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NCAA Tournament 2021: Buy or Sell Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, and West Virginia?

By Brendan Whitehouse

AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 24: Miles McBride #4 of the West Virginia Mountaineers moves around Matt Coleman III #2 of the Texas Longhorns at The Frank Erwin Center on February 24, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 24: Miles McBride #4 of the West Virginia Mountaineers moves around Matt Coleman III #2 of the Texas Longhorns at The Frank Erwin Center on February 24, 2020 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Tournament Kansas Jayhawks Ochai Agbaji Amy Kontras-USA TODAY Sports
NCAA Tournament Kansas Jayhawks Ochai Agbaji Amy Kontras-USA TODAY Sports /

Kansas: Sell

First game: Eastern Washington: Saturday 3/20

Potential opponents down the road: USC, Oregon, Iowa, Wichita State, Drake, VCU

The Jayhawks not winning the Big 12 for once isn’t enough of a reason to sell on this team making the final four. They still had a great season with a 20-8 record, 12-6 in the Big 12 finishing 2nd behind a powerhouse Baylor team with only two losses that they still beat by thirteen.

In non-conference play, Kansas lost the opener to Gonzaga, beat Creighton by a point, and lost to Tennessee. In the Big 12 they were swept by Texas, swept Texas Tech, won two out of three against Oklahoma, and split with West Virginia. Also lost their first matchup with Baylor before giving the Bears their first loss later in the year.

The problem with the Jayhawks this year may be off-court and unfortunately covid related issues that eventually catch up to them. They’re already to be without their leading rebounder Jalen Wilson for the first round and Tristan Enaruna just tested positive for covid-19 as well. They’ll be without those two and David McCormack who also had a positive test.

Having three of your players test positive for covid is very concerning. Not only for the question of when can they come back but how safe is the rest of the team?

Chances of making the final four are slim enough for any team but now for the first time, it’s possible we see a team lose by DQ for not having enough players. If it’s going to happen to any team Kansas is one of the favorites for it.

The Jayhawks pulled out of the Big 12 tournament when they began seeing positives. Even if this is done growing within the program and nobody else is affected, they’re still missing some of their key contributors in a solid region with a couple of Pac-12 dark horses and a really good Iowa team.

I like the Jayhawks in the first round but I think more positives have as much of a chance of ending the season as a team like USC or Iowa does. I think USC would be a tough out for them in the second round if they continue to miss players.

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