offense

Kansas basketball fans are not the only folks who have followed the Jayhawks closely during a magical 31-3 season.

“I’ve seen their games. They’ve been all over ESPN and CBS. They are a fun team to watch,” Illinois senior center Robert Archibald said Tuesday. “They push the ball on offense, really get it up and down the court.

“The more you see a team like that on TV, the more it whets your appetite to get a chance to play them,” added Archibald, who will start Friday when Illinois meets KU in a Sweet 16 contest at approximately 9:25 p.m. at Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.

He’s been part of an Illini team that averages 77.6 points a game compared to KU’s nation-best 91.2 ppg mark.

“It’s free-flowing,” Illinois coach Bill Self said of the KU running game. “Kansas is as good as it gets taking it off the glass and going down and scoring. We need to bump them off their cuts and not let them do what they want.”

When KU does what it wants, KU tends to roll.

The Jayhawks, who have hit the century mark in 11 games, raced to a 15-0 lead Saturday en route to an 86-63 second-round blowout of Stanford.

“The big thing is how fast they play,” Self said. “It’s a different level I haven’t seen in many years. (Kirk) Hinrich and (Jeff) Boschee shoot threes. They score at so many different angles.

“You insert a quick guard like (Aaron) Miles and what they have is three point guards. (Nick) Collison and (Drew) Gooden run as well as any big guys in America. (Wayne) Simien is a beast. They are an offensive powerhouse.”

Self could talk all day about Kansas.

“Has Gooden improved? He is maybe the national player of the year,” Self said. “Collison is a lottery pick when he comes out. Bringing in Simien and (Keith) Langford has been really important. Gooden and Hinrich are really, really good.”

One team that slowed KU to a crawl is Oklahoma, a squad compared to Illinois because of its style of play. The Sooners caged KU, 64-55, in the Big 12 Tournament finals.

“Oklahoma didn’t allow it to be a rhythm game,” Self said. “Oklahoma is a physical team and it benefited them. But Kansas is a physical team, too.

“I watched that game. Kansas got the ball where they wanted it and missed some bunnies (inside shots). Oklahoma will beat a lot of teams. Oklahoma is good.”

Ditto Illinois, especially of late.

The Illini, who were ranked second to start the season, were 15-7 after 22 games, partly because of injuries to Lucas Johnson and Damir Krupalija, who are healthy now.

Illinois, in fact, was a team in turmoil at 15-7, nothing like the current squad that has won 11 of 12 games.

“Pressure of this game is something guys can deal with. Real pressure was when things were really bad with our team. We weren’t winning. We seemed stale. People were pointing fingers,” Self said.

“People say, ‘You didn’t do what you were supposed to do.’ We lost eight games but all the negatives helped us. To get a piece of the Big Ten (championship which Illinois shared with Indiana, Ohio State and Wisconsin all at 11-5), everybody sticking together, it will go down as my most memorable season to date.

“Not most enjoyable, memorable,” Self added. “It’s something to do it when the chips are down. We went through bad times so we could become a team. To be beat up and have some other things going on, things the public doesn’t know about and never will know about … to be able to hang together (is impressive).

“The toughest teams have the chance to advance. We would not be tough without the adversity of the regular season,” Self noted.

The toughest test to date for the 26-8 Illini comes Friday.

“To get to this point and have a chance to play what is probably the best team in America, it’s a great challenge. It’s a tough road. This team hasn’t taken an easy path so why should we Friday?” Self said.

Injuries: KU’s Kirk Hinrich (sprained left ankle) looked “great” at practice Tuesday according to trainer Mark Cairns. He was held out of contact drills as a precautionary measure. Barring any further problems, Hinrich is expected to play Friday. … U of I’s Lucas Johnson has a hip-pointer (bruise) and didn’t practice Tuesday. He’s expected to play Friday.

On to Wisconsin: Some say Illinois has an advantage playing at Wisconsin’s Kohl Center on the campus of a fellow Big Ten school.

“I think it’s a great advantage. We always play well at Kohl,” Self quipped. The Illini are 1-3 all-time at Kohl, 0-1 under Self. “Kohl hasn’t been really good to us. That’s irrelevant too.

“I don’t see how doing a shootaround there and playing a game there a month ago (72-66 loss to Wisconsin on Jan. 5) is our advantage. I would rather play in our area than out.

“It certainly will not hurt having Illini followers and Big Ten followers. I know Kansas fans are trying to get their hands on tickets. I hope ours are also.”

He hopes Wisconsin fans root for Illinois.

“I know if Wisconsin was playing in Champaign (Ill.) our people would turn out and support them,” Self said.

Juco tournament: KU coach Roy Williams was in Hutchinson on Tuesday morning to watch Coffeyville Community College pound Walters State (Tenn.), 101-71, in a first-round national junior college tournament game. Devin Smith, a 6-5 freshman being recruited by KU, scored 23 points on 10-of-22 shooting. His brother, Steve, a 6-5 sophomore, scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting.

Devin Smith, who hails from New Castle, Del., is considering KU, UNLV, Iowa, Illinois and others.

Another possible KU recruit, 6-4 sophomore Tony Allen, scored 25 points in Wabash Valley College’s 92-74 win over St. Petersburg, Fla., College.

Dougherty may land TCU job: KU assistant Neil Dougherty is believed to be the leading candidate to replace Billy Tubbs at TCU. Dougherty was in Dallas on Monday to speak to school officials for a second time. Wyoming head coach Steve McClain is also a possibility.