Auburn Hills, Mich ? Bill Raftery is calling his 24th NCAA Tournament for CBS, and this year’s draw sent him to The Palace of Auburn Hills.

He likes Kansas University’s chances tonight, this weekend and, perhaps, into early next month.

“It’s as good as any,” Raftery said. “That’s the thing about this tournament. If you’ve got a good team, you’ve got a good chance. They’re shooting it well, and that’s on top of them guarding well.”

The only negative he can see with the Jayhawks is the same thing people have been talking about all season: the team’s inexperience. Raftery was in Hawaii for the Maui Classic, the early-season tournament where KU dropped games to Arizona and Arkansas before blowing out host Chaminade in the consolation game.

Now the Jayhawks are playing balanced, team-oriented ball, Raftery said, and that bodes well for fans and not so well for the team’s opponents.

“You can’t just isolate one guy,” Raftery said.

Raftery is serving as an analyst for games in Auburn Hills alongside Verne Lundquist, a longtime play-by-play announcer who also started at CBS in 1982.

Kansas guard Jeff Hawkins slaps the outstretched hands of fans as he and Matt Kleinmann make their way off the court following the Jayhawks' practice Thursday afternoon at the Palace in Auburn Hills.

¢ Having already stepped up their precautions before the tournament started, security personnel at The Palace found themselves ratcheting up the threat level again Thursday upon news of a suspicious package discovered by a dog at first-round games in San Diego.

The discovery, which led to an evacuation of the arena in San Diego and delays for the day’s games there, had people talking in the Detroit area, but almost everyone was understanding of the precautions being taken.

KU players and staff faced the same scrutiny as everyone else entering The Palace on Thursday: metal-detecting wands and bag searches, in particular.

“They checked our bags – to make sure we had our shoes, I guess,” said Matt Kleinmann, a KU forward. “But we all understand. It’s to make everybody safe, so it’s not really an issue for us. It’s appreciated.”

People coming to the arena today will be unable to bring in bags or briefcases. Purses will be allowed, but all will be subject to searches. They should plan to arrive early.

¢ James and Katherine Muir, who six years ago moved from Overland Park to nearby Commerce, brought their own team of Jayhawks to Thursday afternoon’s practice at The Palace.

As Darnell Jackson dunked, Brandon Rush drained jumpers and coach Bill Self looked on with a confident calm, the Muirs’ lineup simply looked on in awe.

The couple and six of their children – their seventh, Kelsey, couldn’t make the trip because of a dance – sat among the several hundred people who had assembled for the public practice of their favorite basketball team.

The family roster: Gordon, 15, in a Brandon Rush jersey; Alex, 14, in a Mario Chalmers jersey; Andrew, 9, in a Julian Wright jersey; Quentin, 8, in a Russell Robinson jersey; Margaret, 4, in a Hello Kitty shirt; and Parker, 4, who was off with his brothers and shielded from view.

James Muir, a 1988 KU graduate, bought all the jerseys, and he’s paying for the four seats he’ll have for this weekend’s games.

“To get these tickets I had to cut a deal with the ticket broker,” he said. “We have Detroit Red Wings tickets, and I have to give up one of the early rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.”

That’s a stiff price in a community known simply as “Hockeytown, U.S.A.”

Alex (in the Chalmers jersey) could barely contain himself when asked how fired up he was that dad scored the sweet seats.

“I’m excited – pee-your-pants excited,” he said, before turning back to the action on the court.

¢ Alex Resnik and his folks just moved up to the Detroit area from Minneapolis.

That’s Minneapolis, Kan.

And after having consistent access to KU games for years, the 19-year-old community college student couldn’t believe it when KU landed in the Auburn Hills subregional.

“The face of God is looking down on me right now,” he said, at KU’s practice.

His father, John Resnik, acknowledged that getting tickets for tonight’s game was a major no-brainer. After working at El Dorado National in Salina, he’s now vice president and general manager of Champion Bus Co., based in the Detroit area.

“You don’t get a subregional in Minneapolis, Kansas,” he said.