Jalen Wilson says he feels no pressure in NCAA Tournament

Jalen Wilson and the Kansas Jayhawks are riding high as No. 1 seeds heading into Thursday’s NCAA Tournament slate. The pressure of repeating as national champions isn’t anything the All-American isn’t ready to handle.

I don’t feel any pressure at all. That’s the beauty of this tournament is it’s a lot of one-game tournaments. This is win or go home. I embrace having fun. This is the best time of year for basketball. Even when I was a kid watching, this is the best time of year,” Wilson said. “To experience everything, see all the basketball because I’m not only getting to play but able to watch a lot of good basketball.

“I don’t feel any pressure at all. I think we’re here to do what we know how to do, play our basketball, and have fun.”

The Jayhawks star averaged 23.7 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals per game during three Big 12 Tournament games last week, all slightly above his regular season average. He’s been confident in his game all season, and he’s getting hot at the perfect time.

Wilson might be firing on all cylinders, but that doesn’t deflect the fact that Kansas has an interesting road in the tournament despite its 1-seed status. Assuming they handle business against Howard in the first round, they’ll match up against either Arkansas or Illinois. Both teams are under-seeded compared to their preseason projections. If they get through that, Saint Mary’s, the WCC regular season champions over Gonzaga, or UConn, a team that was ranked No. 1 in the country early on this season, would be the Jayhawks’ presumed opponents. Gonzaga or UCLA after that.

The point is, it’s going to be tough sledding for Wilson and his teammates as they try to do what no team has done since Florida in 2006 and 2007 — win back-to-back NCAA Championships.

Tip-off between Kansas and Howard is set for Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET live on TBS. The Jayhawks have opened as 22-point favorites.