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Bracket Brad isn’t without random thoughts and opinions. Whether discussing team trends or other perspectives, he’ll occasionally spout his bracketology-related reactions on The Gaming Juice.
Kansas is a blue-blood program with the most Division I wins in college basketball history, six Final Four appearances since 2000 and two recent national titles (2008, 2022). Still, even the mightiest of the mighty occasionally swallow a grenade.
Remember Bradley (2005), Bucknell (2006), Northern Iowa (2010) and Stanford (2014)? To help your recollection, they were all No. 9 or lower seeds that quickly KO’d KU in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Up there on the silliness scale alongside Big Jay’s leather buckle shoes, it’s idiotic to think any opponent in a one-and-done scenario will willingly kiss the Kansas ring. Bill Self’s bunch were ranked No. 1 in the preseason, but with several visible warts, they’re a basketball team on the ropes.
[ Bracket Big Board: Brad Evans' latest NCAA Tournament projections ]
The annual tradition of brackets flying around offices, local watering holes and email inboxes is less than a month away. Preceding the MADNESS, college hoops casuals and dedicated fans scribble names on bracket lines hoping to score instant riches. Hey, this is the year your one-in-9.2 quintillion chance of a perfect bracket comes through. You can feel it, or maybe certain substances have altered your sense of reality.
Favorites and familiars are always automatic selections. Auburn, Duke, Alabama, Florida and others deserve serious deep-run consideration, but the Lames from Lawrence do not.
Like the early exits they experienced earlier this century, the Jayhawks could soon bloody brackets for those who simply buy into the brand name. Why? They are rock-chocked with various shortcomings.
For starters, they lack reliable guard play, a necessary component in March. Since January 1 (a stretch of 13 games), KU ranks a respectable No. 16 overall on BartTorvik, but that surface number is deceiving with a disappointing No. 134 standing in effective field-goal percentage offense.
With wide body Hunter Dickinson, the Jayhawks have proven effective in the post with 52.2% shooting inside the 3-point line. However, they’ve been steadily drawing iron from outside, ranking just No. 184 in 3-point percentage (33.2). Zeke Mayo operates as a relatively consistent scorer, but Dajuan Harris Jr.’s erratic play and AJ Storr’s nonexistence sound alarms.
Most embarrassingly, Kansas is No. 331 in free-throw rate in its last 13 games. Over the entire season, only 13.9% of its points come from the charity stripe. With Dickinson and slasher KJ Adams Jr. on the roster, the infrequent whistles are downright bizarre.
Possessing non-conference neutral-court wins against Michigan State and Duke, the Jayhawks have the potential to de-pant this doubter. Their defense — No. 5 in eFG% D since January 1 — can be suffocating, but they’ll be fortunate to survive the first or second round of the tourney with their average rebounding and offensive calamities. A 3-4 record over the last seven games provides a strong indicator.
A projected No. 5 seed on the latest Bracket Big Board, KU could be a classic No. 12 seed victim.
Look past the name, gamer. Rock Chalk is about to choke.