The Tournament is back. Wow it feels good. Did I mention it feels great?

Early slate of games:

Florida/Va Tech 12:15 tip (EST)

Arkansas/Colgate 12:45 tip (EST)

Illinois/Drexel 1:15 (EST)

Texas Tech/Utah St 1:45 (EST)

Picks? Thoughts?

@nwhawkfan

Their best player Etienne was a no-show. AAC player of the year. Big reason they let Drake win

@Kcmatt7

Read an interesting evaluation of USC from some coaches that said they are not a physical team, especially Mobley. If you punch them in the gut early they kind of fold. Mentioned the fact Colorado a physical/scrappy team beat them 3 times playing a certain physical style of basketball. Said they lack a PG. Interesting stuff

3 fouls in the whole first half so far. Interesting

@bskeet

Think his buyout is rather large and they already owe Archie a hefty price.

@jayballer67

Probably more to come too

Good get for ISU. He knows the program and how to recruit to them.

@BShark

Wow Gordon at a good school will be deadly, he was really starting to develop.

@jayballer67

Georgia Tech. Leading scorer had been on an absolute tear lately.

@BShark

Tape I watched was not too bad. About what you expect from the #109 ranked player. Pretty decent rim protector, can make 3's. Seems like a versatile modern big. Not a ton of film on him yet.

So far Jalen Wilson, Devion Harmon & Moses Wright will miss at least the first & 2nd round matchups of the NCAA tourney due to covid. All 3 players start and play major roles for their teams

@jayballer67

Significant to note, he played on an Adidas sponsored team

I'm glad we have Harris. It will be his 3rd year in the system.
This team still needs to find a PG in the offseason. Garrett had his Sr Night. Hopefully he can make some good money professionally.

Portal hits over 600 as I expected.

Fatts Russell of Rhode Island hit the portal. PG didn't have the greatest year 14.7 ppg, 33% fg. 23% 3pt, looks like his team sucked but as a Jr averaged 18 ppg. He's a good guard and will play at a big P5 school. Was always impressed watching him play.

SG Jamal Johnson of Auburn- Avg 9ppg, 56 made 3's

SG Symir Torrence of Marquette- Former Top 100 kid never carved out a role there.

Cincinnati had another rotation player hit the portal. SG Mason Madsen, 6ppg as a freshman. Down to 4 scholarship players. What is happening there?

F KJ Buffen of Ole Miss- 8ppg, 4 boards

Jamal Mashburn- as @jayballer67 mentioned- 8ppg and was having some good games at end of season

@jayballer67

I think they are preparing more for the first game that way. Who knows. It could all be misdirection

@jayballer67

Oh the transfer meter on Tristan is at 99.9%. We'll see what happens there. I'm sure he would want to be with the team though seems how he missed the Tournament last year. Unlucky

Self is preparing both Braun & Garrett to play the 5 when Mitch is not in. Seems to be covering all bases if Dave can't play much. Hopefully he can

@drgnslayr

BYU gave them a heck of a game recently, even had a double digit lead on them and then Gonzaga's offense just juggernauted them the last 10-12 minutes. BYU got a 6 seed. Just crazy how good they have been

Iowa St owes Prohm approx 5.5 million. OUCH

@Kcmatt7

Guess I missed it. I was spitballing what I thought could be a good target. Coaches are known to change their mind after a season ends..

GOOD NEWS per Self!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dave McCormack will join the team Friday for practice and play Saturday.
Self adds he doesn't know how effective he will be..

Jalen Wilson could play Monday if KU advances. He's expected to join them Monday if they win.

