Road begins in OKC

KU seeded 3 behind UNC, Connecticut in regional

Bill Self made a bold prediction as he and his Kansas University basketball players munched on barbecue and checked out their new, gray “Destination: St. Louis” T-shirts before the start of CBS’ NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday in a Memorial Stadium skybox.

“I told ’em, ‘Guys, the way I’ve got it figured out — and I’ve studied this pretty hard the last 12 hours — is we’ll be a No. 3 seed,'” said Self, KU’s second-year coach.

“I told them (seniors), ‘You’ve been a 1, 2 and a 4 seed since you’ve been here and done quite well, but you haven’t won it all with any of those. Maybe 3 is the one.'”

Self’s crystal ball proved accurate moments later when CBS announcer Greg Gumbel told the world KU had landed a 3 seed in the Syracuse regional.

The Jayhawks (23-6) will meet No. 14 seed Bucknell (22-9) at 8:50 p.m. Friday at Ford Center in Oklahoma City. If KU wins, it will meet either Northern Iowa or Wisconsin at 3:50 p.m. Sunday in OKC.

Two wins in Oklahoma, and the Jayhawks would be off to the Syracuse, N.Y., where KU could meet UConn in the Sweet 16 and Roy Williams’ North Carolina Tar Heels in the regional final in hopes of advancing to the Final Four in St. Louis.

“Nobody gave this particular 3 seed any favors,” Self said, “because it is an awfully tough field. On paper, you could make a case this is the toughest (regional) there is.”

Self figured the Jayhawks lost a No. 2 seed Sunday when Oklahoma State beat Texas Tech for the Big 12 Conference tournament title. OSU earned a No. 2 alongside UConn, Kentucky and Wake Forest. No. 1 seeds went to Illinois, Carolina, Duke and Washington.

“We had a chance to be a 1 or 2 but didn’t take care of business,” Self said. “We will not complain or moan, because we’re probably where we should be the way we played the last 10 games (when KU went 5-5).”

Kansas University sophomore guard J.R. Giddens clowns around with a TV cameraman before a news conference. The Jayhawks, who appeared Sunday at the Memorial Stadium press box, were selected as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament's Syracuse Regional and will face Bucknell on Friday in Giddens' hometown of Oklahoma City.

Self said KU’s record of late dropped the Jayhawks to a 3.

“Of course, four of those losses we didn’t have starters,” Self said of his banged-up team. “Once you get past the elation of being a high seed, it comes down to matchups. You will have to play somebody good no matter what to get to where you want to go.”

The Oklahoma City location pleased Self, a native of Edmond, Okla. But it’s a long way from Lawrence to Syracuse, N.Y.

“We’re happy we’re going to Oklahoma City, no doubt about that,” Self said. “It’s good for our fans, because it won’t be quite as easy (for them) if we’re fortunate enough to win a couple games to get to the next site.

“I think the committee in its own way put us in Oklahoma City and gave Oklahoma a 3 seed. If they take care of business (in Tucson, Ariz.) they get to go to Austin, so it’s kind of a tradeoff.”

KU sophomore guard Nick Bahe displays the Jayhawks' motivational T-shirt for their NCAA Tournament run.

KU’s opponent, Bucknell of the Patriot League, already has the Jayhawks’ attention. In 2002, Holy Cross of the same league fell to KU, 70-59, in a first-round thriller in St. Louis.

“They won at Pitt, and that caught everybody’s eye,” Self said. “They also lost a close game at Ames (62-55 loss Nov. 27), and we know how tough it is to go to Iowa State and win.”

KU’s players respect the Bison.

“I’ve kind of followed them since they beat Pitt. They’ve earned our respect,” senior Keith Langford said.

Way down the line is the meeting that already has the media in a frenzy — KU versus North Carolina in the Elite Eight. The Jayhawks would not meet Bill Self’s former team, Illinois, until the NCAA title game.

KU coach Bill Self chuckles during a news conference. The Jayhawks will play Bucknell at 8:50 p.m. Friday in Oklahoma City in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“It would be incredible,” Langford said of the KU-UNC matchup. “That’s the story of college basketball right there. If it happens, the relationship is good off the court (but) if the time comes Kansas does play North Carolina, there’s no love between the lines. If that happens, it will be an emotional time.

“But we’re not playing against coach Williams. It’s not like Roy Williams is going to be standing out there for the jump ball.”

Self said if the Jayhawks looked ahead to that meeting, which UNC’s Williams has said “would be the worst day of my life,” there would be no meeting.

“If it is a distraction we won’t even get a chance to get to that game to play them,” Self said. “Carolina is not on my brain at all. This is a two-game tournament we play this weekend. If we play well we go to another two-game tournament.”

Some pundits thought KU would be a No. 2 seed in the Chicago regional where CBS could possibly pit KU against Illinois in the Elite Eight.

“It would have been more difficult personally to play Illinois because of my relationship (with Illinois) as opposed to North Carolina. I have no relationship with any of those players,” Self said.

KU’s Michael Lee was asked if any Jayhawks had any lingering negative feelings toward Williams.

“Maybe. I know I wasn’t upset. I understood why he left,” Lee said, quickly adding, “I don’t know if it would be his (Williams’) worst nightmare like he said. It’d be a dream for me. I want to play my former coach. If we get a chance to meet ’em, it’d be fun.”