In a year of ‘no great teams,’ Kansas is an elite one

Eli Boettger | @boettger_eli | 02/27/2020

Don’t let the headlines fool you. There is an elite team in college basketball season, and its name is Kansas.

The Jayhawks are 25-3 (14-1 Big XII) against the country’s No. 1 strength of schedule, have two All-American-caliber players in Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike, own the most Quad-1 victories in the nation (11), and rank No. 1 in KenPom, NET, BPI, Sagarin, Haslametrics, Torvik, Strength of Record and probably any other outlet that ranks college basketball teams.

There is one stat in particular that separates the Jayhawks above all of the rest, and it’s their efficiency margin. Kansas is the only team in the country ranked in the top 10 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency, and it has accomplished the feat against a treacherous schedule. For that reason, the Jayhawks sit atop the adjusted efficiency margin ladder at plus-31.46, holding a significant advantage over No. 2 Baylor’s plus-27.32.

This lead is historic.

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Eli Boettger is a college basketball writer and founder of HeatCheckCBB.com. He has previously worked for Sporting News, DAZN and USA TODAY SMG.

Boettger’s content has been featured by Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Yahoo Sports, Athletic Director University, Washington Post, Illinois Law Review and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. Boettger is also a current USBWA member.