NCAA Basketball: “League Pass Rankings” for 2021-22 season

12. Kansas Jayhawks

Bill Self is an absurdly good regular season coach, but I can’t say I’ve always enjoyed his half-court style. Well, enter one of my favorite guards in Remy Martin and the Jayhawks have my attention.

Martin is a polarizing guard. We know he can score, but how does it contribute to winning? His sometimes out-of-control style will be placed in Self’s under-control system and I’m fascinated to see the results.

They also got high-octane scoring guard Joe Yesufu from Drake. Ochai Agbaji, arguably the best screen navigator in the country, has also returned for his senior season.

With Texas and Baylor rising to elite status, the Jayhawks are no longer the automatic winner in the Big12. This is now a league where you need to play your best every night, and I’m excited to see how they respond to another challenging year at the top.

11. Oral Roberts

As a college basketball fan, I’m furious with myself for not discovering the joy that is Max Abmas until the tournament. Sure Abmas doesn’t play in a mid-major, but that didn’t stop him from putting up 37 against Oklahoma State, 29 against Ohio State (in a 15 over 2 seed upset), and 25 against Arkansas.

Abmas was the leading scorer in college basketball for a reason. The undersized guard has limitless range and can heat up at any second. I’ll miss his partner in crime in Kevin Obanor, but Abmas could conceivably have multiple 40 point games this season (he had two last year). A lot of their games are probably on ESPN+ which is tough, but any time you can catch the Golden Eagles on television, Abmas alone makes them a must-watch.