Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Predictions: Gonzaga Bulldogs

The basketball season opens today for the Kansas Jayhawks. While KU is used to starting off with a marquee opponent in the Champion’s Classic, this year is different. Kansas begins what is likely the toughest schedule in all of Kansas basketball against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. With so much unknown, how can you be expected to know what is going to happen in this game?

You can’t, which is why we are going to tell you. Pick your favorite prediction, or give one of your own in the comments below!

Kyle_Davis21: What a way to open the season, going up against the No. 1 team in the country. With a long offseason and no exhibition games or secret scrimmages, I imagine things could be a bit rusty in the early going. This is a big test to see what the Jayhawks have and who is going to step up in the post-Dotson-Doke era. There are so many question marks around the team and season that I’ll take the projected stronger team to win, but I think it’ll be close. Gonzaga 74, Kansas 70

Fizzle406: I’m picking the team who plays a real schedule and doesn’t get to loaf it against such teams like San Francisco and Pacific. Every year Gonzaga gives off a mirage of talent while they destroy shitty teams only to come back to reality in the NCAA tournament. Oh but fizzle you are forgetting the time they went to the championship game. Am I? They got to the championship by beating such blue blood dynasties like South Dakota State, Northwestern, and Xavier. Gonzaga is a fraud. Kansas 76, Gonzaga 69

Mike.Plank: Thanks to Kyle for the correct spelling of “Doke.” Anyway, I honestly have no idea what to expect from this group of Jayhawks, so I have very little insight here. It looks to me like our backcourt will be a bit overmatched offensively, and Gonzaga’s big man is likely to outplay McCormack on both ends. I’ll predict a loss in an offensively frustrating game and hope to be surprised. Gonzaga 70, Kansas 58.

dnoll5: I just don’t care about college basketball right now. Sorry, that’s how I feel. I think it’s completely irresponsible to be playing these games right now when future, much safer alternatives exist. I’m hoping that all the players can stay safe and that’s just about it. That said, I’m rarely picking Kansas to lose. Also, Dok is spelled without the E. Everyone knows that. KU 70, Zags 69.

David: Gonzaga is maybe the best team in the country, and returning a lot of really talented players, while we’re going to breaking a few in, and likely making some stylistic changes versus the way we’ve played the last couple of years. So in other words, maybe not the ideal opponent to start the season with. I think we have enough talent and, obviously, great coaching, to keep it fairly close, but I don’t see us pulling this one out over a team like the Zags. Gonzaga 74, Kansas 64

Andy: It’s “Dok”, Tyshawn was correct to dunk and a hot dogs is NOT a sandwich. Now that I have all the “controversial” (a.k.a. common sense) things out of the way, let’s talk about these teams. Yes, Gonzaga has arguably the highest level of individual talent. But they are starting a freshman point guard, and are breaking in a lot of new pieces, just like the Jayhawks. They lost their biggest contributors from last season, and while the guys stepping up this year are super talented, it will take them time to pull everything together too. In a situation like that, give me the team with the experienced point guard who is also a lock-down defender, and the Hall of Fame coach that has a habit of getting more out of his players than you would expect. Kansas 71, Gonzaga 67.