Enaruna is out, recently tested positive for Covid

IU will pipe dream a few days and then focus on a real realistic candidate. Take Mussel from Arkansas, he likes to change schools and win. That's what he does. That's what IU needs and they can get him rather cheap since they definitely owe Archie money

@Kcmatt7

Makes a lot of sense with that gameplan. He's a tough cover, has really good touch from 6-10 feet. He's an advanced Dave on scoring, doesn't waste any motion to do what he wants to do. On offense Self should absolutely try and get him in foul trouble if that's even possible. He only had 2 games all year where he got 4 fouls, speaks to his defensive ability as a rim protector

@jayballer67

I just hope if we do play them the game plan isn't to double Mobley and then we get caught napping in rotations because they have guys capable of hitting 3's. That's it for thinking ahead because we really can't afford given what's happened the past week to overlook anyone. This isn't a team built for that

If we get past Eastern Washington and USC is the opponent here's an early look

Kenpom - #14 (8 spots ahead of KU). #30 offense (29 spots above KU), #19 defense (13 spots below KU).

The troubling part of facing USC is they are #2 in the country in blocked shots. Always a concern for KU in the tourney

@jayballer67

Mobley is as good as people say he is. Watched him in the Pac-12 tourney and he's very good. But the rest of USC is average. They are big, have a lot of 6'6, 6'7 types. Self is one of the best coaches at eliminating a single player from beating him. I think the key is actually letting Mobley get his but not letting Tahj Eaddy have a big game. He was non-existent against Colorado and then had 9 points in about a 3 minute span, completely took the game over and gave them a chance to win. He's the kind of guard that KU can struggle to contain (58 made 3's on the season).

We'll see, not having Jalen is going to be a very challenging thing which is why I think people are all aboard an upset

@Marco

Haven't looked. Kind of surprised ESPN wasn't interviewing them shortly after the bracket reveal

@Marco

KU really never had traction with Timme. He was all about Gonzaga pretty much once he got serious about his recruitment

Utah fired their coach. Nothing else to report here

@BShark

19th leading scorer in the country this year.

43% from 3 on 39 makes in only 10 games, wow that's almost 4 a game.

Last two years- 104/252 for 41%. Yeah we need a Moss on this team.
Started his career at Minnesota fyi

portal hits 550 overnight.

Firesale going on at Cincinnati as well, 5 guys gone. Penn St's entire starting 5 has transferred as Seth Lundy hits the portal

Cincinnati notables:

Tari Eason- 6'8 Former 3 star prospect but just outside 4 star land averaged 7.3ppg & 5.9 boards 1.3 blks. Looked like a guy who by Jr/Sr year is a all-conference type

Mike Saunders- 3 star PG played with Enaruna

@FarmerJayhawk

I forget certain players all the time when doing my own mocks.

Definitely the way Bryce has bounced back from injuries and Braun's inconsistent offense gives him a chance for next yr. It is difficult to beat out kids under Self once they start starting, especially kids Self trusts. Either way if they both make the next leap in their development we are going to have two very good guards

@Woodrow said in 1st round know your foe Eastern Washington:

I am seeing a lot people picking EWU for the upset.

Not surprised tbh, Dave has to play Saturday. You can't expect to be down 2 starters, both of your "bigs" and still be expected to win handily

@FarmerJayhawk

Scared me for a second. Will be interesting to see that Braun/Bryce battle for a starting spot next season

@FarmerJayhawk

Where's Bryce going??:beaming_face_with_smiling_eyes:

I'm in! Just checked on my 2019 bracket that finished 50,000 place. It's been so long forgot all about that

1st Team: 2 Big-12 guys

Jared Butler, Luke Garza, Cade Cunningham, Ayo Dosunmu, Corey Kispert

2nd Team: Drew Timme, Jalen Suggs, Evan Mobley, Hunter Dickinson, Kofi Cockburn

3rd team: Davion Mitchell, Quentin Grimes, Herb Jones, Cameron Krutwig, Chris Duarte

Portal over 500, may get to 6 by the time the tourney starts. Crazy

Only played in 6 games but Bucknell Forward/Wing John Meeks is transferring. Averaged 25 ppg on 49% FG, 38% 3pt, 85% FT line to go with 6 boards. Interesting

@Kcmatt7

Durham 38% from 3 the last two years (74/194) seems to be a big reason as well as 171 made FT's. Could be a nice bench piece for a good team

@Kcmatt7

They call March Madness but really this offseason for personnel going elsewhere might be the real Madness

Transfer portal quickly approaching 500. Things are just getting started..

