Big 12 Basketball: 2020-21 power rankings heading into New Year
2. team. 462. . 8-1 (2-0). . Jayhawks
After giving up 102 points to Gonzaga in the season-opening loss, it looked as if Kansas had plenty of issues to work on. Since then, they’ve been as impressive as any team in the country not named Gonzaga or Baylor.
The Jayhawks have gotten wins over Creighton, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Texas Tech, good for a projected 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Although since three of them were one-possession games, there still are things that they have to work on.
The biggest surprise so far for Kansas has been the play of Jalen Wilson. The redshirt freshman has broken out as a Big 12 star, averaging 14.6 ppg and 7.9 rpg. He already has had games of 20+ points and has emerged as the top frontcourt player for the team. Center David McCormack has been solid overall (9.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg) but he’s limited overall.
Guards Ochai Agbaji (team-leading 14.8 ppg) and Marcus Garrett (3.9 apg) have been offensive and defensive standouts, while Christian Braun has supplied the three-point shooting. If guards Bryce Thompson and Tyon Grant-Foster can continue to improve, then Kansas could be a national title threat.
The Jayhawks would’ve been No. 1 in every other conference’s power ranking with the exception of both the WCC and Big 12. But despite the great resume Kansas has accomplished, they can’t overcome one team in this league, until they can beat them on the court.