Still looking for a true No. 1 team in college hoops? We've got the answer
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Scott Drew sat down at the podium and drew a weary breath. It had been a long afternoon for the Baylor coach, from the opening tip straight to the buzzer.
"There's no doubt who the No. 1 team in the nation is," Drew said to start things off.
He was right.
Choose your own verb: Drew's team had just been (obliterated/annihilated/slaughtered/nuked) by a Kansas team that come Monday ought to be No. 1 in the AP Poll. The score was 102-74, and that only hints as how thoroughly Kansas dominated what is actually a very good Baylor team that should comfortably be in the NCAA Tournament.
It's crazy to think, but Kansas has not been ranked No. 1 since Feb. 14, 2011. That also happened to be the same month Kansas last dropped 100 points on another Big 12 opponent in regulation. On Saturday afternoon at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas blasted out to a 24-4 lead, shot a blistering 58 percent from three, and out-everythinged Baylor en route to a 28-point win that was one of the finest all-around performances I've seen all season.
The preseason potential for this type of game was the reason I had picked Kansas as my pick to win it all: An experienced group with an uncommon amount of balance, and so much depth that none of the three players considered this team's top NBA prospects (Cheick Diallo, Carlton Bragg Jr. and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk) played more than 10 minutes on Saturday.
So I posed this question for Drew: Did he see any weaknesses in this Kansas team that's aiming for Bill Self's 12th Big 12 title in a row, the most ridiculous streak going in sports?
His answer: Nope.
"If anything it might be tough to coach them because they've got too many options, too many weapons," Drew said, describing the ultimate first-world problem for a college basketball coach. "At the end of day if they're shooting like this, they take care [of the] basketball, they defend — it's going to be hard for anyone to beat them."
This is the takeaway from Kansas' dominating post-New Year's performance: That in a season where there are no dominating teams, this deep, experienced, balanced and motivated group of Jayhawks are currently the best of the bunch.
And by the way, this team has all the ingredients to still be the best of the bunch come April 4 in Houston.
Depth? Aside from the fact that none of the three top NBA prospects played more than 10 minutes, this is a rotation than runs 11 deep.
Experience? Kansas has that vital combination of elite NBA-level talent and serious college experience that is needed to win it all, led by the always-dependable senior Perry Ellis and the explosive junior point guard Frank Mason.
Balance? It's like Self has a Noah's Ark in Lawrence, with two (or more) of everything: Two point guards (Mason and Devonte Graham), two one-and-done-caliber freshmen (Diallo and Bragg), four big bodies in the post who can either block shots, rebound or both (Diallo, Hunter Mickelson, Landen Lucas and Jamari Traylor), and three dead-eye shooters (Mykhailiuk, Brannen Greene and Wayne Selden, who has been this team's best player).
And motivation? Oh, hell yeah. They got that in spades. Don't you remember how last season ended, losing before the Sweet 16 to in-state rival Wichita State? Or the season before, when they lost to Stanford before the Sweet 16?
In a season where there is no true best team in college hoops, it feels safe to call this group of Jayhawks not just the No. 1-ranked team — which doesn't mean all that much, especially in January — but the best team.
Think there's a team with a better claim to that spot right now?
Michigan State? Well, when Denzel Valentine comes back from injury, that may be true, but certainly not now.
Xavier? It's really, really good, but calling it No. 1 seems a stretch, especially after the blowout loss to Villanova.
Virginia? Not a bad argument, but it struggled at home to Cal. Maryland? So much talent, but it hasn't gelled yet. UNC? Meh, I'm not a believer. Duke or Kentucky? We'll see how things develop come March.
Of course, there is one obvious team I am leaving out of the argument, and that brings us to Monday night in Lawrence, when the table is set for the rarest of matchups in college sports: The No. 1 vs. No. 1 showdown.
That'll be Kansas, which will likely be No. 1 in Monday's AP Poll, vs. Oklahoma, currently ranked a notch higher than Kansas in the Coaches Poll and therefore in line to be the other No. 1.
There's an argument to be had about Oklahoma over Kansas, and a good one. After Kansas blew out Baylor at home, Oklahoma mounted a big comeback win down in Norman, Okla., against an excellent Iowa State team that's the third head in the triumvirate atop the Big 12. It was a gutsy win. Oklahoma, you mention, is undefeated. And Buddy Hield, you note, is playing better than anyone in the country. And the Sooners, you say, have the best starting five around.
You're right, on all of those points.
Yet Kansas is still the better team — and the nation's best team — for one reason: While Oklahoma relies on one star, Kansas has a half dozen who can be a star on any given night.
Example: In Saturday's win over Iowa State, Oklahoma big man Ryan Spangler grabbed his knee and headed to the tunnel, and you could feel the air go out of the arena on the television. (Turned out he came back moments later.) Lon Kruger's team simply doesn't have the depth to weather an injury, or even a bad night by a star player.
If that happened to Kansas, it's like the NFL: Next man up.
All through Saturday's game at Allen Fieldhouse, I kept thinking: Does this team have a hole? Any hole?
So I asked coach Self after the game.
"I don't know if I see a hole, but I see deficiencies," he replied, as any coach would. "I see areas that we gotta get better at. When you play and you coach, you try to do it in a way in which you play away from your deficiencies. So sometimes they're not exposed. But there are some things we don't do near as well as we gotta do to have a good run.
"We don't defensively rebound at all like we should," he continued. "Offensive rebounding, we probably get a lower percentage than just about anybody in our league back. Of course, that's a little misleading because we've shot a pretty good percentage."
"Pretty good?" I thought. The Jayhawks rank third in 3-point percentage of the 351 teams in college basketball.
"Tie game, late-game situations, do we have anyone we can throw it to on the block and they'll get fouled or two points?" Self said, stretching to find an actual weakness. "There's a lot of things we can do better, without question. But I do have confidence in this: Wayne's been terrific. He's been lights out. He's been our best player, hands down. But it's a lot easier to play when those two little guys are out there."
The two little guys are the two point guards, who are the tandem that opens everything up for this Kansas team. But it's not one outstanding part that makes this team great. It's how all of these parts — none of whom will be a No. 1 overall pick like Andrew Wiggins was, perhaps none of whom will even be a lottery pick in an NBA Draft — fit together that makes this team special.
So you should expect to see a lot more coaches this season who will be sitting at the podium like Drew was on Saturday, trying to figure out what just transpired, trying to explain why his team was unable to poke a hole in a team that doesn't have any. It will happen here, at Allen Fieldhouse. It will happen on the road, too, where Kansas will have to play some tough opponents in a stacked Big 12.
If you ask me, it will be happening in Houston in April as well, when I fully expect this team will still be standing.
Follow Reid Forgrave on Twitter @reidforgrave or email him at ReidForgrave@gmail.com.
