“It’s always nice to go back home,” said Henry, the former Putnam City High standout who last returned home over winter break. “It was snowing so I couldn’t really do anything.

“I love going home. I don’t get homesick when I’m here, but it’s great whenever I go back.”

Henry will play his first game in Oklahoma City’s Ford Center at 8:40 p.m. Thursday, when the Jayhawks take on Lehigh in a first-round Midwest Regional contest.

“I don’t think I’ll be extra motivated. I’m always motivated. Plus, this is the NCAA Tournament, and we’ve got to win. I’ll be excited,” Henry said.

His dad, Carl, has continued to live in Oklahoma City this school year, while mom, Barbara, has been in Lawrence with her two sons — KU starter Xavier and reserve C.J., who has been injured most of the season.

“I don’t think he’ll feel pressure,” Carl Henry said of Xavier. “He just plays the game. There’s no pressure coming home. You just play the game.”

Junior Cole Aldrich had a triumphant return to his hometown for the 2009 NCAAs. He had a triple-double against Dayton and also played well in a first-round victory over North Dakota State in the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

“He has to make sure he stays focused,” Aldrich said of Xavier Henry. “There will be a lot of people coming at him asking for tickets and trying to get a piece of him. He has to make sure he gets rest and stays focused on the game.

“I told my parents (last year) I had four tickets, and they get the four. Eveybody else … I’d love to have them come to the game and support me, but I’m not going to get hounded about tickets.”

Tough regional

CBS announcer Clark Kellogg said on the Selection Sunday show that KU’s Midwest Regional stands out as the toughest.

He said the regional has “tremendous power.”

Of KU earning the No. 1 overall seed, announcer Seth Davis said: “That’s got to be the easiest decision the committee had to deal with all weekend.”

Aldrich welcomes the challenge.

“I like our region. It’s going to be tough to get out of here, though. Every region is going to be tough. Everybody is fighting for their life from here on out,” he said.

He’s OK

KU senior Sherron Collins bumped knees with a Kansas State player in Saturday’s Big 12 title victory over the Wildcats. “It feels fine,” Collins said, indicating he’d miss no practice time.

Hitting the road

The Jayhawks likely will bus to Oklahoma City early Tuesday afternoon. Self said the goal was to be settled in the team hotel by dinner time Tuesday.

The Jayhawks are to hold a shootaround from 5:10 to 5:50 p.m. Wednesday, with the Lehigh game time set for 8:40 p.m. Thursday.

Happy players

The reaction of the Jayhawks in the Naismith room as they watched the NCAA Selection Show on CBS?

“We weren’t like some of those last at-large teams that got berths, but guys are excited,” Self said. “It was anticlimactic to know we’d be a No. 1 seed because I think we knew that basically going into the day. To be overall No. 1 is good even though it doesn’t mean anything. It’ll be a good recruiting mailout this week.”

Be aggressive

Self said he wants the Jayhawks in attack mode against Lehigh and in all potential games.

“Sometimes winning can become a relief, especially this time of year, (the feeling of), ‘Well, if we can just get past (this team),”’ Self said. “That’s a bad attitude. You should enjoy the game, every possession, the good and the bad. You work your tail off to be put in that high-exposure tournament, so go enjoy it and have fun. Of course, it’s obviously more fun when you win. I hope I don’t coach from a defensive standpoint, which could be the tendency if you are the favorite.

“You should coach the same regardless. You want your players loose, you want them having fun, you want them to be in a situation that where they don’t see it as pressure but as we worked our butt off to live in this moment so let’s go make the most of it and enjoy it.”