Tom Keegan: Short can be good, too!

Kansas guard Frank Mason III (0) goes behind the back to get around Montana guard Walter Wright (5) for a bucket during the first half, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

So much has changed since I first covered college basketball as a traveling beat writer, following the UC Irvine Anteaters everywhere they went for two years, 30 years ago, but at least one thing has remained the same: It was more of a little man’s game back then than anybody gave it credit for being and it remains so today.

The team with better guards usually wins and they don’t necessarily have to be 6-feet tall. That’s why Kansas University, the 73rd tallest team in the nation, according to kenpom.com, is favored by 16 points against tonight’s opponent, UCI, the nation’s tallest team.

The first Anteaters I covered in 1985-86 had four players who played in the NBA, including 6-foot-8 Wayne Engelstad, 6-9 Tod Murphy and 6-10 Johnny Rogers. But it was 5-11 Scott Brooks who played in more NBA games and scored more points than the other three combined.

Brooks, who spent the past seven seasons as head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, averaged 23.8 points as a senior and had his best games on nights that made for good story lines. On opening night of the Bren Events Center in January of 1987, which remains UCI’s homecourt, Brooks went for 43 points in a 118-96 victory against Utah State.

Later that season, Brooks played in front of family and friends at the University of Pacific, then coached by Tom O’Neill. Coming out of junior college, Brooks was offered a roster spot as a walk-on from his local school, but O’Neill didn’t have a scholarship for him. Brooks lit up the Tigers for 41 points, hitting seven three-pointers in a 90-79 victory.

A few decades later, the Anteaters have the nation’s tallest player, 7-6 Mamadou Ndiaye, who is more than just a novelty. He leads the Anteaters with 12.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks. Even so, a sub-6-footer is more likely to get hot the way Brooks did and lead his team to victory. KU’s Frank Mason (13.3 points, 5.6 assists, .481 three-point percentage) might even find a way to give Ndiaye a run for his money on the boards with his second career double-digit game.