Is #9 Kansas a Winning Pick for the 2018 NCAA Championship?

The clock is now ticking down towards Selection Sunday, but there are still a number of teams who can improve their seeding in the tournament by performing well in their respective conference championships. The Kansas Jayhawks finished ranked #9 this season, whilst also winning the regular season Big 12 title. Where they to go on and win their conference tournament, they would head into March Madness with a pretty good head of steam, not to mention a better seeding in their part of the bracket. The question now is whether they can go on and win a National Championship. The 2018 March Madness betting lines are giving the Jayhawks +1500 to win the Championship.

Is #9 Kansas a Winning Pick for the 2018 NCAA Championship?

It’s a Sunflower Showdown for today’s #Big12Hoops semifinal game! pic.twitter.com/9PN4WIeykE

— Kansas Basketball (@KUHoops) March 9, 2018

The Devonte Graham Factor

The Kansas Jayhawks have a lot of talented players on their roster, but it is Devonte’ Graham who shows up as the leader in a lot of their stats, both offensive and defensive. He leads the way in PPG with 17.3 and assists per game with 7.5 and is also the team leader in steals per game. It goes without saying that this team will go as far as he can take them. This is a guy that the opposition will not want to let anywhere near the free throw line, as he is hitting 83% of his attempts this season. Graham has been a little off in his last 3 games, but that may just mean that he is saving his best for the tournament.

March Madness History

When trying to decide if a team is championship caliber, there are a lot of things to consider, one of which is how well they have performed in the past. College basketball in particular is home to several teams that have some real postseason pedigree, and you need to count the Kansas Jayhawks among that group. They are one of the more iconic programs in the sport, and have 3 titles to back that up, the last of which came in 2008. While winning it all is the most important thing in sports, making deep runs is also important to bettors who actively wager on every round. The Kansas Jayhawks have been to the Final Four on 14 different occasions, so there is good reason to believe that they can go deep.

Consistency is Key

I think we can all agree that this regular season was one of the most unpredictable in quite some time. No team came close to going unbeaten this season, with all the top teams taking at least one unexpected loss along the way. One thing you can say about the Kansas Jayhawks is that they did not allow a bad defeat to derail them, as they always rebounded with a win after taking a loss during the regular season. This usually personifies a team with grit and character, both of which are necessary if you are looking to win a title.

Can the Kansas Jayhawks Win the National Championship?

It’s tough to make a firm conclusion before seeing the bracket, but this team certainly appears to have what it takes to go all the way. The question now is whether or not they will do so. I think Kansas has a shot, but I think they are going to fall at either the Elite Eight or Final Four hurdle this year.