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2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Taking their best shot

Kansas, Texas two steps closer to Final Four

By Eric Sorrentino

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KU coach Bill Self is two wins away from a Final Four appearance in San Antonio. The last time KU and UT made the Final Four was 2002-2003.

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UT coach Rick Barnes is two wins away from a Final Four appearance in San Antonio. The last time KU and UT made the Final Four was 2002-2003.

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The Final Four is a week and a half away, and the Big 12 Conference still has two chances to send a team to college-basketball utopia.

It comes as little surprise that Kansas and Texas, the two first-tier teams in the conference, are battling in their respective regions for the right to book a trip to San Antonio.

Granted, some trips would be more convenient than others. Should the Longhorns make the Final Four, they'd simply have to drive 80 miles south on Interstate 35.

Before a Big 12-dominated Final Four scenario happens, though, many variables have to fall into place for both teams. Most of the time, you have to catch a break or two along the way.

First, let's start with the biggest obstacles for Kansas and Texas.

Villanova surely will be an obstacle for KU, but the Wildcats are more of a minor road block than a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam. Villanova went 9-9 in Big East play and simply doesn't possess the weapons or depth Kansas has.

Wisconsin could be the frustrating bumper-to-bumper traffic jam. It may seem like the Badgers play in the ugliest of games, but they rely on winning with the fundamentals and defense instilled by coach Bo Ryan.

In fact, Wisconsin ranks first in all of Division I in points allowed at 53.9 per game. Ryan's team would be a huge Final Four obstacle for Kansas or Villanova.

To find the Longhorns' biggest obstacle, look no further than the team they play next: the Stanford Cardinal.

Big 12 fans are familiar with D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams, the lethal one-two backcourt punch for the Longhorns.

It remains to be seen, though, if Texas can match up with Brook and Robin Lopez, the 7-foot sophomore towers that average 19 and 10.3 points, respectively.

The duo is the main reason Stanford ranks fifth in the nation in rebounding margin at +8 per game. UT post men Connor Atchley, Damion James and reserves Dexter Pittman and Gary Johnson are going to be critical to the Longhorns' success against the Cardinal.

Should Kansas and Texas overcome the obstacles and advance to the Final Four, it would make the third time since the Big 12's inception in 1996-97 that two Big 12 teams made it that far in the same year. The other two years:

2001-2002

Big 12 teams: Kansas, Oklahoma

Records: KU 33-4 overall, 16-0 Big 12; OU 31-5 overall, 13-3 Big 12

Coaches: KU Roy Williams; OU Kelvin Sampson

Location of Final Four: Atlanta

Road to Final Four:

Kansas - Holy Cross W 70-59, Stanford W 86-63, Illinois W 73-69, Oregon W 104-86, Maryland L 97-88.

Oklahoma - Illinois-Chicago W 71-63, Xavier W 78-65, Arizona W 88-67, Missouri W 81-75; Indiana L 73-64.

National Champ: Maryland (def. Indiana, 64-52)

Did you know: KU lost its first game of the season, 93-91, to Ball State, then went 33-3.

2002-2003

Big 12 teams: Kansas, Texas

Records: KU 30-8 overall, 14-2 Big 12; UT 26-7 overall, 13-3 Big 12

Coaches: KU Roy Williams; UT Rick Barnes

Location of Final Four: New Orleans

Road to Final Four: Kansas - Utah State W 64-61, Arizona State W 108-76, Duke W 69-65, Arizona W 78-75, Marquette W 94-61, Syracuse L 81-78.

Texas - UNC Asheville W 82-61, Purdue W 77-67, Connecticut W 82-78, Michigan State W 85-76, Syracuse L 95-84.

National Champ: Syracuse

Did you know: The last time KU faced North Carolina was Nov. 27, 2002, in New York. UNC won, 67-56.

Comments

cafranci (anonymous) says...

UNC won 67-56, not 57-56. That game, unfortunately, wasn't particularly close. We couldn't stop McCants and kept turning the ball over.

March 26, 2008 at 7:24 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

crooner (anonymous) says...

