Dickinson, Self say KU heads into NCAA Tournament a volatile team in March

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A Kansas team that entered the season the No. 1 team in the country now enters March as one of the nation’s most volatile groups.

Those are the words of Kansas All-American center Hunter Dickinson, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds in a Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal loss to the Arizona Wildcats Thursday night.

“I would say we’re probably one of the more volatile teams in the country,” Dickinson said of the Jayhawks, who will enter the NCAA Tournament 21-12. “When you look at it, we’ve played with the best in the country and been neck-and-neck with them and beat some of them and been neck-and-neck with a lot of average teams.”

So what will happen later this month when Kansas gets the lowest NCAA Tournament seed in head coach Bill Self’s history with the program?

“I think it just depends on which Kansas team shows up,” Dickinson said. “The blessing and the curse about these next couple games is you only got to be great for 40 minutes and then you get another 40 minutes. And I think it starts with me. I can’t go out there and play like I did today or we’re going to go home early, so I gotta bring it every game.”

Self, who sat next to Dickinson as the second-year Kansas center gave his assessment of their tournament outlook, agreed with just about every word of it.

“What he said is true,” Self said of Dickinson. “What he says, take more responsibility, that stuff, it’s the same with every one of our starters. Dajuan (Harris) has got to feel the same way. Zeke (Mayo) has got to feel the same way. KJ (Adams) has to feel the same way, which I think makes our team look more volatile, because when one of those guys aren’t there we don’t have guys off the bench to replace that.”

READ MORE: Arizona outlasts Kansas, 88-77 in Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals

To Self’s point, Thursday night the Jayhawks got 20 points from Mayo and 16 points from Harris to go along with Dickinson’s double-double. But it was Adams, who scored just 7 points on 1-for-5 shooting, that left something to be desired offensively.

Where the Jayhawks head for the NCAA Tournament will be decided on Sunday evening when a 21-year Bill Self streak of being a top-4 seed is snapped.

For the majority of the regular season the Jayhawks were a top 10 defensive team according to KenPom. But in two games at the Big 12 Tournament, the Jayhawks allowed 83 and 88 points in regulation, dropping their adjusted defensive efficiency outside the top 10 in a trend that concerns Self.

“We just haven’t stopped guys,” he said. “I think what I’m most concerned about -- what are we going to get on the defensive end? Because I think we gotta make people play poorly.”

Self said he’s seen bracket projections that have the Jayhawks as a 6 seed, something he takes no issue with.

“We certainly didn’t help ourselves tonight but we also lost to a team that’s going to be probably a top 4 or 5 seed at the worst,” Self said.

Despite the Jayhawks heading into the tournament in an unfamiliar position, Harris said there’s still room for optimism.

“You got to have high hopes going into the tournament because you never know what will happen in March Madness,” Harris said with the experience of a national championship run in 2022 at his disposal. “I believe in my teammates. I believe in my coaching staff and I feel like we can do it. We just gotta take care of a couple things.”

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