Goodnight, Cinderella!

Close win, I'll take it. I'mnot sure exactly what that play was that Self drew up on the last offensive possession.

Also after 4 years of belitling the guy, I have to give credit. Sasha Kaun was the MVP for that game. He busted his ass, got tough rebounds and played tougher than anyone else on the floor. Good game you Russkie bastard!

Also , my other team rolled a Texas team that was supposed to roll them. They be lookin' pretty good. Derrick Rose PWNED Augustine all game.

Domination Friday!

Wow. My teams rocked tonight. I've never seen an Izzo team so thoroughly beaten as Memphis did to him inthe 1st half. Neitzel was totally shut down (three points) thanks to shutdown D by Anderson.

Jayhawks not too shabby either. Robinson played an outstanding 1st half and good D on Reynolds too. Got to rest a bit before we take on the Stephen Curry Sensation. That guy was awesome today. I've got faith that Russ Rob and Rush can bother him though.

KU Invitational?

CNNSI's Stewart Mandel has revised his Final Four picks to match my own (sorry man -- too late), and he also has this to say:

"They might as well rename next weekend's Midwest Regional the Kansas Invitational."

Indeed, just to add to Chris's list of parallels between 1988 and 2008, KU's path to the Final Four has been cleared by a number of upsets, with Georgetown, Clemson, and Vandy going down last weekend (and I won't be shocked if Wisconsin now follows suit). In 1988 we also didn't have to face any high seeds until the last weekend.

Anyone worried about 'Nova might take some comfort in the CBS Sportsline breakdown of the matchup. 'Nova is a good team from a great conference, and has an NBA player in Scottie Reynolds (who de-committed from OU after Sampson left), but they have no seniors, they have a negative assist-to-turnover ratio, and in fact trail the 'Hawks in every statistical category except (of course) free throws.

Looking ahead to the round of eight is a bit more worrying, but there's no question this regional is KU's to lose.

Seth Davis also picks Kansas in the Midwest AND bats around some Self-to-OSU rumors -- God help us...

Rebels Without A Prayer

Things are falling into line for the 'Hawks as Round Two begins; both Clemson and Vandy went down last night, ensuring a matchup with a double-digit seed in the Sweet 16 if we win today. As for today, most of the prognosticators felt Kent State was better than UNLV, so that matchup may be advantageous as well.

I don't want to sound overconfident, seeing as how the Running Rebs mauled Kent State the other night, but I find it very encouraging that their biggest guy is 6-8. So all we have to do is keep turnovers to a minimum and pound the ball inside, and it should be relatively smooth sailing.

Lots of excitement last night; should be much more to come today. I'm especially looking forward to watching the Big 12 teams -- KSU vs. Wisconsin and A&M taking their shot at UCLA.

Vikings have no answers for Jayhawks 85-61

Actually, I did not get to see the game since it was in the middle of the day. How did everyone look? The stats say Rush had a good game, did Arthur disappear again? Did Chalmers keep shooting the lights out like he did against TX? Collins?

I did watch the Powerkittens wear down USC (Which I picked in my bracket, heh, heh). When that Pullen kid is playing well in a game, Beasley and Walker are too much. Walker was great in that game, on D and O. That was the best defense I've seen them play I think.

Madness

Best weekend of the year if you're a hoops freak...

KU is up in about two hours from now; here's hoping they don't show one minute of that game here in D.C. Any inside dope on Portland State, Ismail?

Upset specials for today: I've got Baylor and George Mason. Can't wait for the KSU-USC battle tonight.

20 Years Coming

Are we going to party like it's 1988?

Let's start with some parallels:

"Now KU could go to Nebraska and Michigan for NCAA tournament games just like in ‘88. Karma? Possibly." - Gary Bedore

"First, there’s the fact that KU could play in both Nebraska and Michigan - the same path taken in 1988. That year, KU also played Vanderbilt and Kansas State in the road to the Final Four. Both are in the Midwest region. KU could potentially face UNLV in the second round, coached by former K-State guard and head coach Lon Kruger. Most of his staff is from the state of Kansas, too." - Ryan Greene

"That’s what coach said at halftime. He said there ain’t been ball played like this since ‘88 when Danny played. I guess it was, because we were just trading baskets back and forth. It was a high level game tonight." - Darrell Arthur



"It is pretty corny, but at halftime I told the team in front of Danny (Manning, assistant coach) ... I said, ‘That’s probably as good a half of basketball played in Kansas City since the ’88 championship game,’” Self said of a 50-50 halftime score in KU’s 83-79 victory over Oklahoma on April 4, 1988, at Kemper Arena. I asked Danny, ‘What happened the second half of that game?’ He said the game slowed down and we guarded. That’s what happened today. We defended and rebounded the ball much better the second half and played about as complete a game as we’ve ever played." - Bill Self

Let me add another coincidence.

How many times have we heard announcers talk about Rush, and how unselfish he is, and how with his talents he needs to take over the games and be more selfish?

When's the last time we had a star who needed prodding by the coach to step into the limelight? 1988.

Spring Fever?

You wouldn't know it from this blog, but it is actually tournament time. Howzabout a little enthusiasm?

Can the 'Hawks drub Nebraska three times in a season? Seems like a favorable matchup.

Other things are not going our way so far; all the other potential #1s have advanced yesterday and today -- Tennessee by the skin of their teeth. Texas just finished off OSU.

Tough draw for KU assuming a win today: it's either KSU or A&M tomorrow. The good thing, though, is the tourney's back in KC. I hope this snazzy new arena will draw a few NCAA tournament games back to the area in the coming years -- dare I say a Final Four?

Sophomore-itis

Saturday was a big day for the super-sophs, Shady and Sherron, who totally controlled the game against A&M. If those two are ready to break out as major stars, that could be just the added boost we need to take the crown this year.

(I do wonder, however, about the selections of Shady and Brandon for the Big 12 first team; I'm glad the 'Hawks are represented there, but maybe Mario and DJ would have been better choices?)

Back to senior-itis for a moment -- I didn't realize it until reading the news today, but this senior class has won at least a share of the conference title all four years. (That's really a credit to Self as much as anything else)...

The only caveat on that A&M game for me would be that the Aggies didn't show up. (They must have been really fat and happy with themselves after beating Baylor.) So, in a way, I feel like we still haven't had that one major road win that we were looking for -- but that's quibbling, I guess.

We're now very much in contention for that number 1 seed, but unlike last season at this time, the teams ahead of us haven't been cooperating. Carolina survives at Cameron, Tennessee squeaks by Kentucky, Memphis continues to pound the Lilliputians, and UCLA keeps winning on miracle/questionable last-second plays. So it looks as if we'll have to win this week's tournament, and look for an upset elsewhere, in order to score the Midwest 1 seed that by virtue of talent should be rightfully ours.

Senior-itis

Front Page

In case you didn't log on to espn.com last night after the game, here's a shot of the home page:


What a great game. I don't think I have a single complaint (too bad that Arthur fouled out, but no big deal). Sherron had what must be his best game since he's been back; DJ was his dependable great self; Russell scored, what, 14? And of course Rush. And Deron (along with Haley, apparently) should be thrilled at Kaun's line: 9 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal in only 20 minutes.