Yeah, and last I heard, Gary Johnson will not be available for the Longhorns.

Copy editor? Can we please get a copy editor for the LJW?

March 26, 2008 at 7:47 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

tis4tim (anonymous) says...

In that game, I remember Roy sitting quietly in his seat much of the game in a funk, like he was afraid to beat Dean. It was strange.

March 26, 2008 at 7:49 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

mgolany (anonymous) says...

I was at that game in the garden! We played terrible! I think they made it to the NIT that year!

March 26, 2008 at 8:25 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

nocaljayhawk (anonymous) says...

tis4tim, you made me throw up in my mouth a little with your recalling Roy and his stupid-arse refusal to call timeouts when a game was getting away. WTF?

March 26, 2008 at 9:10 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

dlshaw74 (anonymous) says...

tis4tim, you mentioned that Roy sat quietly in his seat afraid to beat Dean. Really? I find that hard to believe when Dean was probably sitting back somewhere enjoying retirement. Dean had already retired BUD. Try Matt Daughtery as the head coach of UNC. Before making statements that your not educated on get your facts right.

March 26, 2008 at 9:28 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

palewhale (anonymous) says...

dlshaw74,

You are correct... But before being too critical of tim4tim read your own post...

"Before making statements that your not educated on get your facts right"

Before being an A$$ to poor Tim, make sure you can formulate a sentence.

Before making statements that you're not educated on, get your facts right.

Is that better...

March 26, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

klong (anonymous) says...

I don't even remember that game. I thought the last time we played was in the Final Four in 93. I thought I had a terrible memory with everything else except KU sports! I guess not, it's just bad all the way around! Damn, i'm getting old I guess.

March 26, 2008 at 10:35 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

tis4tim (anonymous) says...

dlshaw74,

Of course Dean wasn't the head coach at that point. Reread my post a bit more carefully and you'll see that I didn't say anything to the effect that he was. That doesn't diminish the fact that Roy was afraid to beat Dean, his mentor in that game. No need for barbs just because you fail to understand the figurative nature of some of the posts on this board, "BUD".

March 26, 2008 at 10:56 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

tis4tim (anonymous) says...

palewhale,

Now THAT was a much better indictment of my apparent basketball knowledge :)

March 26, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

klong (anonymous) says...

I see your point palewhale, but why do these message boards always turn into a freaking English class? I am not attacking you because I see what you are trying to do. I know my spelling and grammar suck, but I am a true Jayhawk fan just trying to make my voice heard just like everyone else. We aren't all 4.0 students. Guys like dlshaw and actorman are always doing that. It gets a little old after awhile. I guess we should always spell check our posts.

March 26, 2008 at 11:02 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Johann Ross) says...

Imagine this...

20 years removed from our last championship, we might again face the prospect of having to play an in-conference opponent for the national title.

If Kansas and Texas meet, I bet they'd do a segment on Danny Manning. Perhaps old footage with an interview that highlights the '88 championship and comparisons to the current team.

Thatd be sweet...

March 26, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

tashe2 (anonymous) says...

I am not here to talk smack on anyone, but we are all JAYHAWK fans here. Why are we criticizing each other? This is for us to get on here and talk jayhawk basketball, whether your a veteran jayhawk fan or new comer. Who cares if you knowledgable about everything basketball. Who cares if you make a typo or can't spell. The main thing is that we are all here to talk basketball and jayhawk basketball at that.

I know I personally dont care if there are misspelled words on here, all I care about is beating Villanova Friday night. I think everyone here can agree on that!!!

Rock Chalk Jayhawks

National Champions 2008

March 26, 2008 at 12:36 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

RockChalkNateHawk (anonymous) says...

The Jayhawks need to stay hungry and show the country who the best team is in all of the land.

March 26, 2008 at 1:41 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

lance1jhawk (anonymous) says...

tashe2 is right... come on... group hug

March 26, 2008 at 4:54 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

kstatetraiter (anonymous) says...

Roy sucked who cares about him anymore??
Let's move on our current coach will destroy his records here.. You'll see....

March 26, 2008 at 6:28 p.m. ( | suggest removal )