Weekend preview: Figuring out men’s college basketball this season is one big

There is an annual debate in college basketball about the value of momentum. Is it real? Does it really matter if it is? Some believe that a streak of four, five, six or seven wins in a row, etc., has no bearing on whether that team will win its next game. They’re all separate events. Others believe it can fuel a team, especially entering the NCAA tournament.

Real or not, it seems easy to squander. In recent weeks, we’ve watched good teams fail to follow-up on strong victories or extend winning streaks in a puzzling stretch.

Houston had won five in a row and topped most metrics as the No.1 team in college basketball before it suffered a double-digit loss to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday. Bill Self’s team celebrated that victory, and then the Jayhawks made only three shots from beyond the arc in their overtime loss at rival Kansas State this week. Alabama had won four in a row, a stretch that started with a home win over Auburn, before Nate Oats’ squad gave up 99 points in a loss to the Tigers in a rematch Wednesday. And BYU beat Texas last weekend but didn’t show up during a loss to Oklahoma on Tuesday.

The North Carolina Tar Heels’ loss to Clemson in Chapel Hill was the most surprising outcome of the week. The Tar Heels had dominated rival Duke on Saturday with a 93-point effort. On Tuesday, they looked like a different team against the Tigers.

On Saturday, Armando Bacot said the ACC title “runs through me.” After the loss to Clemson, the veteran leader suggested the team had struggled to handle success.

Maybe momentum is fake, but the heartbreaking losses that have followed some big wins have been very real.

All odds from ESPN Bet.

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Agbaji splashes a 3-pointer for the Jayhawks

Ochai Agbaji drills a 3-pointer to open the game for Kansas against Texas Tech.

No. 13 Baylor (17-5, 6-3 Big 12) at No. 4 Kansas (18-5, 6-4)

Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN

Kansas has emerged from a rough start in league play a few times under Bill Self. Even last year, the Jayhawks started 6-4 before they finished 7-1 and won the Big 12 regular season title. That could happen again this year, but the road will be more difficult. They still have road games against Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Baylor and Houston. For a team that’s 1-4 in its last five road games, the final chapter of league play could cost Kansas in the Big 12 race and when seeds are announced on Selection Sunday. That’s why Saturday’s opportunity against Baylor, which leads the nation in 3-point shooting (41.2 percent), is significant. A loss to RayJ Dennis (13.8 PPG, 6.4 APG, 39 percent from the 3-point line), Ja’Kobe Walter (14.2 PPG) and the Bears would be a missed opportunity at home, just before a treacherous run to the finish line. The Jayhawks’ opponents in their last four losses connected on 43 percent of their…