The Kansas Jayhawks secured a No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season and begin their quest to repeat as national champions this week in the NCAA Tournament. But the Jayhawks might feel slighted about their region and their seed placement.

Despite having the best resume of any team, Kansas earned the No. 3 overall seed and are placed in what is likely the most difficult region. The Jayhawks are the fourth highest-ranked Kenpom team in their region.

A breakdown of each team in the West Region is below.

The Jayhawks enter the NCAA Tournament with the best resume in the country. Kansas won a nation’s best 17 Quad 1 games, while also going undefeated (4-0) in Quad 2 games. But the Jayhawks lost to Texas to end the regular season and then got beat badly in the Big 12 Tournament title game too. Jalen Wilson is a first-team All-American and Gradey Dick is a likely lottery pick. But the real key is point guard Dajuan Harris' scoring. When he scores at least six points, Kansas is 21-1 this season with the only loss being to Texas in the title game when Bill Self wasn’t coaching and Kevin McCullar wasn’t playing because of lingering back issues.

The Bruins are one of the toughest, most competitive teams in the country. Led by seniors Jamie Jaquez Jr and Tyger Campbell, UCLA has one of the best two-man games in the country. Jaquez is a matchup nightmare for most teams and is an All-American. UCLA is the country’s best defensive team, but their best defensive player Jaylen Clark is done for the season because of injury. Adem Bona is also dealing with a shoulder injury. Freshman Amari Bailey needs to rise up and replace Clark in some fashion.

Early in the season, UConn looked like they nation’s best team. But the Huskies then hit an extended rut, losing five of six games at one point this season. The Huskies lack guard play, but Andre Jackson has some intriguing moments. Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan are one of the best front courts in the country, along with Arizona’s duo. UConn is in the top 20 in both offensive and defensive efficiency and they lead the country in offensive rebounding percentage.

Saint Mary’s is a top 11-ranked team in Kenpom after going 26-7 thi season. The Gaels are the second team to make the Tournament from the WCC, joining Gonzaga. Saint Mary’s has a top 8 defense and they’re the country’s second-best defensive rebounding team. Point guard Aidan Mahaney is only a freshman, but he’s going to turn into an NBA prospect at some point. He’s a good shooter (40.9 3FG%) and a good distributor as well.

TCU is one of the country’s most experienced teams. TCU returned every play from last season’s team, including all five starters. But one of those starters – center Eddie Lampkin – has left the team and entered the transfer portal. But guards Mike Miles and Damion Baugh are what really make this team click, along with Emanuel Miller. The Horned Frogs are not a good shooting team – they’re under 30 percent from deep this season – but they’re elite at forcing turnovers and getting points in transition.

Northwestern came out of nowhere to finish second in the Big Ten this season with guards Boo Buie and Chase Audige leading the way for the Wildcats. Chris Collins has now taken Northwestern to the only two NCAA Tournaments in program history. The Wildcats secured big-time wins over Purdue and Indiana, and they showed a great ability to trap talented bigs, which contributes to Northwestern having a top-15 defense in the country. The Wildcats are dependent on either Buie or Audige getting enough buckets to win games, but those two both have good scoring potential.

Since likely top-10 pick Nick Smith rejoined the team after dealing with some knee issues, Arkansas ranks in the top 25 in Bart Torvik’s rankings despite being just 3-6 in their last nine games. The Razorbacks have been hurt by injury this season, but they’ve been really inconsistent and are a terrible shooting team. Ricky Council is their lone reliable shooter. As a team, they are in the 300s in 3-point percentage.

The Fighting Illini are a lot like their first-round opponent, Arkansas. They have a talented roster, led by Terrence Shannon Jr, Coleman Hawkins and Matthew Mayer – all could play in the NBA one day. But they take a lot of 3-pointers, despite being in the 300s in 3-point percentage and being a top 20 team in 2-point percentage. Since Feb. 1, Illinois ranks 84th in Kenpom and the Illini have the country’s 97th best defense, pretty bad for a team that wants to find ways to beat opponents when shots aren’t falling – and this season they don’t fall very often.

Boise State ranks No. 31 in Kenpom and the Broncos have a top-15 defense in the country. The Broncos are great on the defensive glass, but they oddly are in the 247th-best offensive rebounding team. The Broncos have lost three of their last five games, but two of them are two Utah State.

Arizona State is going back to Dayton, a common place for the Sun Devils when they have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in recent years. Bobby Hurley's team plays high-level defense and they have some quality athletes too, led by the Cambridge twins. Guard Frankie Collins gives the Sun Devils a quality lead guard, but overall the Arizona State offense lacks impressive shot selection and shot makers. Nevada comes out of the Mountain West and is coached by Steve Alford. The Wolfpack are in the top 61 of both offensive and defensive efficiency, and they are the sixth best free throw shooting team in the country.

VCU continues to play the havoc style they did when they made it to the Final Four. But this team has some good size too. Michigan transfer Brandon Johns has been a good, versatile addition to the team. Since Feb. 1, VCU ranks in the top 30, according to Torvik and they have a top 10 defense in that time, too. The Rams force a ton of turnovers and they block a lot of shots too.

Coached by Rick Pitino, Iona is the 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament and they draw an interesting first-round game against UConn. Iona has a set of quality guards that could pose issues for UConn, but the Huskie’s size could pose problems. Still, Iona is in the top 50 nationally in defending against 2-point shots and top 10 in defending against the 3-pointer. Riding a 14-game winning streak heading into the tournament, the Gaels are led by Daniss Jenkins, Nelly Junior Joseph and Walter Clayton. Jenkins and Clayton are both shooting at least 36 percent from deep this season.

Grand Canyon is the 109th ranked team in Kenpom this season, but they have a top 53 ranked offense in the country. They Antelopes make over 37.5 percent of their 3-point attempts. But defensively, this team is bad. They’re in the 340s in defensive turnover rate and they struggle on the defensive glass as well.

Howard enters the NCAA Tournament after a 22-12 season. The Bison are No. 216 in Kenpom and don’t have an offense or defense that ranks inside the top 200. But they did win five straight to get into the tournament and the win over Norfolk State was a bit of an upset in the Mid-Eastern Conference title game.