Kansas City, Mo. ? Tim Hall can ski with confidence this week.

The Kansas University sophomore and three of his closest friends are on the road this morning to Utah for a little spring break — and virtually guaranteed a later road trip to San Antonio for the Final Four.

Or so they figure.

“Hell, yeah, we’ll be there,” said Hall, better known as “K” in the body-painted “GO KU” foursome in the stands Sunday at Kemper Arena. “With Kentucky gone, we’ll waltz in there.”

Such is the life of KU fans, perhaps spoiled by consecutive trips to the last weekend of the NCAA Tournament and continually counting on another shot at a third NCAA title.

Things like Sunday’s second-round tournament victory at Kemper, a 78-63 toppling of upstart Pacific, simply fade into the background.

Friday’s 76-75 loss of tournament top-seed Kentucky at the hands of the University of Alabama-Birmingham — UAB! A No. 9 seed! — will do that.

“It’s huge: bigger than a KU win,” said Jim Fager, co-owner of the Tanner’s Bar & Grill chain, who watched the Kentucky Wildcats lose from his seat in a luxury suite at Kemper.

Added his brother, Stacey Fager: “Last year, KU had to beat a bunch of good teams to get to the Final Four,” namely No. 3 Duke and No. 1 Arizona. “This year they’re getting some help.”

Kansas University sophomores, from left, Mike Mulheron, Andrew Meyer, Tim Hall and Evan Brann cheer the Jayhawks to victory on Sunday at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. KU advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 78-63 victory over the University of the Pacific.

Only minutes after KU closed out its victory had the anxious hand-wringing begun: Crowds of 20, 30, even 40 fans huddled behind the clear partitions of Kemper’s 25 luxury suites, all straining to catch a glimpse of TVs carrying the closing minutes of UAB-Kentucky from Columbus, Ohio.

Among them: 11-year-old Evan Manning, sporting a KU jersey and a smile as wide as his father’s nearly 16 years earlier, when Danny Manning led KU to a national title on the same court below.

Per capita, the Blazers’ heart-racing victory might have generated an even louder cheer than the Jayhawks’ win.

“It’s awesome,” Evan said, clearly pleased with both results but grounded enough not to look too far ahead. “Kentucky lost. Now we play UAB.”

Other fans didn’t bother concerning themselves with the No. 9 seed. If KU were to win Friday, the Jayhawks would face either No. 3 seed Georgia Tech or No. 10 seed Nevada in the regional final for a berth in the Final Four.

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“I think we’ll be ready for Nevada, if they get that far,” said Beth Noland, a KU fan whose son, Chad, worked as a ball shagger during Friday’s game at Kemper. “I didn’t know who Nevada was before this season.”

She learned soon enough. The unranked Wolf Pack pasted the sixth-ranked Jayhawks, 75-61, just before Christmas. Nevada had raced to a 40-20 halftime lead in that one, and never looked back.

“Nevada’s definitely somebody we have to watch out for,” said Jerry Weahling, a longtime KU fan from Kansas City, Mo. “There are a lot of giant-killers out there. You can’t just go by seeding. When it comes to March, it can be any given team on any given day.”

KU’s regional semifinal game, against UAB, is set for 6:10 p.m. Friday at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

As the final seconds ticked down Sunday evening in Kemper Arena, the Kansas Jayhawks beat Pacific to advance to the Sweet 16. Jeff Fortier, left, and Ramon Juma, both of Lawrence, celebrated Sunday at Free State Brewing Co., 636 Mass.