But no matter where the team ends up, she wouldn’t mind getting a little payback, too.

“I want them to play North Carolina, so we can kick the socks off of Roy’s boys,” said Hein, a KU cheerleader.

The Spirit Squad — that’s the collective name for KU’s dance team, cheerleaders and mascots — generally hopes to land in the tournament’s St. Louis region. About a half dozen squad members are from St. Louis.

Fellow cheerleader Kent Spitz doesn’t really care where the Jayhawks land. He’d just like to see KU clash with Illinois, the school coached until this year by Bill Self.

“It’d be a lot of fun,” said Spitz, a sophomore from Champaign, Ill. “I even wore my Illinois shirt yesterday at practice. But I’d be rooting for us to win.”

Marty and Patty Kuhn Kennedy don’t need to see another game this postseason.

They’ve already reached hardwood heaven.

“I would rather beat Missouri three times in one year than win a national championship,” said Patty Kennedy, who reported nearly getting into a scrape with a Mizzou fan late in Friday night’s 94-69 thrashing of the Tigers. “I hate the Tigers that much. I hate ’em.”

But the Kennedys aren’t about to jump off the KU bandwagon. Just as they flew on Friday morning into Dallas for the Big 12 Tournament, they intend to follow the Jayhawks through the NCAA Tournament, just in case.

“I still want them to win,” said Marty Kennedy, an owner of Kennedy Glass and former Lawrence mayor. “But I’m happy now.”

For Mike Berkley, KU’s defensive intensity of the past few games is reason for optimism.

And he knows a thing or two about defense.

As a member of KU’s freshman basketball team in 1957-’58, Berkley tried to turn up the heat by guarding Wilt Chamberlain.

“I was the one who fouled him in practice,” said Berkley, who now follows KU as a fan and regularly attends postseason tournaments. “I played against him in the annual freshman-varsity game, and he blocked my shot. He sent it all the way into the stands.”

Berkley, now president of Bennington State Bank in Salina, said the current Jayhawks had been doing a better job of applying defensive pressure, forcing turnovers and being aggressive on rebounds.

“The coaches and players are coming together,” he said. “We’ve got a chance.”