Why Kansas Won't Win the National Championship

I really want to be wrong here.  I love the Jayhawks.  I want them to win every game they play.  I am so spoiled as a fan, I expect them to win every single time they play.  I definitely think they have the talent and the capabilities to win another championship.  When they are on their game, they are unbeatable.  In this year of very mediocre college basketball, Kansas has a better chance than most at making a six-game run.  I will be thrilled if they do and not even surprised.  But I don't think they will.

Part of it is the recent history of early defeats in the tournament.  Yes, we won a great championship in 2008 and it was fantastic.  We also lost to Bucknell, Bradley, and Northern Iowa very early in past seasons.  This scares me.  This version of the Jayhawks has only lost two games but they have displayed numerous weaknesses over the season that really worry me when it comes to winning out.

The Jayhawks tend to play down to their opponents.  They don't come out focused sometimes and if they fall behind a weaker team, it will give that team the confidence they can hang.  Kansas has shown the ability to fight back and win some close games they probably should have lost and that will help them if have a slow start.  Kansas also has a propensity to get a good first half lead and have a big second half letdown, letting teams crawl back into the game.  The Jayhawks need to be merciless and stand on some necks when the get a big lead.  Don't let these temas back up.

Although these tendencies are worrisome, some other things bother me more.  As talented as the KU guards are, they tend to be very inconsistent.  Kansas plays five talented guards that all offer different things but seldom do they all play near their best in a single game, let alone six in a row.  These guards really need to be into every game mentally if KU is to advance very far.  Another things that drives me a crazy is Kansas' free throw shooting.  For the most part, they are terrible from the line.  Concentration is needed here and it seems to wander whenever they approach the line.  In a close game, with any opponent in the field, KU has to hit their charity shots.  Keep Memphis in mind from 2008.  KU also needs to play tougher defense for a whole forty minutes.  This may be Coach Self's worst defensive team.  They aren't terrible but I just don't think they are as good as some past teams, especially on the interior.  If they buckle down on the defensive end, they are good enough offensively to win most games.  I would also like to see them eliminate all of the technicals for elbows, forearms, and trash talking.  It would be horrible if a technical in a tournament game cost us a victory.

There are a lot of things I love about this team.  The Morris brothers, plus Thomas Robinson, are a load for any team to guard.  They are so versatile, few teams have the horses to slow them down.  This a very good shooting team, which stems from the terrific ball movement they get in the half court offense.  When Kansas doesn't fall in love with shooting three pointers and pound it inside, they are almost unstoppable. They are certainly deserving a number one seed and they could make a run to another championship.  If they don't, though, the negative tendencies I listed will be the reasons.  If they can put those bad habits behind them for the tournament, Kansas will be hanging another banner in Phog Allen Fieldhouse.  If they don't overcome these things, it will be a too early exit for the Jayhawks.  Let's hope for the banner.

I look for the Pittsburg Panthers to win the National Championship.  They have been battled tested in the Big East and have a nice combination of an inside and an outside game.  That prediction worked out well, didn't?