Nebraska's Aleks Maric, left, fights for a loose ball with Kansas University's Cole Aldrich. Maric went scoreless in the Jayhawks' 84-49 victory Jan. 26 in Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas City, Mo. ? A massive black charter bus carrying Kansas University’s basketball players and coaches pulled out of an Allen Fieldhouse parking lot at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

The (28-3) Jayhawks were headed to nearby Kansas City for what they hope will be a three-night stay in a downtown hotel.

For that to happen, KU must beat (19-11) Nebraska in a Big 12 tournament quarterfinal contest at 6 tonight at Sprint Center, and down either Kansas State or Texas A&M in Saturday’s 3:20 p.m. semis.

Suffice it to say, KU’s traveling party packed for an extended stay.

Nobody wants to come home early.

“Numerous coaches have said they don’t like the tournament. I like it,” KU coach Bill Self said of postseason conference play.

“I think it’s great preparation (for next week’s NCAAs). The only thing I don’t like is, if you are fortunate enough to play on Sunday, it gives you less time to get ready for the next week. I’ll be a bigger fan next year when it ends on Saturday.”

The league finally has decided to copy most conferences and conclude the 2009 postseason tourney on Saturday – one day before the CBS Selection Sunday TV show in which NCAA pairings are announced.

“Of course we could be done Friday, and other teams could be done Friday,” Self said. “But for the two teams who play on Sunday, it is a quick turnaround to get ready for the tournament. If you are playing the finals out of town, you get back late Sunday night and you could be leaving on Tuesday (if assigned to a Thursday-Saturday NCAA site). That’s a quick turnaround to get ready for the tournament.”

Self said the Jayhawks are motivated to win their third straight Big 12 postseason tourney after recently tying (with Texas) for their fourth consecutive regular-season crown.

“There’s no question to me the regular season is more important,” Self said. “Your body of work over 21â2 months is far more important than what you do over a weekend, but the NCAA Selection Committee may not see it that way. Everything is important. Everything counts. We are approaching this like we need to play well and gain momentum into next week. Plus whenever you lace ’em up, you should play to win, especially when championships are involved.”

A victory in the Big 12 tournament could keep alive KU’s hopes for a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance. A loss today would assure a No. 2 seed at best, 3 at worst.

“If it happens, it happens,” sophomore Sherron Collins said of garnering a top seed in the NCAAs. “If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. We’ve got to play the hand we are dealt. If we play like we’re supposed to, we’ll be the No. 1 seed.”

“We want to win it. It’d be three in a row for the seniors,” sophomore Darrell Arthur said. “We want them to go out with a bang.”

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NU is improved: KU assistants Joe Dooley, Danny Manning and Kurtis Townsend scouted Nebraska’s 61-56 victory over Missouri on Thursday night. They sat midcourt in the second row of press/scout seating.

“They are still playing kind of the same style,” Townsend said of the NU team that last met KU on Jan. 26, when KU prevailed, 84-49, in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks also beat NU, 79-58, on Jan. 12 in Lincoln.

“Their guys … they have been through a whole season now. They are getting their groove and playing as well as they have all year,” Townsend added. “I think they are still running their stuff through (center Aleks) Maric and (guard Steve) Harley is playing a lot better than earlier in the year. (Ryan) Anderson obviously has been shooting the ball great all year.

“Harley (14 points versus Missouri) gives them another outside threat along with Anderson to open up the middle for Maric,” Townsend added.

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Home sweet home: KU is hoping for a homecourt advantage in Sprint Center.

“Big 12 fans are so supportive of every team,” KU’s Collins said. “Just being in Kansas City, we should have fans there. We still have to play, get things done.”

“There will be a lot of energy in the building,” KU coach Self said. “I think it’s a little more intimate than American Airlines Center (in Dallas). It’s definitely a big-time place. It’s a fabulous venue, and Kansas City will do a fabulous job hosting.”

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Survive and advance: KU, which tied with Texas for the league title at 13-3, would love to meet the Longhorns in the finals.

“We still will try to be the best team in the league,” junior Brandon Rush said. “We lost to Texas. We were still lucky enough to tie with them. We still have some things to prove in our conference. It’s for our seniors, too. It’d be the third time in a row (winning postseason tourney title). We’re trying to do something special for them.”

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All-star lineup: KU signees Marcus and Markieff Morris of Philadelphia as well as Quintrell Thomas of Newark, N.J., will play in a preliminary game of the Jordan Classic on April 19 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The three will be teammates on the Suburban team that will meet a team of New York City all stars.