Monday, April 02, 2012

Why The Kansas Jayhawks Will Win Tonights' NCAA Championship

As many of you know, I love this time of year.  I am very excited about the game tonight.  It should be a great match-up.  On paper, Kentucky should win.  However, I want to put myself out on a limb here and declare a winner in tonights' NCAA Mens' Basketball Championship Game.  It will be Kansas.  Why?

The things that are in the Kansas Jayhawks' favor:

  • Anthony Davis of Kentucky has just been named Player of the Year.  The POY jinx is strong.
  • John Calipari has too much pressure on him to define his legacy and claim a championship.
  • Kansas has been there before and has the experience to win.
  • The Kansas defense will disrupt the Kentucky offense.
  • "One-and-done" freshman dominated teams do not typically win.
  • Kansas' team defense is better than Kentucky's shot-blocking oriented defense. 
  • Kentucky's fans are putting excessive pressure on this team to win.  They are in New Orleans en masse.  They expect a championship.    
  • Kentucky was compared favorably in the media to an NBA team.  This is the strongest NCAA tournament jinx of all. 
  • Kansas is a +6.5 point underdog.  
The things that are in the Kentucky Wildcats' favor:
  • Kentucky's freshmen are virtual sophomores.  They are no longer freshmen.
  • Bill Self just took Coach of the Year honors.  The COY jinx is not as strong as the POY jinx, but it still has influence.
  • Kentucky's overall talent surpasses Kansas' talent. 
  • Kentucky is a -6.5 point favorite. 

So, the slight edge, including pressure, jinxes and others intangibles goes to Kansas.  Enjoy the game!