Penn State is having a fire sale.

Their two leading scorers Jones (15ppg) & Brockington( 12ppg) (both guards) have hit the portal as well as 4th, 6th & 8th leading scoreres. Jones is the best of the bunch.

@BShark

Trade him for Jossell. that seems like a W/W

@Kcmatt7

Oh really good point since he's a Sr.. Just guessing if Mitch doesn't count, Durham wouldn't either with the rule.

Anyone complete their brackets? Share your upsets, your thoughts..

I'll start with seeding and share who I think is the most likely to lose early for each seed line & who has the easiest path.

1# seed- Most likely to lose early- Michigan-

Why? The injury to Livers is a critical one as the versatile wing makes big perimeter shots and is one of their leading scorers. I don't think Michigan is nearly as formidable without him which makes them an upset candidate. Compared to the other #1 seeds Baylor & Illinois have tougher 2nd/3rd round matchups but the injury puts Michigan on upset alert.

Easiest Path- Gonzaga

No doubt the #1 team in the nation has the easiest path. Iowa as a #2 seed could lose before the S16, KU has a covid issues impacting 2 of its starters, Virginia's entire team is in quarantine and may not practice before their game on Saturday, Creighton didn't look anything like a 5 seed when blown out by Georgetown over the weekend so the 4 seeds behind Gonzaga are vulnerable. Gonzaga may not take a deep breathe before the Final 4.

2 Seed- Most likely to lose early- Iowa

I'm sure @wissox would love nothing more then to see Iowa go home early, I think they got the toughest 2nd round matchup of the #2 seeds. Their first round game against Grand Canyon may not be easy at all but their 2nd round game against under seeded Oregon could where they lose. Look Oregon isn't as good as they have been in the past (KU fans remember all too well) but they still won the Pac-12 and got a #7 seed. The other #7 seeds in the other regions wouldn't have finished in the Top 4 in the Pac-12. How in the world did Florida get a #7 seed, same with Clemson. Wow. Anyways POY Garza could be watching most of this tourney on his TV. Maybe KU will even take them down in a potential S16 matchup.

2 seed easiest Path- Ohio St

By far the easiest draw of the 2 seeds as Virginia Tech (Middle of the ACC team in a down year), Florida ended the season 4-4 as 2nd round matchups. S16 matchup against Arkansas/Tech/Utah St seem like cakewalks compared to the Big-10 schedule they played.

3 seed- Most Likely to lose- Arkansas

A team that has flown under the radar for most of the season Arkansas at 22-6 is rather untested if you ask me. Watched 3 of their most recent games, no doubt they are a talented team but a team I ultimately think is over seeded and a recipient of a cupcake schedule. What would KU's record look like with that cupcake schedule they had early where they played absolutely no one. Didn't play a ranked team until January. They actually have a losing record against good teams and they got a #3 seed? Anyway their matchup with Colgate who runs a Princeton style offense and is one of the best offenses in the country could really give them fits in round 1. Round 2 is not any easier facing a Texas Tech team that defends well or a Utah St team with a very good 7 footer who can score and protect the rim. If they escape both rounds Ohio St awaits who took Illinois to OT in the Big-10 tourney.

4 seed- Most likely to lose early- Virginia

I don't think enough has been made of Virginia's Covid issues. Most of the team is quarantined and cannot practice leading up to their game on Saturday. If they have enough players to travel, they are flying in Friday I've seen and will have just a day to possibly prepare? Ohio is no pushover, lost to Illinois by 2 earlier in the season & have 5 guys who average double figures including star guard Jason Preston (who had 31 against Illinois) & score 80 ppg as a team. 10-2 in their last 12 games I think Virginia is absolutely on upset alert.

