Kansas is once again the preseason favorite in the Big 12, and the Jayhawks are one regular season championship away from matching UCLA’s record for the most in a row. John Wooden’s Bruins once had 13 in a row, and Kansas is on its way.

Right? Or doesn’t this have to end at some point?

WVU is No. 2 in the preseason poll, and maybe no one the past two years has been as close to dethroning the king as were Mountaineers. Three home wins in three years and a handful of hair at Allen Fieldhouse and the Big 12 tournament. But no wins in those other venues, which is the only way someone is ever going to knock Kansas off its perch.

WVU finds the No. 2 distinction to be “bittersweet,” because it’s redeeming recognition, but it also clearly states the Mountaineers are not expected to be No. 1, and no matter how close that is to the truth, that drives them crazy.

That said — and we’ve been over this — the Big 12 is not The Big 12. It does not appear, as we sit here and write and read this today, to be what we’ve witnessed the previous three years. So, why not WVU or why not someone else this season? Well, Kansas is still pretty good, and everyone – Jayhawks included – lost some pieces to the offeseason.

“This is my 14th year,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “Coach Self and I came in together, and I can’t remember a year more competitive Nos. 2-10. I think Kansas is a clear favorite, but other than that, it’s a crapshoot.”

Kansas lost its top two scorers from last season, and there’s a similar situation around the league. The entire first-team All-Big 12 team from last season is gone, as are three players from the second and third teams. The 2016 player of the year, defensive player of the year, coach of the year and sixth man of the year are all gone, too.

“With our teams in the league, you lost a lot of valuable members of teams, some of the greatest players in the history of Big 12 basketball, from Buddy Hield to Georges Niang to Perry Ellis, and I think if you look at teams, they seem to have parts back, but you’re not sure about all the other people,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “So I think you could make a case for a lot of teams.”