NCAA Tournament 2018: 5 reasons Kansas won’t win it all
By Chris Stone
This is the second in a series of posts examining why each of the tournament’s No. 1 seeds — Virginia, Villanova, Kansas and Xavier — won’t win it all.
The Kansas Jayhawks are the overall No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They’ll headline the tournament’s Midwest Region and even though they won the country’s toughest conference outright, they won’t be cutting down the nets in San Antonio. From injury questions to questionable defense to the difficulty of its region, here’s a look at why Kansas won’t win it all.
5. Udoka Azubuike’s health is still a big question mark
Kansas’ starting center Udoka Azubuike missed the Big 12 conference tournament after suffering a grade one MCL sprain. While the sophomore big man is expected to be ready to go start the NCAA Tournament, it’s not clear how effective he’ll be. Head coach Bill Self has already admitted the 7-footer likely won’t be at 100 percent.
Azubuike is by far the Jayhawks’ most potent big man. He’s averaging 22.6 points per 40 minutes this season and leads the nation in field goal percentage at 77.4. Azubuike’s a potent threat in the post where Kansas’ guards are adept at lobbing over the top of defenses and a dangerous roll man out of ball screens.
He brings a certain gravitational pull on the offensive end that neither Mitch Lightfoot nor Silvio De Sousa can match. Over the course of the season, the Jayhawks have been nine points per 100 possessions better offensively with Azubuike on the floor, per Hoop Lens. They experience a noticeable decline in their overall 2-point field goal percentage when he sits.
Obviously Kansas was able to win its conference tournament without the big man and De Sousa’s breakout during that event is a positive for the team going forward, but every team in March wants its best players on the floor at full strength. With Azubuike’s injury a lingering question, the Jayhawks may miss out on doing just that.