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The Kansas Jayhawks have reached the Final Four under Bill Self for the third time. Despite having another great regular season, Kansas flew under the radar in terms of national attention. They turned it on late, once again claiming the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles. That prompted the committee to reward them with a #1 seed in the Midwest.
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Self and the Jayhawks continued that momentum into the NCAA Tournament, arguably playing as well as anyone. They hammered #16 seed Texas Southern and won comfortably against #9 seed Creighton. In the Sweet 16, Kansas built a big lead and held on against a dangerous #4 seed Providence. In the Elite Eight, they put together the best half in the entire tournament, outscoring #10 seed Miami 47-15.
All of that has earned them a spot against #2 Villanova in the 2022 Final Four. So, let's take a look at our 3 bold predictions for the Kansas-Villanova Final Four game this weekend.
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3 Jayhawks Bold Predictions for Kansas-Villanova 2022 Final Four Matchup
1. Kansas holds Villanova to below 40 percent shooting from 2-point range
Arguably the biggest storyline going into this game is the injury to Villanova do-it-all player Justin Moore. He is second on his team in scoring and is the best defensive player on Villanova.
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The Wildcats were already not the best offensive team, averaging just over 43 percent from the floor this season. Without Moore, that is not likely to get any better. Caleb Daniels will likely enter the rotation and play for Moore. Daniels played 78 percent of the team's bench points this year. Yes, you read that right. He played more than three quarters of the total bench minutes on the team.
Clearly, the Wildcats are the opposite of a deep team.
Kansas should look to take advantage of this and play from the inside out. If the Jayhawks can get Villanova into foul trouble, that could spell the end for the Wildcats.
2. Ochai Agbaji dominates much of the game
One of the bigger mismatches in this game is in the paint. Kansas averages more than three rebounds and three assists per game than Villanova does. So, the Jayhawks move the ball and crash the glass. Against the under-manned Villanova squad, you bet your bottom dollar Self has his guys ready to attack the paint.
That starts and finishes with the Big 12 Player of the Year, Ochai Ogbaji. He is a guard that is extremely adept at rebounding the basketball, ripping down more than five boards per game. Ogbaji can shoot from the outside or take you off the dribble. His versatility creates a lot of second chance points for Kansas.
The Jayhawks will look to get out on the run and keep this game on the move. Meanwhile, Jay Wright will likely having his kids trying to limit possessions. The more possessions for both teams, the better chance Kansas has.
3. Kansas earns trip to NCAA Title Game
Personally, I believe that this Villanova team might be a bit better than this Kansas team. But it's likely going to be too difficult to overcome the loss of Justin Moore.
The Jayhawks should win a tightly contested, low-scoring game, earning Bill Self a second trip to the championship game.
