It’s indisputable that luck plays some role.

Hell, look at the 2022 Kansas team. Creighton lost a star right before playing us. Nova lost a star right before playing us. Even Bacot got hurt against Duke and played injured against us.

Cuts both ways though. Simien getting hurt in 2003 probably cost us a title. 2014 was wide open for Embiid to take over that tournament too.

Exactly right. The tournament is all luck.

Mizzou is the unluckiest team in history. We would have multiple national titles if we didn’t keep getting shitty luck and bad draws in the tournament literally every single time we make it.

Them’s the bounces though.

I'd say missing free throws cost KU that title in 2003 more than anything. Hit your season average and you hang another banner.

Sounds kinda lucky for Syracuse that KU went 12-30, huh?

And I don’t think it’s all luck. Or even mostly luck.

Luck is just a part of it, like any sport.

What is luck?

Yeah, they started 14-0 because they had the 202nd non-con SoS... they deserved their 4 seed by the end of the year though, making them the ~13-16th best team in the country.

If it was CFB, they'd be no where near invited.
If it was the NFL, it would be like the Bucs winning the SB.
If it was the NBA, it would be like a play-in team winning it all (no idea if that happens, I rarely watch).
...and so on. MLB is about the only league where that might be possible, but baseball is a far more 50/50 sport.

And if my aunt had a dick she would be my uncle

Could make the same argument about a NBA MVP in Rose missing free throws in 2008 for Memphis, though.

I think in general fans really put the blinders on to how much luck and randomness plays into winning... it's obviously not some black and white argument and I do believe in the old saying "the harder you work, the luckier you get"... but, even with all of the advantages of having Mahomes in a league with so few SB contenders and only needing to win 3-4 games.... the Chiefs have had luck on both sides when it comes to literal luck with coin flips or a punt going off a foot, etc.

A lot of fans seem to take winning and losing personally, like saying luck invalidates a team's accomplishments or is an excuse.... but for CBB, across 6 games, especially taking refs calls into account, bad bounces, your path to the FF suddenly changing when the 2 seed in the way loses before you play them, etc, etc....

Does Kansas win the NC if they play a team higher than 10 in the EE or they don't draw an 8 seed (granted, it was still UNC)? Maybe.. maybe not. I'd say drawing Miami was pretty lucky.

I'd say UConn drawing a FF of San Diego State, Miami, and FAU was pretty damn lucky.

Doesn't change the fact that the 2008 KU basketball team was a top 10 all time squad

Exactly, it's a crapshoot.

LMAO

I put this season on Self. He should have recruited better shooters.

He has two spots tied up with sub par talent. KJ should be the 6th man off the bench on a potential Tournament winner team. Harris has fallen off a cliff.

So why didn’t recruit more shooters? Is there a consensus opinion?

2022 is basically my ideal college basketball roster construction.

4 guys who can handle the ball in the starting lineup with a center who can dominate down low. 3 of the guards are big wings who can defend multiple positions. 2-3 dangerous 3-point shooters on the court at all times. Experienced bench with at least one major scoring option.

That wasn’t the best team we’ve had, but that construction is what I like in college basketball.

Self had A LOT of shitty luck this year though.

He took a chance on Arterio (who absolutely would’ve helped), which failed spectacularly.

Elmarko never looked like a McDonald’s AA. He really needed to be what Sherron was as a freshman (which isn’t unreasonable given his recruit ranking). That just didn’t happen.

Timberlake was one of those shooters we needed, but his game just didn’t translate to real college basketball.

McCullar injury was a killer. Furphy hitting the wall was a killer.

We were also down scholarships which hurt bad.