Kansas Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Jayhawks
Kansas 2020-21 Schedule
The Jayhawks are lined up to have nine non-conference opponents this season, with the first eight taking place before conference play begins. While they play some formidable opponents during that stretch, Kansas’s three most intriguing contests come in the form of Gonzaga, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
Self’s is going to have his team tested right away, as they start the year off playing No. 1 ranked Gonzaga. It’s at a neutral-site, but regardless, it’s going to give us a good idea of what to expect from the number one ranked Zags, as well as tell us how Kansas responds this season to losing two of their stars to the NBA.
The next key game comes less than a week later, when the Jayhawks head to Indiana to yet another neutral site, to take on yet another ranked team in number 10 Kentucky. By then we’ll have a few ideas of what to expect, but regardless of how the season starts, Bill Self vs. John Calipari will be must-see television.
After the first half of Big-12 conference play concludes, Kansas will then head to Knoxville at the end of January to take on the 12th ranked Tennessee Volunteers. That’s a game to circle on your calendars, as both the Vols and the Jayhawks should be ranked if everything goes according to plan, and the Big 12/SEC Challenge has really lived up to the hype the past few years.
Moving onto conference play, it’s safe to say that anything can happen. The Big 12 is just that good. Kansas will look to repeat on their 17-1 conference play record, but they do have some big games to overcome if they want to defend their conference title.
Starting off with Texas Tech will be very big for the momentum in the Big 12, as the Red Raiders will try to pull off what they did in the 2018-19 season, while the Jayhawks will be aiming to build on their recent success against Tech.
Games against West Virginia and Texas are ones to keep an eye out on, as the two teams will give Kansas all they can handle, but it’s no surprise that everyone should be tuned in to watch Kansas go up against Baylor both times this season, as it’s most likely going to be the #1 and #2 teams in the Big 12 once again.