Within an hour of it being announced Thursday that Bill Self had been hospitalized overnight, one local sports talk show had already moved on to the real concern: speculating how the absence of the Hall of Fame coach would impact the Jayhawks' seed in the NCAA Tournament.

You know, the real important stuff.

To be clear, the health of the Kansas coach remains the chief concern at the Big 12 Tournament and around college basketball. Still, there are other not-so-parallel issues at hand.

These Jayhawks do have the look of being capable to be the first college basketball team in 15 years to win back-to-back national championships. Earning that No. 1 overall seed is important to that pursuit, given its implications.

"It's very important" said Big 12 Player of the Year Jalen Wilson following KU's 78-61 Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal win over West Virginia. "Why not have the opportunity to be able to cut nets in this same gym?"

That was a reference to the Midwest Regional being played in two weeks at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, 45 miles from the KU campus. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee might even do the Jayhawks a further solid by placing them three hours from here in Des Moines, Iowa, for the opening two rounds.