Kansas Jayhawks – Buy
Kansas is one of the true-blue blood programs. The Jayhawks have won over 72% of their games, they have won at least 20 games in a season every year since 1988. The coaches who have coached at Kansas are all legends in the game and somehow, Kansas has only won three national titles. They are always going to be considered a title contender because they have earned it with their history and their reputation. The Jayhawks are always a finalist for the top recruits and transfers in the country and they always have a bunch of guys who can shoot from deep.
This year is no different as Kansas has a ton of top recruits and some top transfers. They also are one of the best shooting teams in the entire country. This version of the Jayhawks may be one of the most talented teams that head coach Bill Self has had at Kansas. Self was the coach for the last National Championship in 2008, but this may be his best team since that team. This team is also unique as they are one of the oldest teams in the country and they have a ton of experience.
Experience is going to play in the NCAA tournament and the experienced teams always seem to make a run. The Jayhawks can shoot a ton and have three good big men who can overwhelm some teams. They should be able to make a deep run into the NCAA tournament especially if they can get a number 1 seed like so many think they will.
Kansas like so many other teams is not without flaws. They have a great big man in David McCormack, but he has not lived up to expectations this year, at least not in every game. McCormack has the ability and has shown when he is locked in that he is the most dominant player on the floor most nights.
Coach Self is going to run a lot of pick and roll and let McCormack have a ton of opportunities to score he has just not delivered as much as Kansas needs him to. The big man must get it figured out for Kansas to get where they need to go.
The Jayhawks are led by their guards who do most of the scoring. Their starting guards account for 62% of the scoring and all of the guards even the ones who come off the bench can all shoot the ball from deep. Ochai Agbaji is putting up All-American type numbers right now and is averaging 20.2 points per game, shooting 45% from deep and over 50% overall from the floor.
He is the best guard on the floor most nights and Arizona State transfer Remy Martin gives Kansas a much different look and takes them to another level when he is playing well. Martin does tend to take a lot of bad shots that he doesn’t always make.
Luckily for Kansas Agbaji and guard Christian Braun take most of the shots. Kansas will go as far as their guards take them but will need McCormack to play well to win the title.