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Kansas fans go wild in the stands as the Jayhawks begin to pull away from the Longhorns in the second half Sunday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. After the Kansas University men's basketball team defeated the University of Texas, 84-74, and claimed the Big 12 Conference championship, it was named the No. 1 seed in the NCAA's Midwest Region. With the Jayhawks kicking off play in the tournament at 11:25 a.m. Thursday in Omaha, many fans are expected to follow, even though the Qwest Center is sold out for the game.
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Fans paint the town crimson and blue
With the Jayhawks clinching the Big 12 Title and the number one seed in the Midwest, Jayhawks fans get right to celebrating.
Twenty years ago, Kansas University's men's basketball team won the 1988 national title, starting its run with two games in Nebraska and two in Detroit before the Final Four.
If the two-decade championship funk will be broken this year, it will take the same path.
This year's Jayhawks are heading to Omaha, Neb., for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Kansas secured the No. 1 seed in the Midwest and will play 16th-seeded Portland State at 11:25 a.m. Thursday.
If the Jayhawks can win two games in Omaha, they'll head to Detroit for two more. Win those and they'll go to the Final Four in San Antonio - eerily similar to the Danny Manning-led title team, which won two in Lincoln, Neb., before heading to Michigan.
"Different venues, but yeah, it went through Nebraska and then it went through Detroit," KU coach Bill Self said Sunday. "We've actually told our team about that."
First things first: a three-hour trek up Interstate 29 to Omaha. A flock of KU fans surely will follow the team north, but it's probably a good idea for those travelers to have their tickets already taken care of. There's no official way of getting any now.
The 17,560-seat Qwest Center has been sold out for some time. That's mostly because tickets were first offered to Creighton University season-ticket holders, who gobbled up all they could about a year ago.
Kansas - and the other seven schools playing in Omaha - received 350 tickets to pass out to fans. But as expected, associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said, all of KU's allotment is accounted for. The best bet to get in the Qwest Center now is through a ticket broker or scalper on the street.
Dozens of tickets were available online Sunday at eBay.com, StubHub.com and Craigslist.org. But be prepared to pay a hefty price - especially because Kansas State, a nearby school with a rabid fan base, is playing in Omaha as well.
"I'm sure we will have all the Wildcat faithful cheering for us," Self joked. "We should make a pact - we'll cheer for them if they cheer for us."
For those of you already clutching a magic ticket - or those who just want to be around the action - Omaha has plenty to offer on the entertainment front when basketball isn't being played.
There are casinos just across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa. There is a popular restaurant and entertainment district dubbed "The Old Market" just down the road from Qwest Center in downtown. The KU Alumni Association will have events lined up and will finalize those plans as early as today.
Omaha expects to be buzzing this week, with an atmosphere not unlike the one surrounding the College World Series baseball tournament played there every June. Omaha, a college sports hotbed, hasn't played host to NCAA Tournament action in basketball since 1977.
This week's events also could be the brightest spotlight yet on the Qwest Center, Omaha's sports facility jewel that opened in 2003. The arena has played host to several high-profile concerts and currently is home to Creighton's basketball team.
"I hear it's a fabulous, fabulous arena," Self said.
Lucky Kansas fans soon will see for themselves.
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Comments
blackhawkjayhawk (anonymous) says...
Here is what I don't get about tournament sites and tickets. If a city hosts a tournament, wouldn't it want the economic impact of thousands of visiting fans to trek into the city, fill-up the hotels and drink all of the beer?
I know that many KU fans will go to Omaha, but wouldn't a lot more go if they could buy tickets now? Why would Creighton's season-ticket holders get first right of refusal on tickets? It makes no sense.
These regional sites should be thrilled to have the event, and the tickets should go to those who most deserve them - the fans of the teams actually playing. If that happens, everybody wins.
The NCAA should mandate that a min. of 2,000 or 3,000 tickets be allotted to each school. They could charge more, and bring in more visitors. Yes, I know that they typically sell the tickets in "game packages", but this could easily be changed.
March 17, 2008 at 8:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KU (anonymous) says...
Here's another tidbit of coincidence from 20 years ago: 1988 was the last time Cornell won the Ivy League bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Now if we could just convince the NCAA to switch venues from San Antonio to KC.......and if Danny Manning could suit up......
March 17, 2008 at 8:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hawkshock (anonymous) says...
Another coincidence: 20 years ago, KSU ended a 52-game AFH winning streak for us. This year, they ended a quarter-century drought in Bramlege against us. Streak ends, championship quest begins?
Those going, you'll love Omaha. It and the Qwest are fabulous.
