NCAA Basketball: Purdue, Marquette rise in latest top 25 power ranking
By Joey Loose
4. Kansas (5-1)
Not only is Kansas a Blue Blood program with recent postseason success, having cut down the nets as recently as 2022, but these Jayhawks are an extremely talented bunch. Hunter Dickinson has played impressive ball throughout his career before transferring to Kansas and he’s part of an incredible lineup. How exactly would that lineup fare in their first real challenges in Maui?
Their first contest at the Maui Invitational wasn’t a challenge, as the Jayhawks beat host Chaminade 83-56, getting 31 points and 11 rebounds from Dickinson. They faced a much stiffer challenge in round two, falling 73-59 to a very talented Marquette team. Kevin McCullar Jr. had a second straight great performance with 24 points and 8 rebounds in the loss. The Jayhawks then salvaged 3rd place in the tournament with a 69-60 win over Tennessee, with Dickinson’s 17-point, 20-rebound performance leading the charge.
When you take a step back and look at the metrics, Kansas didn’t put forth their best efforts in Maui, but still did enough to topple the Volunteers and salvage a pair of wins. This Kansas team has the total talent to be the top contender in the new-look Big 12 and certainly won’t have a week this challenging again in the near future. They will see defending champion Connecticut in Lawrence this upcoming Friday and will need to bring their best.