7 Struggling Teams to Know Entering the NCAA Tournament

Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas, if you're at all caught up on college basketball, isn't a surprise inclusion on this list. They have dropped five of their last 12 games, topped off with a significant collapse against Iowa State on Saturday in the Big 12 Championship.

Kansas ranks 10th in nERD (16.08) despite playing the absolute toughest schedule this year, according to our math. nERD, by the way, is our way of identifying point differential against an average opponent on a neutral court. A key concern with their play is consistency: they are the 175th-most consistent squad (basically ranking in the absolute middle of the 351 schools in the country).

Kansas is considerably above average in both offense and defense, ranking in the 80.8th percentile and 77.9th percentile, respectively, but the team has undoubtedly struggled of late. Perry Ellis, the team's leading scorer (13.8 points) and rebounder (7.0 boards) returned from injury in the Big 12 Championship, but you might want to take a long look at the Jayhawks before considering them a chalky play (get it?), especially with a potential matchup against Wichita State (13.31 nERD, 18th in the country) looming in round two three.