KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It's about the time of year when college basketball takes a front seat and all eyes are on March Madness.
The University of Kansas men's basketball team is on the road to repeat as NCAA Division I Men's Basketball champions, but the task is tall and doesn't happen often.
Still, that doesn't mean it's impossible, and two former Jayhawks have faith.
"To win a national championship is obviously the highlight of the career," said Conner Teahan, who won a title with the 2008 KU men's basketball team.
Conner Teahan was in his freshman year at Kansas when he won his first national championship.
"Seeing Mario [Chalmers] hit the shot was one of the top five highlights I've experienced in my life," Conner Teahan said.
KU didn't go back to the championship game until 2012 when the Jayhawks lost by eight points to the University of Kentucky.
"To win a national championship is so hard, right?" he said. "And to win a national championship in basketball when you think about the streak you have to put in, six games to win that championship, that in itself is difficult."
Another highlight for Conner Teahan came just last year when he watched his younger brother Chris win KU's sixth national title.
"It's always great to see Kansas basketball win, but when your brother is on the team, that makes it extra special," Conner Teahan said.
KU rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to beat North Carolina for the title.
"To sum it up, surreal. I mean, I grew up watching my brother Conner play," Chris Teahen said. "I watched him win in 2008, and that was like my first time really following a sport, so I thought we were supposed to win a national championship every year. And then kind of when I got older, I realized how hard it was."
Winning a national championship is difficult, but repeating as champions is even more difficult.
Only seven teams have accomplished the feat since the start of the NCAA Tournament. The University of Florida was the last team to do so, winning in 2006 and 2007.
The Teahans tell KSHB 41 that while repeating is a challenge, it's also an expectation at a school like Kansas.
"You expect to win at Kansas," Chris Teahan said. "Every year your final goal is to win a national championship."
Through the ups and downs of the season, the Jayhawks' chances to repeat are alive.
"It's just about getting everybody to score and us being consistent and taking every opponent," Conner Teahan said. "Taking them all seriously and coming out to play every single game, and if we do that, then I like our chances a lot."
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