Are Kansas Jayhawks destined to claim a No. 1 seed in 2022 NCAA Tournament?
Kansas’ men’s basketball team has been projected as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional of the 2022 NCAA Tournament by CBSsports.com.
College basketball writer Jerry Palm late last week predicted Gonzaga would emerge as the overall No. 1 seed, followed by UCLA, KU and Texas.
“Kansas returns most of its starting lineup from the team that finished behind eventual champion Baylor (in Big 12) and added Remy Martin from Arizona State and Joseph Yesufu, who was one of the key pieces to Drake’s great season a year ago,” Palm wrote at CBSsports.com.
“Texas figures to challenge the Jayhawks for the top spot in the conference and a spot on the top line of the bracket. The projected No. 4 overall seed hit the transfer portal hard and added key pieces to the roster, led by former Minnesota star Marcus Carr. The most notable new face though is coach Chris Beard, who came over from Texas Tech after Shaka Smart left for Marquette.”
Palm’s four projected No. 2 seeds are Baylor, Michigan, Purdue and Villanova.
Palm has KU playing Hartford in a 1 vs. 16 matchup in the first round of the Midwest Regional with the winner of Oregon State-Virginia Tech advancing as the second-round foe. Larry Brown’s Memphis Tigers are listed as a possible Sweet 16 opponent of the Jayhawks. Former KU coach Brown recently accepted a full-time assistant position on Penny Hardaway’s coaching staff at Memphis.
CBSsports.comm’s Kyle Boone in another article commented on several teams’ odds of winning the NCAA title. The odds were provided by Caesar’s Sportsbook.
KU’s odds of winning the 2022 NCAA title entering the 2021-22 season are 16-1, same as Duke. Other odds mentioned by Boone: Gonzaga at 7-1, UCLA 12-1, Purdue 14-1, Texas 15-1, Alabama and Kentucky 20-1
“Kansas and Kentucky at 16-1 and 20-1, respectively, are fliers I like quite a bit,” wrote Boone. “Neither team is close to the most talented Bill Self or John Calipari has fielded but both are heavy on transfers and experience. In the case of KU, Self has a ton of guards who can score and create. With Kentucky, Calipari has addressed shooting and shot-creation and has talent inside and out to be one of the smartest, oldest teams he’s had in Lexington.”
SI.com ranks KU No. 3 in poll
Kansas is ranked No. 3 in the country in the latest college basketball preseason poll of SI.com updated on July 22. The 2021-22 Jayhawks were initially rated No. 8 in the country by the Website in April.
Gonzaga is No. 1 followed by Texas, Kansas, UCLA, Michigan, Purdue, Baylor, Kentucky, Villanova, Houston, Duke, Oregon, North Carolina, Alabama, Ohio State, Arkansas, Illinois, Florida State, Indiana, Tennessee, Maryland, St. Bonaventure, Oklahoma State, Auburn and UConn.
“The 2020–21 edition of the Jayhawks featured the program’s worst offense of the Bill Self era, per KenPom. At the heart of that was a clear lack of a dynamic ballhandler who could create shots for both himself and others,” wrote SI.com’s Kevin Sweeney. “So, Bill Self went into the (transfer) portal and added not one, but two high-level scoring point guards into the mix. Arizona State’s Remy Martin heads to Lawrence for his extra year of eligibility, while March star Joseph Yesufu moves up the ranks from Drake to Kansas.
“Martin is somewhat of a polarizing player in college basketball circles: On one hand, he’s an elite shot-maker and helped ASU to back-to-back men’s NCAA tournaments for the first time in nearly 40 years. On the other, he’s a shoot-first player whose Sun Devils teams underachieved relative to its talent level when he was the centerpiece,” Sweeney added. “My bet is that Martin will play better when surrounded with more team-first players like Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun, while David McCormack’s frontcourt presence will also open up avenues for Martin to go score. The roster around Martin is deep, experienced and talented. Can the veteran PG be the one to take the Jayhawks to the promised land?” Sweeney asked.
Dedric Lawson to play in Turkey
Former KU forward Dedric Lawson has agreed to a one-year contract with Besiktas Sompo Japan Istanbul of Turkey according to Eurobasket.com. Lawson, 23, recently played for the Boston Celtics summer league team in Las Vegas.
He played for Goyang Orions in South Korea last season. His team won the Korean Cup championship. He was named second-team all-Korean Basketball League. He also has played in the NBA G League.
This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 7:44 AM with the headline "Are Kansas Jayhawks destined to claim a No. 1 seed in 2022 NCAA Tournament?."
