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.
Manning, on yesterday's game: "That was something, wasn't it?" (Great article on Danny in the Star).
ReplyDeleteKU-Texas is fast becoming the equal of Duke-UNC. This game was not necessarily the best of the lot, given that UT went cold late and played a relatively soft zone. But Augustin, Abrams and James are unbelievable. The degree of difficulty on some of their made baskets was jaw-dropping.
Best moment for me was Sherron's save off of Augustin (I think) out of bounds; he kicked into a whole other gear to make that play. Mario's quick-handed steal at the end was also huge, in a game where there were so few turnovers.
Both KU and UT got a pretty favorable draw, although I don't envy the 'Horns having to get past a pissed-off Memphis squad, homecourt or no. The 'Hawks may face Georgetown... which brings me to:
The Bad Keegan Quote of the Day: "Three games need to be won to get that far, but for those backing the Jayhawks, Georgetown will be the team on which to keep an eye, against which to root, the giant-filled roster pitching a tent in the backs of the minds of those dreaming about celebrating the 20-year anniversary of a national title with another one."
Brandon Rush, quoted by Jason Whitlock:
ReplyDeleteThis is the year we've got to do it. We've got five seniors leaving. Some people might be leaving early. We've got to make it happen. We're not ever going to have a team like this again.
What are your final four picks?
ReplyDeleteMine . . .
UNC
KANSAS
TEXAS
XAVIER
Did anyone see the Times story about margin of victory? An engineering prof at Georgia Tech did an analysis showing that margin of victory is a great predictor of success. And that's great for us:
ReplyDeleteCan the Tar Heels win the championship? Of course. They are still a talented team. But in my bracket, I’m going to avoid the Carolina crowd and go with Kansas. With only three losses, two of them decided by 3 points or fewer, the Jayhawks are most likely to survive the gantlet and take home the title.
Oh, and as of last night, my 4 are
Kansas
UNC
Texas
UCLA
But maybe that's just because I want the chance to beat the 'Heels and the Bruins . . .
Sounds like they're doing some fine work over there at the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering...
ReplyDeleteStill working on my picks; my own statistical analysis involves a great deal of coin flippage.
I've been on the "UNC is vulnerable" bandwagon all year, but it would be fun if we met them in the semi.
All of the sports illustrated wizards pick ucla to win. I seriously want ucla to go down.
ReplyDeleteHere's a cool Sherron Collins piece from the Washington Post.
Wow, Self says Sherron's our best player? Arguable...
ReplyDeleteJudging from ESPN commentaries, Digger Phelps seems to believe he's our ONLY player.
Zero hour approaches...
ReplyDeleteI'm going with:
Kansas
Louisville
Texas
UCLA
Ballsy choice on Xavier, Chris. You may have something there, as UCLA is banged up and Duke is soft on the interior, like a Twinkie.
CNNSI goes behind the scenes in Omaha...
ReplyDelete