College sports fans have been locked into college football during the past couple months, but the college basketball season is right around the corner. A lot of teams are having scrimmages and exhibition games this week, and the regular season will be here in less than two weeks. One fan base that is always excited for the season to start is Kansas basketball fans.

The Kansas basketball team is ranked #1 to start the season as it expected to be another successful year in Lawrence. Head coach Bill Self is one of the best in the business, and he always finds a way to lead his Jayhawks to a good season. However, it won't be easy in the Big 12.

Kansas has been the team to beat in the Big 12 under Bill Self, but that wasn't the case last year. The conference is loaded with good teams from top to bottom, and Self is expecting things to be the same this season.

“The expectations (of the Big 12) may be undersold,” Self said during Big 12 Media Days

Last season was one of the few that Kansas didn't meet expectations during the Self era, and the talent around the conference certainly made things difficult for them.

Bill Self, Kansas basketball hoping to get back to its dominant ways

The Kansas basketball program is one of the best in the country, and they come into every season with high expectations. That is once again the case this season, and their number one ranking shows that.

Expectations were high heading into last season as well, but Kansas failed to meet them. The Jayhawks ended up finishing the year with a 23-11 overall record and they were 10-8 in conference play. They finished the season in 6th place in the Big 12. For a lot of teams, that's a solid season. Not for Kansas though.

The Jayhawks still earned a four seed in the tournament, which is, again, good for most teams. Kansas is used to being a one seed, however. They lost in the second round against Gonzaga.

If you take a look at the Big 12 standings from last year, you can see why things were tough for Kansas. The team dealt with some tough injury issues during the season, and the level of competition didn't make anything easier. There were 14 teams in the conference last year, and 12 of them finished the regular season with a winning record. That is impressive.

Bill Self saw how good this conference was last year, and he is expecting it to be tough from top to bottom once again. The conference will also have to deal with some new additions as Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are all members this year. Watching all of these teams go to battle week in and week out is going to be fun.