Kansas basketball: Few believe in the Jayhawks
By Stan Unruh
The Kansas basketball team is back in the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season. National media does not favor the Jayhawks and that is just fine.
There were times this season fans had little hope for this Kansas basketball team. Considering the success over the past thirty-plus seasons, fans are impatient and probably spoiled. We live and die with the outcome of each game. Thanks to the coaching of Hall of Famer Bill Self and the leadership of All American and Big 12 Player of the Year Devonte Graham, this team exceeded all expectations.
Beyond Bracket gurus Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm, the TV talking heads and others have been discussing for weeks which teams deserved a No. 1 seed. Despite surviving and winning the Big 12 regular season title for a 14th time, few considered this Kansas basketball team worthy. When Udoka Azubuike injured his knee before the conference tournament, the media all but wrote this team off.
Graham and company just kept ignoring the criticism and winning games. Getting a No. 1 seed is fantastic for many reasons. On the other hand, the pressure on the top seeds is difficult. There are so many expectations. Ask the Virginia Cavaliers about the pressure. The Jayhawks played through nerves in their NCAA tournament opener. However, since nobody expected them to advance, there was not as much pressure.
After the come from behind win over the Quakers, a few of the CBS experts gave the Jayhawks a little more credit. Since they’ve advanced to the Sweet 16, and a Friday battle with Clemson, others are not so high on the Big 12 regular season and tournament champs. That’s not a bad thing.
ESPN decided since there were so may upsets in this year’s tournament and No. 1 seeds dethroned they would re-seed the Sweet 16. They were not kind to many of the remaining teams. As a matter of fact, writer Myron Medcalf was especially critical of the Jayhawks. He moved them from a No. 1 to a 3 seed. He moved Duke and West Virginia to No. 1? Did Medcalf miss the three times the Jayhawks knocked off the Mountaineers?
Let some other teams do the heavy lifting this season
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In addition, Scott Gleeson in USA Today wrote nice things about Bill Self’s coaching this season. However, he has the Jayhawks listed at only the 5th best team left in the field. That’s perfect. Let other teams carry the weight of high expectations. Devonte Graham and these Jayhawks will continue to overachieve and prove the doubters wrong. They’ve done it all season.