Kansas Basketball: Jayhawks have a golden chance to silence doubters
By Shaun Gordon
Kansas has gained a reputation as underachievers, losing to the underdogs over and over. This time, though, they’re the underdogs.
“Kansas consistently underperforms in the NCAA Tournament”.
“The Jayhawks can’t win in under the bright lights of March”.
“Bill Self doesn’t get the most out of his talent”.
These are the type of statements that have haunted Kansas basketball throughout the last decade of Bill Self’s tenure as head coach.
Even national publications have called out the Jayhawks out for underperforming. Last year, Scott Gleeson of USA Today wrote about just that after Kansas’ Elite Eight loss to lower-seeded Oregon.
And he’s not entirely wrong. In Kansas’ 14 NCAA Tournament appearances under Bill Self, the Jayhawks have lost to a lower seed 10 times.
They’ve earned a No. 1 seed seven times, and they’ve lost to a lower seed in six of those tournaments.
They’ve only reached the Final Four twice in Self’s tenure despite those seven No. 1 seeds, along with three No. 2 seeds and two No. 3 seeds.
So how does a team that is so consistently dominant during the season, winning 14 consecutive Big 12 regular-season titles and earning consistently high NCAA Tournament seeds, fail to reach the heights that they are more than talented enough to reach?
That’s the golden question that’s hounded Bill Self for years.
But this year he has an opportunity to flip the script.
Nothing to Lose
Kansas has finally reached their third Final Four since Self took over. It hasn’t been easy. They’ve won their last three games by four points apiece, including their overtime thriller against Duke in the Elite Eight.
Now they’re not at risk of losing to a lower seed. This time, the Jayhawks are the underdogs.
Most betting services have Villanova as a five-point favorite over Kansas. Throughout the year, the Wildcats were the clear-cut second-best team in the country, just behind Virginia but well ahead of everyone else.
Kansas scores a lot of points.
Villanova scores more.
The Wildcats boast the top offense in the nation, and they’ve lived up to that billing in the Big Dance. They’ve topped 80 points three times so far en route to four double-digit wins. Statistically, Villanova is better defensively too.
If the Jayhawks want to have any shot at taking down the Wildcats, they’ll have to find a way to contain Villanova’s two-headed monster of Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges.
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But hey, stranger things have happened. Especially in March.
Especially this March.
The best team doesn’t always win.
Just ask Kansas.