As March begins to slowly loom behind the wintery months, the focus of collegiate basketball has rightly squared itself on one thing: getting your resumes ready for the NCAA Tournament. Of course, in conferences like the Big 12, the leeway to drop the odd conference matchup is better than in a conference not deemed as “the second-best league behind the NBA.” What the Big 12 does allow is for the nation to see what you have against some of the best competition in the country.
So far this season, most Kansas fans would tell you that things are going well when you consider the fact that the No. 19 Jayhawks have largely been forced to reshuffle their starting five, along with playing eight quad-one games, each providing some much-needed context.
Earlier this week, CBS Sports provided the latest odds for a future national champion, which were provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Kansas labeled as a “long shot to consider”
No one would have truly anticipated Kansas to be one of the top contenders, as Houston, Florida, and BYU took the best odds.
The Jayhawks were given 40-1 odds of winning the title, and Cameron Salerno’s reason why was spearheaded by one player.
“Kansas will have a chance to win the title for one main reason: Darryn Peterson…Is Kansas going to win the title this year? Probably not. However, if Peterson is on the floor and healthy, Kansas will have the best player, regardless of the opponent. Guards can single-handedly win games in March. Kansas can only hope that Peterson can do just that.”
This season, Peterson has averaged a stellar 21.6 points per game, with just 27.2 minutes played per game, flexing his elite ability when Peterson is on the court. Yet even after Kansas’ 75-69 win over the Colorado Buffaloes, Peterson rolled his ankle and during head coach Bill Self’s media availability on Thursday, the status for the freshman is up in the air.
Overall, this season, the Jayhawks rank 128th-best in the nation with 77.8 points per game, a mark that likely would be higher if Peterson had not missed out on over half of Kansas’ games. It has primarily been on the defensive end where Kansas has stepped up as Self’s squad ranks as the 32nd-best defense in the country with 67.6 points allowed per game, asserting itself as one of the country’s best.