Kansas Basketball: 2017-18 season preview for the Jayhawks

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LAWRENCE, KS – FEBRUARY 22: Kansas Jayhawks fans hold up signs as Kansas prepares to win their 13th straight Big 12 Conference Championship during a game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Allen Fieldhouse on February 22, 2017 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

Schedule Overview

The non-conference portion of Kansas’s schedule is not going to pose them much of a challenge. Kansas does have games against Kentucky (in Chicago), Nebraska, Washington and Syracuse (in Miami), though. On paper, it does not appear that Kansas will have much of a struggle with the games mentioned above, aside from Kentucky.

Nebraska will be improved and playing at the Pinnacle Bank Arena can be a challenge, but Kansas should have no trouble beating Nebraska. Washington has a new coaching staff and a mostly new roster. The Huskies were not a good team last year and probably won’t be this year.

Syracuse could pose a slight challenge because of the 2-3 zone they runs. Usually against a team like Kansas, that defense doesn’t work. Kansas has the shooters to make Syracuse play honest defense. Kansas will be able to navigate the Big 12 schedule and win another title, so overall it looks as if Kansas will have around 30 wins and be ranked near the top of the polls all year.

Next: Stars of the 2017-18 Big 12

Conference Finish

At this point it would be foolish to bet against Kansas to not win the Big 12 outright. When Kansas loses a regular season title it will be bigger news than them winning the title. With Kansas’ schedule and potentially big RPI games, Kansas will most likely be a top seed in the NCAA tournament yet again, if not the No. 1 overall team going into the tournament. Kansas is a legitimate National Title contender and this may be one of the best teams that Bill Self has ever had.

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