It is March Madness time in college basketball as conference tournaments are underway, and the Kansas Jayhawks are hoping for a big run to the title game. After dropping four of their last seven regular-season games, the Jayhawks desperately need some solid momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament.
It won't be easy, as the Big 12 is stacked with teams from top to bottom that could all pull off an upset at one point or another. Kansas has what it takes to make it to the championship and win it all in the conference, but there are things they have to look out for in order to keep it together.
Darryn Peterson's availability
Not ever fully knowing if Darryn Peterson would be on the court consistently this season has been something the Jayhawks have had to deal with all season long. The star freshman only played about half the season for Kansas, and at times, Kansas wouldn't know he was out until the day of, or even less than an hour before tipoff.
Peterson has been playing consistently to end the regular season, but at the same time, the Jayhawks are 3-4 in their final seven games. Kansas could come out hit on the first half, and then Peterson may pull himself because of cramps, and it could cause problems for the Jayhawks.
Not knowing if your star player will play a full game is something that could derail this Big 12 Tournament for Kansas.
Bill Self's little use of the Kansas bench
The starters for Kansas this season have certainly played the lion's share of minutes, which isn't typically abnormal, but for Bill Self, he hasn't used the bench as much as he could. Of the bench players, the two who get the most minutes are guard Jamari McDowell and guard Elmark Jackson.
Both players have averaged over 17 minutes a game, but after that, the numbers severely drop off for anyone else. If a starter goes down, like Peterson has this season, Self will have to rely more on the bench, and if they don't have the experience on the court, it could be the Jayhawks downfall.
Scoring in the paint
Kansas has struggled with not just scoring in the paint over the last five games, but also offensively as a whole. The Jayhawks got a nice boost against Kansas State, scoring over 100 points, but they also allowed over 90 to the Wildcats.
The Jayhawks have the No. 12 offense in the Big 12, and it could come back to bite them when facing teams that have better offenses and defenses. Kansas is shooting just 46.2% from the floor this season, so if the defense breaks down and the Jayhawks have to score quickly, they could struggle to continue moving on in the Big 12 Tournament.