Bracket chat
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Folks, tell me how you see bracket toughness on paper:
Below is mine:
1, East, 2 South, 3 Midwest, 4 West
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Lots of 3 pointers lead to long rebounds which is absolutely a weakness of this team, so I don’t think we have an edge there.
If Hunter is matched on their leading scorer, it’s going to be an issue defensively.
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From CBS Sports page this morning:
Best first-round game (4) Kansas vs. (13) Samford: Samford gets 44.8% of its minutes from its bench, which ranks third in the country at KenPom. Kansas gets just 23.7% of its minutes from the bench, which ranks No. 318. With KU stars McCullar and Dickinson working their way back from injury, keeping up with the high-flying Bulldogs may be a problem. Throw in the altitude of Salt Lake City, Utah, to the equation, and this one could get weird.
Top potential matchup (1) Purdue vs. (4) Kansas: If both teams win their first two games, the Boilermakers and Jayhawks will square off in the Sweet 16. The two last met in the 2017 Sweet 16 when the seedings were reversed and the Jayhawks crushed Purdue by 32. Both programs have lived near the top of college basketball in the years since, and a high-stakes showdown between coaches Matt Painter and Bill Self would have legendary potential. Though the schools haven’t played in recent years, Purdue center Zach Edey and Dickinson are plenty familiar with each other from Dickinson’s three seasons in the Big Ten at Michigan.
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Listen to Paul Pierce here.
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https://twitter.com/Sully_2029
The only school in the Big 12 in 2023-24 to:
- Win a bowl game
- Make the ncaa men’s tournament
- Make the ncaa women’s tournament
ME: Why it’s KANSAS OF COURSE!!!
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@BeddieKU23 - Looks like Achor and Allenspach are the two bigs, spitting time at center, about 30 mpg. There scorers appear to mostly be in the 6’5” range. 21 ppg from these bigs, but mostly Achor. Really deep team though, so lots of fouls to give. KU best be practicing FT’s.
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@BeddieKU23 Nobody is.
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@RockChalkinTexas said in Bracket chat:
Listen to Paul Pierce here.
You know Paul was nick named the Truth - & that was what he was saying THE TRUTH - -Paul keepin it 100 all the way, loved this guy
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That’s what i saw as well.
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Man a ton of people are picking us to lose
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@kjayhawks said in Bracket chat:
Man a ton of people are picking us to lose
Self has usually been good in these situations. The pressure is certainly on him with the way things have gone.
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In January, if you’d told me that we were going to play Samford in the first round and it’s basically a 50/50 game, I would have thought you were insane.
But that’s how it feels in March.
The guys need to be locked in like they were in the first half of the season.
I know they can win. But it all hinges on whether we get Dec/January Jayhawks or February Jayhawks.
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@kjayhawks said in Bracket chat:
@Texas-Hawk-10 I’m hearing the players are saying they don’t want to play either
That’s fine, let it be like bowl season in football where players can choose to opt out. That still lets younger players and bench guys get some real game time that haven’t gotten all season.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 for sure I think you can get better for sure. Downside is if some starters opt out bench guys may get seen and offer more NIL to play elsewhere.
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@RockChalkinTexas best year in Kansas athletics history. Bowl win, volleyball, women’s basketball and men’s basketball all in the ncaa tournament for the first time ever.
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If we get lucky to get by Sanford……Mcneese st might beat us by 20 #levelup
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What do we think about this? Certainly casts a doubt on Hunter and his ability to play at a high level with that injury
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@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Bracket chat:
focusing on recruiting
In the past the coaches would have talked very proudly about the student athletes voting to take the opportunity for concentrating on their studies.
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@kjayhawks said in Bracket chat:
@RockChalkinTexas best year in Kansas athletics history. Bowl win, volleyball, women’s basketball and men’s basketball all in the ncaa tournament for the first time ever.
Not so fast! The 1992-93 season has to count as the best. Football won the Aloha Bowl in December, Women’s BB went to the NCAA and ended up ranked 24th, Men’s BB went to Final Four, and KU Baseball made its only College World Series appearance. Only 31 years ago, how could anyone forget?
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I have my hesitations on this video - - we could put the shoe on the other foot just Like McCullar, all these specialists on him saying thee was no reason Kevin couldn’t get back on the court and play , that it was more mental and yet Mccullars camp saying different.
Sure Hunter was hurt , popped right back in , even goodman siad this guy hadn’t looked at the x rays on Hunter - -I’ll wait and see, Coach said he had been practicing and good to go - - it’s looks more like click bait for Goodman and that mess that’s right there, they always looking for clicks
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I don’t doubt that the video may have been made to generate interest (clicks) but none of us know the extent of the injury either.
I hope he has practiced as Self has said. I don’t think we can win without him.
Teams are not exactly required to be forthcoming about injuries either. It’s backfired for teams like Florida State in football. There’s a competitive edge + a scouting thing, keep your opp guessing by making them prepare for everyone. Disclosing the extent of injuries could have also harmed KU in seeding & Kev’s/Hunter’s professional goals for after College. I know it’s still early but do you have 100% confidence right now both are going to play?
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Read a post from individual that said , he had heard Hunter on a spots show this morning out of the DC area.- -Hunter saying his shoulder had actually popped back in shortly after the incident – that he been doing no contact , but he said he felt like he would be 100% ready to go come game time.
kind of had to chuckle a little on this as he also stated that he couldn’t get over the intensity of our fan base talking about the rabid atmosphere at AFH - -and also the fan reaction on Twitter after we lose lmao.
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@BeddieKU23 said in Bracket chat:
I don’t doubt that the video may have been made to generate interest (clicks) but none of us know the extent of the injury either.
I hope he has practiced as Self has said. I don’t think we can win without him.
Teams are not exactly required to be forthcoming about injuries either. It’s backfired for teams like Florida State in football. There’s a competitive edge + a scouting thing, keep your opp guessing by making them prepare for everyone. I know it’s still early but do you have 100% confidence right now both are going to play?
Actually I do believe it or not , and I believe that Hunter will be very close to 100 % – Now Kevin , again I think he will go, like I read from another poster and have to agree with , he said you can’t tell me Kevin will not at least give it a go saying that with Kevin knowing that this is going to be his last tournament - -last chance - -no way will he not go out and try at least.
I think Kevin will probably be like possibly 75 % -could be wrong and have been many times but that is what my gut says
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the odds of sustaining another dislocation is extremely high! He is probably cleared to play but I would expect surgery in the offseason, and if he doesn’t do surgery and plays next year it will be concerning it could happen again next year… McCullers injury they’ve been super vague on. Most likely a small medial meniscus tear that he will have scoped in the offseason. This team was never that elite when healthy but especially not now. With that being said the tourney is a crapshoot and we are talented enough to get lucky and make a final four. Odds are just lower this year than most self years
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Yeah, I think that’s true, although this team was considered elite or at least nearly elite until they played UCF. Frankly, the warning signs were there with the TCU game, which Udeh won for us.
In other words, we were looking pretty good until we faced B12 competition.
Now that we’re in the tourney, and we’re out of league play, can we get that mojo back?
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When this team meshes, they are elite. However, this team is an excellent example of college bball in today’s world. Of the players who play the most, all but two are in their first or second season; therefore, chemistry and familiarity are not there at all times. We all know that Bill’s best teams are veterans who have been with him for more time.
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The Samford Freds are the 6th highest scoring team nationally. They shot 39% from three 335/852. Our beloved Jayhawks rang up at 32% 180/547. I trust we will run them off the three point line and not watch Elmarko and Nick chase them from behind to the layup zone over and over until I puke. On the positive side it sounds like Hunter may be fine unless he gets targeted. It would be Pepto Bismol to my soul if we look really sharp and dull their sharp shooters while we snipe, maybe in camo uni’s, them to the tune of one three for every turnover we bumble fumble ourselves. Let’s give their asses the bum-rush out of the tourney.
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IMO there is nothing elite about this team. I’m leaving my crimson and blue goggles off for this one.
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I think we need more than a reasonably healthy Hunter to beat Samford. We might even be better without Hunter since he can’t guard the trey line. That is… if they come out with ice in their veins. If they do, we need players like Elmarko, Nick, and Furph to come ready to play defense and guard the trey line. No more floating around in “no man’s land” pretending to play help defense. Juan needs to disrupt and get some steals for easy runouts. Kevin? I expect he will play regardless of how he feels because he needs to closeout his college days on a positive note. KJ? Here is another game built perfect for him to dominate, but will he?
Two things we have to focus on to win… First, win the possession battle. We should be able to win the boards if Hunter plays or not. Then its about turnovers. We need to protect the ball while swiping balls from this team known to be turnover-prone. Then turn those turnovers into runouts. Second, guard the trey line… all the way through the 30-second clock. These guys aren’t used to playing at our level. Guard hard and watch their trey line % drop!
If we come with energy and effort, we should smash Samford.
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@nuleafjhawk said in Bracket chat:
IMO there is nothing elite about this team. I’m leaving my crimson and blue goggles off for this one.
Before the injuries, this team was elite at passing and pretty good at 2 pt FG%. If they can get back to that and get just average from 3, there could be something brewing. I’m not expecting much, but prefer to have a little hope so I’m not rage watching the tournament.
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How many charges will the Hawks get called for? I’m setting the over/under at 5.
How many senseless turnovers will they have trying to play backyard ball? I’m setting the over/under at 8.
How many fouls on three point shots will the Hawks have? I’m setting the over/under at 3.
Place your bets.
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If we don’t have a chip yet… maybe now?
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@drgnslayr I personally like when everyone picks us to lose less pressure and as you say creates a chip. Will be interesting with Kevin, still hearing it is all mental and there zero wrong with his knee at this point. If he can’t lead us to at least a second weekend. I don’t see anyone drafting him in the first round.
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One thing about our bracket that makes it hard to predict is there are a few schools and coaches that have historically underachieved in the NCAA Tournament. Purdue, Tennessee, and Texas have all historically been upset prone. We could definitely throw KU into that mix as well as Gonzaga.
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The guys should be able to play a little more free this year, I mean no one is thinking we stand a snowballs chance in hell to do squat - -Greenburg leading the charge on that wagon - -all kinds of shade.
So pressure on THE OTHER TEAMS- -our guys just go out and play – we win - -we win and advance and if not -well no surprise then right. – Hell ya carry that chip – make it a big one
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@jayballer67 That was the belief about the Big 12 tournament as well and KU shit the bed when they had no pressure on them.
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Most think we won’t be healthy. Will we? Is Kevin worried about the draft? Embiid again?
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@drgnslayr said in Bracket chat:
I think we need more than a reasonably healthy Hunter to beat Samford. We might even be better without Hunter since he can’t guard the trey line. That is… if they come out with ice in their veins. If they do, we need players like Elmarko, Nick, and Furph to come ready to play defense and guard the trey line. No more floating around in “no man’s land” pretending to play help defense. Juan needs to disrupt and get some steals for easy runouts. Kevin? I expect he will play regardless of how he feels because he needs to closeout his college days on a positive note. KJ? Here is another game built perfect for him to dominate, but will he?
Two things we have to focus on to win… First, win the possession battle. We should be able to win the boards if Hunter plays or not. Then its about turnovers. We need to protect the ball while swiping balls from this team known to be turnover-prone. Then turn those turnovers into runouts. Second, guard the trey line… all the way through the 30-second clock. These guys aren’t used to playing at our level. Guard hard and watch their trey line % drop!
If we come with energy and effort, we should smash Samford.
That is a couple of big IFs given the past month. But, Purdue did beat Samford by 50 in the first game of the season, so if we play anything close to our capability, this really should be a close game. Another big IF…
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Bill Selfs has announced Kevin will not play again for Kansas. Very spineless move by McCullar and his camp. Will not consider him a Jayhawk moving forward.
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That is too bad. If his mind is not in it, though, I would prefer that he not play.
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@patoh3 true, I just think it is a chicken sh** move all around. He don’t get picked first round for sure now and maybe not all.
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@kjayhawks said in Bracket chat:
@patoh3 true, I just think it is a chicken sh** move all around. He don’t get picked first round for sure now and maybe not all.
Yeah he was projected outside of the first round in vecenie’s most recent mock. Really don’t get the concerns from mccullar’s camp regarding his stock. He’s been in college for 6 years his swing skill is the shot either he proves it in work outs or he doesn’t
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@rcjhdraft Yep if played a game or two and did well he could’ve boosted his stock. Look at the draft right now, players will have a break in this tournament and be drafted. He’s just too weak mentally and physically to play.
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We were told he couldn’t hurt it and he wasn’t having pain.
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Kev is out for the tourney. We’re done.
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It’s whatever. It would feel worse if this team was expected to do anything in the tournament
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We beat Baylor w/out him.
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I’ve been a KU fan(atic) probably for longer than most of you have been on the planet.
This is the weirdest, most frustrating season I’ve ever experienced. I just don’t give a crap anymore. Since the game starts at 9:00 CST (if it starts on time) I may watch 30 minutes. 5:30 am still comes early.
If we lose, better luck next year. If we make it to the championship game (we won’t) I’ll probably only watch it if the game doesn’t start too late.
The one year players, the portal, the NIL, it’s all added up to I just don’t care anymore.
This is from a guy who taped (VHS) games and rewatched them about 10 times back in the day.
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@DanR said in Bracket chat:
Kev is out for the tourney. We’re done.
Self’s statement kind of makes it sound like Kevin’s camp shut it down…