4 seed with easiest path- Florida St

FSU is a better team then they recently showed, turnover issues plagued them in the ACC tourney. If Michigan is a vulnerable #1 seed then FSU is the kind of team that could make the Elite 8 if their cards fall right. 2nd round matchup against Colorado/Georgetown is winnable and if Michigan is still without Livers, FSU could catch Michigan at less then 100% and upset them. One thing FSU has that most teams don't have when facing Hunter Dickinson is size. FSU has two 7 footers and plenty of athleticism/length to disrupt Michigan's style of play.

5 seed- Most likely to Lose early- Villanova

Without their best player and PG Colin Gillespie Nova is on upset alert in Round 1 with Winthrop who's 23-1 entering the tournament. Nova has lost 3 of 4 since the injury to Gillespie. Even if they survive round 1, facing Purdue in the 2nd round will be just as difficult, and even surviving that game they would likely face Baylor.

5 seed with easiest path- Creighton

Not that Creighton has an easy path but of the 4 they have the best chance of getting to the S16 and beyond given Michigan's significant injury. UCSB won't be an easy out for Creighton who could absolutely lose if they played as poorly as they did against Georgetown. When they make perimeter shots they are deadly and have 3-4 guys that can really shoot it. However the recent drama with their coach scares me and almost made me go elsewhere here. On paper a 2nd round matchup against a Virginia or Ohio seemed easier then the other 5 seed paths.

6 seed- Most likely to lose early- BYU

BYU had a good season and tried hard to beat Gonzaga the last two matchups but came up short. Facing the winner of Michigan St/UCLA seems like a tough matchup for them in round 1. Getting past round 1 they would face Texas.

6 seed with easiest path- USC

Their first round matchup with Wichita/Drake won't be easy as both of those teams had good seasons to get in. 2nd round matchup against KU who may not have Jalen Wilson could make it difficult for us to escape them. A possible S16 matchup against Iowa or Oregon who they beat by 14 in their only meeting isn't impossible. A matchup of Top 3 pick Mobley vs Garza would be fun to see down in the post.

7 seed- Most likely to lose early- Tie between UConn/Florida/Clemson

All 3 of these teams are bad #7 seeds. Good enough on their best day to beat a ranked team but all 3 of their matchups I could see them losing.

7 seed with easiest path- Oregon

Pac-12 champs have a good matchup in round 1 and after that had the easiest 2nd round game in my opinion. The other 7 seeds would be 8-10 point dogs against the other 2 seeds.

8 seed- Most likely to lose early- UNC

First round against Wisconsin is difficult. Wisconsin has struggled but played a murders row in the Big-10 recently so getting away from familiar foes could be what the doctor ordered. UNC has plenty of bigs but are such a young team. Roy has them playing well but getting past round 1 puts them against Baylor who's a bad matchup for them

8 seed with the easiest path- LSU

At this point no #8 seed has a good draw but given the fact Michigan has the big injury at least gives them a punters chance with their best game. They have the Big 3 that can put up points. Cam Thomas has averaged over 20 points a game as a freshman and Watford can really get buckets inside/out.

9 + seeds that could make noise in round 1

Ohio, Winthrop, Utah St, Colgate, UCSB, Georgetown

Most likely to make Sweet 16- Ohio or Winthrop

Let me know your guys thoughts on the bracket!

@joeloveshawks

Good to see you back couldn't agree more. Giddy really

@FarmerJayhawk

That Ham Sandwich may also allegedly stop into a strip club

Kyky Tandy of Xavier in the Portal. Talented former Top 100 guard

Penn St hires Purdue assistant Micah Shrewsberry. Helped develop Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown..

Umass star Foward Tre Mitchell in the portal. Averaged 18 and 7. first team Atlantic 10 this year.

Al Durham of Indiana in the portal. That was quick