Rock Chalk Cakewalk?

Last Sunday, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated ninth-seeded Illinois 73-59 in a close, but decisive victory.  The Kansas win secured a trip to San Antonio to face the Richmond Spiders this Friday.  Although the remaining teams in KU’s regional bracket are talented, the Jayhawks have one of the easiest road to the Final Four in recent history.  On paper, the Jayhawks have either the first or second easiest path to the Final Four since 1985 when the NCAA expanded the field of teams to 64.

The teams left in the Southwest Region include #1 KU, #12 Richmond, #11 Virginia Commonwealth, and #10 Florida State.  The sum of KU’s opponents is either 48 or 47 depending upon whether #10 Florida State or #11 VCU wins.  Back in 2008, the sum of KU’s seeds on the path to the Final Four was 47, but as we know, some of those victories did not come easily.  The game against Davidson came down to the last shot.  The UNLV game was close throughout.  Furthermore, because KU has been on the wrong side of early tournament defeats in my lifetime, this softened bracket does not mean a cakewalk to the Final Four host site- Houston.  We all hopefully recall when KU lost in the first round to Bucknell and Bradley in consecutive years.  Then last year, there was the painful loss to Northern Iowa in the second round.   

As long as KU utilizes its inside game, there is no team that can defeat them.  KU does not need to rely on outside shooting if the Morris twins and Thomas Robinson get the ball in the paint.  In a unpredictable March replete with upsets and close games, one consistent thing is the post play of the Marcus and Markeiff Morris.