March 17, 2008 at 8:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KU (anonymous) says...
Another coincidence: K-State is in the midwest bracket with us for the first time since 1988.
After spending the weekend downtown for the Big 12 tournament, I don't see how the Big 12 can justify going back to Dallas with the tourney....ever!
The Power & Light District is only a shadow of what it will become, but it is already incredible. It creates a great sense of community, epecially the outdoor area under the awning with the big screen and concerts.
I haven't been to Oklahoma City yet, but I understand they have a nice area near the arena, too. I'd like to see the Big 12 tournament in KC 3 out of 4 years.
March 17, 2008 at 9:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawkjim80 (anonymous) says...
The Big 12 Tourney is in KC three of four years, counting the one we just had. The one year it isn't here, next year, there is an NCAA regional. There will be lots of tourney games in KC in the future.
First/Second round sites are really tough on the ticket buyer. Unless it is in a dome, there is no way you can give each school 2000 or more seats, and you can't really give 1000 because you have eight schools at one site. The host site then offers up what tickets they can to the public a year out, because they want a sellout.
I did find it odd that Creighton season ticket holders got first crack at these seats, and that they bought them all up. Why? Creighton could not participate at that site since they are the host school. Hello E-Bay & StubHub!!
What really concerns me is I am also hearing that our allotment for the regionals isn't very big either, even in the two sites with domes. That makes less sense to me, since you are now down to four schools at each site, and everyone else has to get seats that are probably in the upper level. Those are the games where teams should get significantly more seats.
March 17, 2008 at 9:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DerekR25 (anonymous) says...
Totally agree with how silly I thought it was for Creighton season ticket holders to get first rights. The most annoying thing is that it wasn't advertised around here at all. I live maybe 2 miles from the Qwest and was ready to pay for my tickets and before I knew it, they were sold out and I didn't even know there were any tickets on sale. One of my girlfriend's cousins is a Creighton booster who got his tickets and I might see if I can go with him Thursday.
For those of you coming, as said in the article, the Old Market is great. Omaha is huge on food and alcohol. There's tons of bars, bar&grills, and nice places to eat. If the weather's nice, our Zoo is great for the kids.
Also, does anyone know where the guys are staying? I would love to go down and be apart of some sort of welcome party for them.
March 17, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
BannerforKirk (anonymous) says...
Just an FYI - living in Nebraska I've been dealing with Qwest on this issue for awhile. They claim that the NCAA requires host schools to offer first crack at the tickets to the local host school's season ticket holders. They claim it was out of their hands and it just happens that Creighton fans actually did buy them all. The NCAA also keeps about 4,000 for themselves to pass out to VIPs and the like.
March 17, 2008 at 11:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SIRIUSHawk (anonymous) says...
It is really no different than season ticket holders for the Kansas City Chiefs fans having first dibs on tickets for the KU-Misery football game. I really don't feel season ticket holders should have any rights to their seats once the regular season for that venue has ended. As for the Chiefs, it never started in the first place. It would definitely put more blue shirts in the stands, and money in the registers.
Rock Chalk
March 17, 2008 at 2:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KU (anonymous) says...
The Old Market is.........old. Passe. It's OK, but the new Power and Light district in KC is already better and it's only half-built at this time. When it's completed, the Sprint Center, College Basketball Experience, P&L district and surrounding area will be the Crown Jewel in the Big 12 region.
Jim, I know we have the tourney 3 out of the current 4 years, but we need the Big 12 to make it a permanent arrangement where we get it 3 out of 4 years in KC.
March 17, 2008 at 2:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
e93bigd (anonymous) says...
KU - you sound like a child not willing to share. There are plenty of good sites for the tournament and Dallas is a great host for it. You think the south teams would happily travel to KC every year? It makes sense to move it around and it gives a lot of us living down here a chance to see the 'hawks in person.
March 17, 2008 at 4:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
leikness (anonymous) says...
The problem with what they did is that Creighton fans got the opportunity to buy more tickets than they had season tickets. Basically, for every 2 season tickets you had, you ended up getting the opportunity to buy 3 NCAA tickets. My buddy had 4 season and got 6 for the tourney, so I have mine, but don't know why more didn't just get made available to the general public. The other problem with it is that Creigton fans are about as doscile as you can get, and considering they are all NU football fans, I don't see too many of them cheering too hard for KU or KSU (or cheering that loud at all really).
March 17, 2008 at 4:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
actorman (anonymous) says...
That's a good point, leikness. I can understand them getting a shot at tickets, but it's incredibly unfair and insulting to the teams participating to let the Creighton fans have MORE than their number of season tickets.
March 17, 2008 at 4:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )