CBS Sports’ Bill Raftery explains why he thinks KU could make deep run in NCAA Tournament
The Kansas men’s basketball team was ranked No. 1 in the nation in early December, but the Jayhawks have tumbled out of the AP Top 25 poll completely.
With the NCAA Tournament set to start next week, most Bracketology writers see the Jayhawks as being seeded sixth.
Based on seeding, that means the Jayhawks wouldn’t be favored to make it out of the first weekend of the tournament. But CBS Sports analyst Bill Raftery isn’t so quick to discount KU’s chances.
Raftery said Tuesday in a conference call that coach Bill Self has had difficulty getting the new players to mesh.
“I’ve been out there, he probably had a harder time than most, incorporating the different kids from the portal along with the style they like to play,” Raftery said. “So you know, defensively, they’re not quite what they used to be. And they’re not the same in their high-low game that they used to be. But I wouldn’t undersell Bill with a couple of days off, depending what he does in the Big 12 tournament
“I think they’ve got that opportunity (to make a deep run). Nobody has a guy quite like Hunter (Dickinson), and he’s an excellent passer that can find some people. So if they can get back to being a good defensive team and a rebounding team, and get back to their basics and mentally coordinate their effort, I think that’s part of it too.”
Raftery will be part of the CBS team calling the men’s Final Four with Ian Eagle, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson. And Raftery acknowledged the issues the Jayhawks have had.
KU has just a 13-11 record since starting the season with seven straight victories.
“A lot of guys have had difficulty with new players just adjusting to the philosophy of the coach of the program,” Raftery said. “Just from a distance, and having been there, I think that was part of the dilemma this year, plus the conference is extremely deep and talented and great defensively.”
He added: “To my point, there’s five guys in the first eight or nine that are brand new to the program, yep. And sometimes they don’t quite fit game to game. So I think that’s part of that dilemma as well.”
