carried a little more weight with it for the Kansas freshman.
“There have been many times where there’ve been close games this year,” Tiller said. “And usually in those scenarios the toughest team wins.”
• Jayden Dawson
“I think it’s the same thing every game and it starts on offense.”
That, Dawson said, is ball and body movement, something you might’ve heard Self say a time or one thousand this season.
“We just have to be constantly moving with our bodies and moving the ball and get it moving around,” Dawson said.
“Definitely getting on the glass is the second thing, just dominating the glass as much as we can on offense and defense.”
HIs final key was an old Self staple.
“Just defensive stops,” he said. “Getting as many stops as we can. We’re at our best when we’re getting stops and pushing it in transition. So if we get stops and we’re pushing in transition, the rest will take care of itself.”
• Justin Cross
The KU walk-on proved with his answer that he’s been around a while and that being who you are at this time of year can be the most important part of the equation.
“Play to our identity,” he said as his top key.
What is that identity?
“Defensively, we can be a real scrappy team and everyone can guard 1 through 5,” Cross said. “But we also want to be relentless, which leads to our offense and we can play at a face pass and benefit from multiple guys that can make plays for each other.”
The other two keys had more to do with the mental part of the game.
“We just gotta stay connected,” he said. “And then, I think if we’re having fun and staying connected, that’s the main thing and we can make a run this year.”
• Melvin Council Jr.
“It’s win or go home, you know. It can happen so quick. And we just gotta trust each other.”
Council, who looked much more like his happy and hype self on Thursday than he did after a pair of rough outings at the Big 12 tournament last week, said toughness was undeniably the biggest key to the whole thing.
It’s that whole if you’re not a dog, you’re dog food mentality that he has carried with him throughout the season and he really wants this team to be locked in on it starting tonight.
“Toughness, heart and with each other,” he said, rounding out his three keys.
• Tre White
“At this time of the year, everybody knows each other’s plays, everybody knows everybody’s counters and the counters to the counters,” White said. “So, it really just comes down to execution and who’s gonna be the tougher team.”
Is there a third one in there?
“Probably just playing free,” he said. “I feel like that’s when we’re at our best, when everybody’s in that flow state, playing free, playing confident. So, if we’re playing tough and disciplined and confident and free, we’re gonna be a tough team to beat.”
• Flory Bidunga
The KU big man pointed to the defensive end of the floor for two of his three keys.
“If a team cannot score they can’t beat us,” he said. “I’d use that as one of my keys. “(Another) one is probably eliminate second-chance points.”
KU has struggled to control the glass at times this season, allowing teams to hit the offensive boards hard and come away with more chances and extra points as a result. Bidunga, who led the team in rebounding (9.2 per game) and has 13 double-doubles to date, said he plans to set the tone on the glass.
“It is a big part of my job,” he said. “And we’re at the time in the season where we can’t allow those mistakes anymore. So, I feel like it’s time that we lock in and I’m confident that we’ll do that.”
While the last one had a lot more to do with the idea of flow and movement, it lightly ties into the key about the defensive boards.
“I think we can share the ball and we need to play with each other and play together,” he said.
When KU has done that, they’ve looked borderline unbeatable at times this season. The question is can they do it consistently and for three straight weeks?
• Jamari McDowell
The third-year Jayhawk agreed with Bidunga for his top key.
“I would say finish possessions and try to eliminate second-chance points,” McDowell said, before adding that getting out in transition and “guarding” were his two other keys.
“Because I honestly think we’ll hit shots,” he said. “I think the other stuff, if you knock that out, the rest will take care of itself.”
Nothing to it but to do it now. It’s game on for the 4th-seeded Jayhawks, who will open NCAA Tournament play as one of the last teams to play in the first round. Tipoff is set for 8:45 p.m. central tonight on CBS against 13th-seeded Cal-Baptist.
The winner will play again Sunday in Round 2 against the winner of the 5-12 matchup between St. John’s and Northern Iowa.
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
