Kansas Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Jayhawks

Expectations for Kansas 

Kansas is always intriguing to watch, but they are intriguing this season for a few different reasons. It’s always interesting to see how a team responds to losing key players in the offseason. In Kansas’s case, it happens to be two of their all-stars. However, we’ve all learned not to bet against Bill Self by now. The next big question is how Bryce Thompson is going to perform this season.

No matter what role he secures this season, Thompson should solidify himself as a top option by the end of this season. If he can build solid chemistry between Marcus Garrett and Ochai Agbaji, then this truly could be a special season for Thompson and the Jayhawks.

Conference play is going to be key this season, as with fewer non-conference games, strength of schedule will play a much different role in determining who’s in and out for March Madness. If Kansas can sneak by with two wins in their three critical games against Gonzaga, Kentucky, and Tennessee, then I think it’s pretty safe to say they will end the season where they started as a top ten team.

As mentioned earlier, nobody is a real pushover in the Big 12 this season, but Kansas has to perform business as usual within the conference to remain in the conversation to make some noise in March. While Texas Tech and West Virginia might give Kansas a scare or two, I think that the Big 12 will indeed come down to Baylor and Kansas in the championship just as most people have predicted. I do expect the Big 12 to send at least five teams to the big dance this year, however.

While nobody truly knows what to expect from this season, all we can say with certainty is that it’s nice to have college hoops back, and Kansas should give us plenty to watch.