Kansas basketball: Jayhawks received favorable NCAA Tournament draw

Although the Jayhawks will not play in the Midwest region like they would have hoped, the West region is not as stacked as it is being made out.

Kansas has played its fair share of quality teams this season. That can be attributed to the fact that they have the nation’s toughest strength of schedule and the most Quadrant 1 wins in the NCAA. Their strenuous schedule has prepared them well for the unexpectedness of March Madness.

The narrative that the NCAA is out to get KU by giving them a formidable bracket is completely false. They should have received the second overall one seed over Houston, but the West region has several vulnerable teams.

UCLA, the two-seed in Kansas’ bracket, is a tremendous squad. The Bruins went 18-2 in Pac-12 play to win their conference’s regular season title. Unfortunately for them, injuries have struck their team. Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona, two bona fide starters for the Bruins, are dealing with injuries.

Clark is out for the remainder of the season and Bona is attempting to return sometime in the tourney. Clark’s absence will haunt UCLA, as he is their third-leading scorer and one of the country’s best defenders. If this team were at full strength, they would be extremely dangerous, but they will be tested early without those two.

The three-seed in the West region is the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Mark Few puts together a top-notch team every single year. However, several underlying factors make the Zags a beatable team.

Despite their high-powered offense, Gonzaga ranks in the bottom half in nearly every defensive metric imaginable. They might have a lot of size in their lineup, but Kansas has seen enough good big men to be able to contain Drew Timme.

UConn, St. Mary’s, and others are all very good teams, yet they have not faced the level of competition that KU has. Kansas is very familiar with TCU if that matchup ever takes place in later rounds.

Arkansas is a potential second-round matchup for Kansas if they defeat Illinois. Even if they have one of the best recruiting classes in their school’s history and the No. 1 overall recruit, their lack of experience has shown throughout the season. They are just 4-10 in Quadrant 1 games.

Every single year, supposedly lopsided March Madness games are tossups. There is no telling if what the “experts” tell us has any meaning. It will be a tough path for the Jayhawks, but with their team’s talent, becoming back-to-back national champions is doable. The road starts Thursday afternoon vs. Howard.