SALT LAKE CITY From about the instant Kansas was assigned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional and aligned with Northeastern for its first-round game on Thursday at Vivint Smart Home Arena, Kansas became a fashionable upset candidate.
The ever-astute likes of ESPN analyst Jay Bilas (Kansas may not get past Northeastern, he said during the bracket selection show) and the Sporting News Mike DeCourcy (Northeastern is his sleeper pick for the region) questioned taking a KU win for granted, and basketball pundits from around the nation have scrawled in a Kansas loss.
And its natural enough to scoff at a team that took a long time to meld, suffered lapses even since seeming to coalesce (see: Texas Tech and Oklahoma in the last month and Iowa State in the last game), will start five players whove never played in an NCAA Tournament … and will be matched against a veteran team that specializes in one of Kansas vulnerabilities, the three-point game.
This remains a volatile, vexing team. One that could as easily win twice here to get to the Sweet 16 in Kansas City thats what Im putting in my bracket as it could lose in the first round in its first game as a No. 4 seed since the 2006 opening loss to Bradley.
Its actually pretty much like coach Bill Self put it after KUs regular-season finale as he looked toward the postseason, referencing a movie: Its 50 First Dates. Drew Barrymore could star with our team … because its something new every day. I dont know what to expect, but Im excited to see whatever happens.
If youre a Jayhawk fan, you might be indignant about the perceived lack of respect for a team that largely surged down the stretch as the freshman quartet of Devon Dotson, Quentin Grimes, Ochai Agbaji and David McCormack made strides and found their place and gelled.
If youre Self, though, you appreciate that a clear and present danger always lurks in NCAA play. And that possibility is not to be dismissed but girded for and guarded against, especially when youre not a 1 or 2 seed for the first time in a decade.
That perspective comes from a coaching lifetime of experiences, ranging from knowing what its like to be the overlooked other guy (Tulsa) to being on the wrong end of unfathomable upsets like Northern Iowa (9 vs. 1 in the second round in 2010), Bucknell (14-3 in 2005, KUs first first-round loss in 27 years) and, of course, Bradley.
Whatever angst there was then about Selfs capacity to thrive at Kansas after his second straight first-round loss (something hed never suffered before or since) has long since been refuted. You might even make the case that Bradley was the pivot point.
Consider the 2008 national title among three Final Fours, as well as four Elite Eights (to go with his three earlier ones) and the stunning streak of 14 straight Big 12 titles that ended this season.
Now, only seven men have more NCAA Tournament wins than Self, whose next victory will be his 48th and move him past legendary UCLA coach John Wooden. Sure, its a different era, but …
Selfs a Hall of Fame coach now, one of the most successful men ever to do this. Most of his players havent been here before, but he sure has. And this season to date has been one of his finest jobs whisking his team forward, particularly considering the loss of Udoka Azubuike, the oddities of Lagerald Vick and the lingering matter of the FBIs Adidas investigation.
For all the success since 2006, Self has joked over the years that the very mention of Bucknell still makes him start twitching and Bradley doubtless remains emblazoned in his mind.
So he is on high alert as he tries to get his team mentally ready for Thursday, cognizant of the extra challenge inherent in having a squad dominated by players whove never had this experience.
I think its pretty easy all week-long to be excited, to be enthusiastic, to have your mind in the right spot, he said. But then when you get down to absolute playing, (to not have or) feel that extra pressure and tense up, I think there is a balance. And experience does help with that.
