Why KU players still believe Jayhawks are poised for a deep run in March Madness
The season hasn’t exactly gone as planned for the Kansas men’s basketball team.
The Jayhawks came into the season ranked No. 1 in the country and haven’t lived up to the billing since the end of non-conference play.
KU (21-12) has a 6-11 record against Quad 1 opponents. The Jayhawks’ most impressive win came in late November against a young Duke squad.
Since January, Kansas has beaten two ranked opponents. The Jayhawks finished 11-9 in regular-season conference play and went 1-1 in the Big 12 Tournament.
As Kansas awaits Selection Sunday, there’s still optimism among the Jayhawks that a deep run is in the cards.
“Our team has gone through so much adversity this season,” KU guard Zeke Mayo told The Star. “One thing we don’t do is we don’t give up. We are going to stay as tight as we can as a team and stay connected as a group. Trust the process, man. We’re going to get back this week and move into the tournament with a lot of confidence.”
For many Jayhawks, the belief in this team draws back to what it accomplished early on. When Kansas is playing at its best, it’s hard to beat. The prime example was in KU’s wins over Iowa State and Duke.
Unfortunately, KU’s inconsistency has been the story of the season. Between the regular season and Big 12 Tournament, KU finished 12-10 against Big 12 opponents. On Thursday, Kansas was knocked out of the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament after losing to Arizona.
Still, freshman Flory Bidunga remains optimistic.
“We have proven we can compete at the highest level,” Bidunga told The Star. “We have proven that we can be really great when we turn up. That’s what gives us hope. When everybody is turned up on the team, we can beat anyone in the country.”
The Jayhawks’ path to a deep run starts on the defensive end. KU’s defense has slipped in recent games.
Kansas has allowed an average of 113.7 points per 100 possessions in March (five games). KU’s average for the season is 92.7 points allowed per 100 possessions — that ranks No. 11 in the nation.
It’s well-documented that Kansas coach Bill Self is known for having elite defensive squads.
“I think what I’m most concerned about is: What are we going to get on the defensive end?” Self said after KU’s loss to Arizona. “Because I think we’ve gotta make people play poorly in many ways, when you are playing against an elite team. We are more than capable of doing (that), but we haven’t done that consistently.”
Luckily for the Jayhawks, the offense is trending in the right direction. A team that hasn’t taken or (made) many 3-pointers this season has hit double-digit 3-pointers in consecutive games for the first time all season.
On Thursday, KU star Zeke Mayo became the first Jayhawk since at least 1996-97 to hit five-plus 3-pointers in three consecutive games.
Despite the promising signs for KU’s offense, Kansas will enter the NCAA Tournament in unfamiliar territory. For the first time under Self, Kansas will not be a top-4 seed.
Still, players remain confident. They believe KU’s adversity can be a positive down the stretch.
“We did a lot of amazing, high-level things this year,” transfer guard David Coit told The Star. “We beat a lot of good teams — we beat Iowa State, Duke, Michigan (State) – like we’ve seen it. We know what it looks like when we put it together. I think we learned the lessons. We learned the tough lessons.
“We chose this road that we are on, it came down on us. I think we’ve got the confidence — we know what we can do. That’s something I am looking forward to. Nothing else matters.”
The 5-foot-11 Coit has embraced the underdog mentality and looks forward to Kansas doing the same.
“I know Kansas isn’t used to being the underdogs, but this year we are,” Coit said. “So we’ve got to take that mentality with us.”
