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The Kansas Lottery: Which Jayhawks Team Will Show Up?
The Kansas Jayhawks went into Las Vegas and beat a very game, defending national champion Florida Gator team that has more experience. Sandwiched in between that great win was a loss at home to Oral Roberts and a loss on the road to Depaul where they let a very weak Depaul team run off 14 points in a row to closeout the game. So the question is - which Kansas Jayhawks team will you get come March?
Tonight, they beat a young USC Trojan team at home, but didn't look pretty doing so. Rush was erratic, Chalmers was inconsistent on the offensive end (great on the defensive side though) and the young twin towers of Arthur and Wright weren't as forceful as I witnessed in the Florida game. Rush, who might be their best player, isn't aggressive enough by nature to be the star to carry this team deep into March so look for them to make another early exit if they play a team that can handle Kansas' defensive pressure. As for USC, they will be a good team this year, but too young to do anything significant. Look for them to make an appearance in the NIT this year and, with OJ Mayo coming next year, making the Tournament.
One note to make mention of - even though this was a Kansas home game, the game was reffed by Pac-10 officials. Out-of-conference officials doing home games of teams not in their conference might be a good measuring stick when looking at home teams covering large lines.
It's always interesting to look at your posts in retrospect and see how close to the truth you really were. Kansas locked up the Big 12 title today on their home court, but they were one twisted ankle away from losing the chamionship on their home court. Texas' Kevin Durant was having a career day when he turned his ankle and only scored 7 second half points. Even with a gimpy Durant, Texas was one Wright block away from stealing a road win.
Kansas is an extremly talented team - there is no debating that. However, the Jayhawks are missing "something" whenever I watch them. I'm not sure if that's killer instinct or experience, but I have seen them let teams crawl back into games that they should have blown out. However, Kansas has size, athleticism, speed, shooting and a lot to prove after having been bounced from the tournament in the first round two years in a row. I'll reserve judgement on Kansas until I see the draw for the Field of 65, but I look for Kansas to perform much better this year than in past years.