The last time Kansas captured a national championship under the stewardship of longtime head coach Bill Self was all the way back in 2008, when they won a program-high 37 games as a top seed. Since then, the Jayhawks have made only one title game appearance (2012). But this year's team is well-positioned to slay recent tournament demons and end their decades-long drought.
In four wins as a No. 1 seed this spring, Kansas has demonstrated its strength on both ends of the court, and the Big 12 champions are the lone top seed in the Final Four. With a national semifinal matchup against banged-up Villanova on Saturday in New Orleans, a return to the championship is well within reach for Kansas. And team legend Scot Pollard expects nets to soon be cut down.
"Kansas has been disrespected for a long time... We're not in that huge media market in the East Coast -- we don't have everybody hyping up Tobacco Road and all of that garbage out there," Pollard explained to The DA Show on Friday. "Duke and North Carolina, 'Oh, they're meeting again, and it's a storied rivalry.' Good for them... Whichever one of those teams comes out, that's who we're going to beat on Monday night.
"And that's all that matters, is us winning on Saturday and getting whoever it is on Monday night and beating them too... I don't make guarantees. I'm not on this roster. But I'm a fan, and I really think we're the best team left... I think we have so many weapons... I like our chances, I think we're a better team. If we show up, I think we've got enough talent to beat [Villanova]. When it comes to the Monday game, whether it's Duke or Carolina, I think we're a better team."
Although the Jayhawks were in danger of losing in the Elite Eight to underdog Miami last weekend, a mammoth second-half offensive surge propelled them to a resounding 76-50 victory. Three of Kansas' starters recorded double-digit points, and senior guard Ochai Agbaji scored a team-high 18 points along with five boards and four assists. According to ESPN Stats, the 26-point beatdown tied for the largest win in tournament history by a team that trailed at halftime.
Kansas, which won 25 regular season games and ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP top-25 poll, has averaged 78.3 points per game and ranks seventh in the nation in offensive efficiency. The Jayhawks and Wildcats are scheduled to tip off at 6:09 p.m. ET on Saturday at Caesars Superdome, and according to FiveThirtyEight projections, Kansas currently has a 69-percent chance to advance to the national championship.
The entire Final Four conversation between Pollard and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
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