Halloween has arrived, which means it is officially basketball season. As the football season is nearing its close, it becomes slightly too cold to endure the weather of an hours-long slugfest. Instead, before you know it, the doors of Allen Fieldhouse will be opened, and fans can saunter in to watch what Lawrence, Kansas, is hoping to be Bill Self’s third National Championship as a head coach.
ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi recently released what will be his final preseason bracket, and Kansas was continually given an underrated spot.
Lunardi placed the Jayhawks with a 6th seed.
This falls roughly into place with where the AP Poll selected Kansas as the No. 19 team in the nation. To open up Kansas’ preseason, the Jayhawks took on two exhibitions, which included the No. 11 Louisville Cardinals in a 90-82 Kansas win, following that, a 75-31 win over Division II side Fort Hays State.
Both showed highs and lows, and both gave a good barometer on what is a much more aggressive and athletic bunch, which Self was adamant about during the offseason.
When looking at the Jayhawks' path to a title game, the road is quickly cut off. After either Marquette or Washington, Kansas would be set to face the same Louisville team they beat a week ago.
Of course, this is all hypothetical, and the nation has long months before we even see the eve of March, but this continues the theme that has been reported all offseason long: Kansas doesn’t seem to have it anymore.
Over the course of the small window, fans and pundits got to see of this side, it looks as if Kansas will have no problem scoring. The acquisition of Jayden Dawson and Tre White as scoring options will be a boon when five-star Darryn Peterson has an off night. Overall, the three-point defense was superb in both fixtures and should continue to be a priority as the season wears on.
However, the biggest visual flaw thus far has been the rebounding. Sometimes it appears that Kansas can flip a switch on whether or not they want to crash the glass, and hopefully, it is just a blip in what is a long season of basketball ahead.
Kansas’ first matchup this season is against the Green Bay Phoenix this season. The Phoenix hail from the Horizon League and finished last season with a 4-28 mark. Tipoff is set for Monday at 7 p.m. CT with streaming available on ESPN+.
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