Big 12 Basketball: Buy or sell Kansas, Iowa State, Baylor, Texas and TCU?

Kansas Jayhawks

As the reigning Big 12 Basketball and national champions, expectations are at an all-time high for the Jayhawks, And they have the target on their backs, with opposing teams consistently giving their best shots against Kansas. They managed to win the first five games but four of them were by four points or fewer.

They’ve lost the last three games, all against ranked opponents. That’s not proof that they’re overrated but it does show that there are flaws. It certainly doesn’t come from the frontcourt, as Jalen Wilson is making a National Player of the Year argument, leading the team with 21.4 ppg and 8.6 rpg that includes a recent 38-point effort against Kansas State in overtime. Sophomore forward KJ Adams has had a good run in Big 12 play, while freshman Gradey Dick (14.9 ppg) has been a quality secondary option on the wings.

The issue has been on the perimeter. Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar has been very inconsistent in his scoring production, while point guard Dajuan Harris has never been an offensive threat on a game-to-game basis. There’s no Remy Martin coming off the bench to provide a needed lift and whenever Dick doesn’t have a nice scoring game, Kansas is very vulnerable against quality teams.

Kansas can easily get a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and is capable of beating everyone. But they’ve been too reliant on one player and unless freshman MJ Rice is healthy and has an impact down the road, it’s hard to see how that changes. With few proven scorers, the Jayhawks have both a high ceiling and a low floor.

Sell