3 reasons why Kansas Basketball can make it back to the Final 4 this season
By Joey Loose
Led by the brilliant play of Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, David McCormack, and a roster stocked with talent, the Jayhawks of Kansas Basketball cut down the nets last season, winning their first national championship since 2008. That successful campaign also gave Bill Self his second national title, putting him in special company among the greatest coaches in the history of the game. The Jayhawks’ run through March Madness was special and impressive, including double-digit wins in the Elite Eight and Final Four and a crazy comeback against North Carolina in the title game.
That was last season, and we’re already three months into the next season. Those three names we mentioned are all gone from the Jayhawks, leaving the college game as champions. This year’s squad features new faces like Gradey Dick and Kevin McCullar Jr. playing major roles for the Jayhawks while others like Jalen Wilson and KJ Adams have increased roles. On paper, it looked like Kansas would take a slight step back but still be a national contender, but has that been the case?
No team has repeated as national champions since Florida did it sixteen seasons ago. That Gators squad was special, with nearly every part of their first title team returning to run it back in 2007. It’s hard for any team to win those six games to cut down the nets, let alone accomplish that feat in consecutive seasons. What makes that even more difficult is when you’re in Kansas’s boat, playing a ridiculously tough schedule already this season.
This year’s Jayhawks squad currently sits at 19-5, with a very solid 7-4 mark against a tough Big 12. It’s very possible that six Big 12 teams could nab Top 4 seeds in the NCAA Tournament next month, meaning the Jayhawks will have been quite challenged long before that postseason even begins. Even though the names and leading faces are quite different, can this team get back to the Final Four and perhaps repeat as national champions? Here are three reasons why we believe it’s a possibility.