Kansas basketball is entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament with more questions possibly than answers. Several analysts don't expect the team to even get past the first round, since the team is dealing with injuries to Kevin McClullar Jr. and Hunter Dickinson. Kansas though is a team with such a rich history and tradition, that you can never count them out. Here are a few reasons why Kansas could shock the world and win it all this season.
COACH SELF HAS DONE IT ALL BEFORE
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self has quite the resumé. After taking over in Lawrence in 2003, Self has won 565 total games at the school. He was named the National Coach of the Year four times in his career at the school, and has 10 seasons with at least 30 wins. That's a staggering statistic, as Self is tied for third among coaches all-time in that category.
The head coach has also seen just about everything when it comes to March Madness. His experience includes two NCAA tournament championships, in 2008 and 2022 with the Jayhawks. Self also coached the team to the National Championship game in 2012, when the team lost to Kentucky. Self is the only coach in the history of the school to win two championships at Kansas, per the school.
This year has been more turbulent than usual in Lawrence. The school lost eight conference games, for the first time since the 1988-89 season when Roy Williams was at the helm. The school also went through some difficult injuries. Kevin McCullar Jr. went down with a bone bruise in his knee. He missed the Big 12 tournament, as did Hunter Dickinson, who has a shoulder injury. Kansas bowed out early to Cincinnati in the Big 12 tournament, due to missing those two players.
In the hands of a lesser coach, that would probably be the end of this Kansas basketball team. The Jayhawks however have the best coach possibly in the country in Self, who has the team as a no. 4 seed in the tournament despite all this turbulence. When you have arguably the best coach in the entire tournament on your sideline, that certainly doesn't hurt your chances.
KANSAS IS GETTING NO RESPECT
Kansas basketball is getting picked by some of the biggest analysts to lose their first round game. Seth Davis and Andy Katz have both come out picking Kansas to lose to Samford in the first round of the tournament, as well as several other television analysts. Kansas finds themselves as an underdog, and that will surely pep up this team. No one expects them to do much of anything in this March Madness, and the team in turn is essentially playing with house money.
REBOUNDING KING
Kansas basketball is getting some good news as the tournament is set to begin. Coach Bill Self says Dickinson is looking good to play, per the Topeka Capital-Journal.
“(Dickinson)’s doing great,” Self said, per the Topeka Capital-Journal. “He’s actually practiced the last two days, non-contact, so we’ve done a lot of dry stuff so that way he can be out there.”
With Dickinson, this Kansas basketball team is much better. Dickinson led the Big 12 Conference in rebounding this season, and provides tough matchups against other teams for Kansas. There aren't that many schools in this tournament that have the horses to push against a 7-foot-2, 260 pound center. Dickinson is second on the team in scoring, pouring in 18 points a game to go with 11 rebounds a contest.
McCullar Jr. and Dickinson are the league's top two scorers. While the injury situation with McCullar seems murkier than with Dickinson, Kansas can absolutely win this tournament if they are able to get them both back on the floor. Kansas basketball has the two leading scorers in the rugged Big 12, as well as the conference's top rebounder. This team is a tough out, and will travel well with their fans for each and every NCAA Tournament game.
Kansas basketball is a no. 4 seed in March Madness, playing in the Midwest region against no.13 seed Samford. The two schools meet on Thursday in a Round of 64 game in Salt Lake City. Samford is the conference champion of the Southern Conference.
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