[2023-24 Early Season] Kansas starts hot, but voters aren't blown away

[Bundy]

We're a little more than 1/5th through the 2023-24 season, and the Kansas Jayhawks sit at a an undefeated 6-0.

Kansas opened the year playing against UCLA in Los Angeles, one of the toughest environments in basketball, and came away with a 67-64 W. Highly touted freshman Dallas Marshall led the way with 32 minutes played, but it was Joseph Wingard (7/12 from 3, 21 points) and Jimmie Coleman (6/10 from 3, 20 points) who really took the game over, becoming the ones to know when it comes to Kansas, and therefore, the world of, basketball.

Later that week they played in the CBS Sports Classic in Indianapolis, against a highly regarded Kentucky team. Coleman was again electric from 3 point land (5/7, 20 total points), but it was Kevin Lukacs stepping up with 22 points, none behind the arc, who helped Kansas storm away with an 86-68 win.

In Week 2, we saw Kansas go to Athens, Georgia, where they defeated the Bulldogs 83-76 behind 23 points from Wingard (5/14 from 3) and 17 from Coleman (also 5/14). 

Week 2 also saw the first home game in the Phog, with Kansas hosting local University of Missouri-Kansas City, with the Jayhawks dominating in an 83-51 drubbing. The Roos leading scorers only managed 10 points a piece, while Kansas had Coleman (21, 5/7) and Lukacs (20) dominating the game. 

In Week 3, Kansas again showed they weren't afraid to take on noteworthy opponents and coaches, adding Utah and SageBow to their resume. They also showed off some gameplan alterations, with Wingard (26 pts, 8/10) and Coleman (21 pts, 7/16) continuing to be the dominant scorers, but Joe Allen joining with an impressive 21 points on 7/16 shooting himself. Allen recorded an impressive 5 steals, as Kansas won at home against a P6 opponent, 90-72.

Kansas wrapped up this portion of the season with another home game against Wichita State, with the Shockers first half struggles setting the tone for the game. Wichita and Kansas actually matched blows in the 2nd half, with both teams scoring 37, but Kansas' big 55 point first half was too much to overcome. Wingard dropped an outlandish 30 points (8/17), while Coleman had his 5th 20+ point game of the season. Louis Carter notched the first double double of the KU campaign, scoring 12 points with 11 boards on 27 minutes, split between the 3 and the 4. 

Kansas has gone 6-0 to start the year, but has slipped from preseason #1 in the polls to as low as 6th in Week 3, and now up to 5th, despite playing blue bloods UCLA and Kentucky, and notable schools Utah and Georgia, with 3 of these big match ups on the road. Kansas travels to Milwaukee in a homecoming for coach @Bundy as they play in Fiserv Forum against Marquette (3-3, losses to  UW-Green Bay, Central Michigan, and Eastern Michigan, with a "signature" win against Rutgers), before opening conference at play later in the week against Oklahoma State (4-2, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and a blowout loss to LSU, with a "notable W" against Tulsa in the opener).

Look for Coleman and Wingard to continue to take the majority of shots, beyond the arc, while Allen, Lukacs, and Carter will look to be key contributors.