With his Jayhawks having dispatched two years of frustration with 40 minutes of inspired ball, Kevin Yoder smiled with the quiet confidence that comes with being on the right side of a 40-point victory.
Friday night’s 107-67 win over Niagara, he figures, pretty much punches Kansas’ ticket to Atlanta.
“The lid’s off,” said Yoder, a former Kansas University student body president and current state representative from Overland Park. “We’re headed straight to the Final Four now. It’s like the fog’s been lifted and Atlanta’s in our sights, with the championship in our grasp.”
OK, so there remains a little bit more work to do – you know, beat Kentucky on Sunday here in Chicago, then win two more games at the regionals next week in San Jose, Calif. – but Yoder and others following the Jayhawks at the United Center during Friday’s first round game couldn’t help but breathe easy with relief.
All that talk of losing in the first round for two years in a row is gone now.
Fans once again could look back fondly on that championship game appearance in New Orleans, back in 2003. And that Final Four in Atlanta, in 2002.
Return trip? Book it, they say.
“We’ll be back,” said KU senior Jordan Wrecke, who made the trip his freshman year, and made it to Chicago to launch this year’s effort.
“The next few games will be a lot easier,” said his friend, fellow KU senior Seth Cast, seated near the floor and next to a boisterous Niagara cheering section. “The big test will be UCLA. After that, it’s a championship.”
Mario Chalmers, of course, isn’t having any part of that.
“We take it game by game,” the sophomore guard said, after digging into a bucket of Brandon Rush’s popcorn. “We just need to refocus on what’s going on in the locker room, play our game and try to get ready for the game we’re going to play.”
That game is scheduled to start 30 minutes after Sunday’s first game in Chicago: UNLV against Wisconsin, which starts at 1:30 p.m.