Kansas Jayhawks
Big 12 (27-7, 13-5)
By Kansas standards, finishing 13-5 in Big 12 play is quite disappointing. But more important than the record itself, is the fact the Jayhawks were again able to win at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title every year since 2003-2004. That was Bill Self’s first season with the Jayhawks. Because of those occasional regular season struggles some may not consider Kansas a legitimate Final Four contender, but that could prove to be a mistake.
Big Wins: 11/14 vs TCU (65-61), 1/6 at TCU (88-84), 2/24 at Texas Tech (74-72)
Bad Losses: 12/6 Washington (65-74), 12/10 Arizona State (85-95), 2/3 Oklahoma State (79-84)
Coach: Bill Self
Why They Can Surprise:
Coach Self has five players who average double figures in the scoring column and all five of them are more than capable of taking over a game. Devonte’ Graham leads the way with 17.3 points per game. The senior point guard also dishes out an impressive 7.5 assists per contest. Like Graham, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is a very dangerous three-point shooter. He averages 15.1 points per game and connects on 45.3 percent of his three-point attempts. Malik Newman and Lagerald Vick can shoot from long range too. Those two are also decent passers and very good rebounding guards. Udoka Azubuike is the scorer in the paint and the seven-footer eats up a lot of space on both ends of the floor.
Why They Can Disappoint:
On some occasions KU will forget about Azubuike and settle for too many three-pointers. This is a good shooting team so that is not necessarily a bad thing, but in the NCAA Tournament all it takes is one off shooting night to put an end to the season. They need to be more aggressive getting to the basket. The Jayhawks rank 318th in the nation in free-throw attempts and that is a very telling statistic. The other potential problem for Kansas is their lack of depth, especially in the frontcourt. Coach Self will only go seven deep with this group and Azubuike and Mitch Lightfoot are the only two big men. While the bigger guards do a decent job on the glass, this is still a team that will struggle in the rebounding department against bigger, stronger opponents.
Probable Starters:
Devonte’ Graham, Senior, Guard, 17.3 ppg, 7.5 apg, 3.9 rpg
Marcus Garrett, Freshman, Guard, 4.4 ppg, 1.2 apg, 3.5 rpg
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Senior, Guard, 15.1 ppg, 2.6 apg, 4.0 rpg
Mitch Lightfoot, Sophomore, Forward, 3.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Udoka Azubuike, Sophomore, Center, 13.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.8 bpg
Key Role Players:
Malik Newman, Sophomore, Guard, 13.1 ppg, 2.1 apg, 4.9 rpg
Lagerald Vick, Junior, Guard, 12.0 ppg, 2.3 apg, 4.9 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 81.5 (36th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 71.1 (143, 6)
Field-Goal Percentage: 49.4 (16, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.2 (75, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 10.0 (21, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 39.8 (22, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.9 (237, 9)
Rebound Margin: 0.3 (192, 7)
Assists Per Game: 17.0 (15, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.6 (57, 3)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2017 NCAA Round of 64 win over UC Davis
2017 NCAA Round of 32 win over Michigan State
2017 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Purdue
2017 NCAA Regional Final loss to Oregon
2016 NCAA Round of 64 win over Austin Peay
2016 NCAA Round of 32 win over Connecticut
2016 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Maryland
2016 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Villanova
2015 NCAA Round of 64 win over New Mexico State
2015 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Wichita State
2014 NCAA Round of 64 win over Eastern Kentucky
2014 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Stanford
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over Western Kentucky
2013 NCAA Round of 32 win over North Carolina
2013 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Michigan
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over Detroit
2012 NCAA Round of 32 win over Purdue
2012 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over North Carolina State
2012 NCAA Regional Final win over North Carolina
2012 NCAA National Semifinal win over Ohio State
2012 NCAA National Final loss to Kentucky
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Boston U
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Illinois
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Richmond
2011 NCAA Regional Final loss to VCU
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Lehigh
2010 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Northern Iowa
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over North Dakota State
2009 NCAA Round of 32 win over Dayton
2009 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Michigan State
*all team stats through 3/4
