St. Louis ? Bill Self’s first two trips to the Elite Eight ended in heartbreak.

“As a young guy, I was absolutely crushed when it didn’t happen,” said Self, Kansas University’s first-year head coach, whose Tulsa team lost to North Carolina, 59-55, in 2000 in Austin, Texas, and whose Illinois squad fell to Arizona, 87-81, in 2001 in San Antonio.

Kansas University junior Wayne Simien answers questions as Jayhawks, from left, J.R. Giddens, Jeff Graves and Aaron Miles, and Keith Langford, right, listen. KU's players and coaches spoke Saturday in St. Louis about today's NCAA Tournament Elite Eight matchup with Georgia Tech.

Still relatively young, the 41-year-old Self hopes the third time is a charm today when his fourth-seeded Kansas Jayhawks (24-8) meet third-seeded Georgia Tech (26-9) in an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game at 1:40 p.m. at Edward Jones Dome.

For Self, reaching the Final Four is a career goal.

“It would mean a lot, obviously,” Self said. “To all coaches it means a lot personally, because everybody busts their tail to put themselves in this position. I think it could do wonders just to be able to sell that, and I think you could really reap the benefits of that (in recruiting).”

The Jayhawks, who have blown out Illinois-Chicago (78-53), Pacific (78-63) and UAB (100-74) in the NCAAs and have won seven of eight games, are confident they can advance to the program’s third straight Final Four.

“We’ve been to the Final Four several times, but coach hasn’t been and he wants this as much as we do,” senior forward Jeff Graves said. “I expect him to be doing his dance in the locker room and doing his Jayhawk thing. And no, he can’t dance very well.”

Self already has accomplished a lot in his 11-year head-coaching career. He’s one of three coaches to have led three schools to the Elite Eight — joining Eddie Sutton (Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State) and Gene Bartow (Memphis, UCLA, UAB).

“I watched SportsCenter last night. Coach Self is the only coach to get three teams to the Elite Eight in five years,” KU junior Keith Langford said. “We all want to win. It’s not about getting a certain individual to the Final Four. A lot more is riding on this than individual accolades.”

Yet, the Jayhawks want to take care of their general.

“If he goes to the Final Four, it means I go back,” KU junior Michael Lee. “I do want to play hard for coach and get him there. I know he wants it.”

The Jayhawks realize it won’t be easy against Georgia Tech, which also has won seven of eight.

The Yellow Jackets, who have beaten Nevada (72-67), Boston College (57-54) and Northern Iowa (65-60) in the NCAA Tournament, are 16-1 against teams not in the ACC. The only loss to a non-league foe was an 83-80 double-overtime decision Jan. 3 at rival Georgia.

“Beating them would give instant credibility to the fact we are legitimate,” Langford said. “They beat the most talented team in the country in Connecticut (77-61 in Preseason NIT). They’ve accomplished a lot this season.”

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Included is a 76-68 win March 3 over Duke that snapped the Devils’ 41-game home-court winning streak. Tech also busted Wake Forest’s 24-game home winning streak Jan. 20, 73-66.

“You’ve got to be tough to go into Cameron and win,” Self said of winning in Duke’s arena.

“I’ve watched them all along,” Langford said. “I’ve seen them on ESPN. I played with Jarrett Jack (sophomore guard, 12.2 ppg) during the summertime. They’ve got some of the best guards in the country. From a perimeter-guard standpoint, it’s going to be the best team we’ve played all year.”

B.J. Elder, a 6-foot-4 junior who sprained his ankle early in Friday’s Sweet 16 win over Nevada, had soreness but no swelling in his ankle Saturday and likely will play today.

“That could be a positive for their team,” Langford said. “He is one of their top scorers and they could have folded. They didn’t. It’s a sign of how deep they are and how determined they are.”

The Yellow Jackets also have a true center in 7-1 junior Luke Schenscher, who averages 8.7 points and 6.4 boards.

“We’ll probably start off with J.G. (Graves) and David Padgett on him,” Simien said. “If it comes down to it, I’ll guard him, too. I think the two teams match up evenly. This will be one of the toughest guard matchups we’ll have to face. I think it’ll be a great game.”

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said he wanted the game to be in the 80s, which is OK with the Jayhawks.

“That must mean they want it up-tempo,” KU’s Lee said. “We like that style, too. It should be a fun game if that’s what they want to do.”

KU coach Self sees it as perhaps KU’s toughest test of the season. Eight Wake players average more than 18 minutes a game.

“They are so athletic and they’ve got a big guy that can alter and block in the middle and then the perimeter positions are interchangeable,” Self said. “They have depth. They are a team that believes in not letting their opponent get in comfort zones. They are as athletic as any team around.”