March Madness team profile: Kansas Jayhawks

The Kansas Jayhawks’ resume for the 2017 NCAA Tournament is a mixed bag. They had an ugly loss on the road at West Virginia, a shocking defeat in Allen Fieldhouse to Iowa State, and have shown themselves to be thin up front and susceptible to getting pushed around in the paint. But, and this is a huge but, there was the huge victory on the road at Kentucky. They also boast one of the favorites in the race for the Naismith Award, in senior guard Frank Mason. And he is complemented on the list of the nation’s best players by freshman forward Josh Jackson.

Of course there is also head coach Bill Self coordinating it all from the bench, who has twice guided the Jayhawks to the championship game and four other times made it to the Elite Eight. Self and the Jayhawks have had a number of high profile early tournament exits, to be sure. But since he took over Kansas in 2003 they have always gone into March as a four-seed or better. You just can’t argue with that kind of success, and the confidence that that kind of success breeds among his players – even those playing in their first ever NCAA Tournament.

This year’s team is just as loaded as any previous Kansas side. Along with the aforementioned Mason and Jackson, a total of six Kansas players have scored as many as 20 points in a game – with guard Davonte Graham being the most likely to take over the lion’s share of scoring from Mason or Jackson. Graham netted 13 points against UConn in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament last year and put up 17 in KU’s eventual loss to Villanova in the Elite Eight, so he definitely gives the Jayhawks big game depth. For his part, Mason was just 1-for-6 beyond the 3-point line in that game and will no doubt be looking for tournament redemption, in what will be his final crack at an NCAA title.

Also in favor of Kansas, and in what is typical from a Bill Self coached team, is the depth of the bench the Jayhawks have. In a tournament that can be grueling, with short two-day turnarounds  between hard-fought battles in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, the Jayhawks have nine different players that average double digits in minutes played. It’s not the sexiest of stats, but it can be one of the most effective when it comes to winning the tournament. Too many minutes leads to fatigue. Fatigue leads to sloppy defense. Sloppy defense leads to foul trouble. And foul trouble means that your best players aren’t on the floor when the game is on the line.

For Kansas, they have a load of top-flight players, the depth to fuel a deep tournament run, and the coaching experience to handle the rigors of an unpredictable tournament schedule. With an expected #1 seed, KU is definitely a team to watch.