Omaha, Neb. — During the NCAA Tournament it’s common for coaches and players to compare an upcoming opponent to a team they faced earlier in the season.

Asked Thursday at CenturyLink Center whether Clemson reminded him of any team Kansas took on this year, head coach Bill Self explained the No. 5 seed Tigers actually look similar to the Jayhawks.

“I think if I was going to compare them to anybody I’d compare them to us,” Self said, noting how KU almost always has starting guards Devonte’ Graham, Svi Mykhailiuk, Malik Newman and Lagerald Vick on the floor. “You could say the same thing about their threesome.”

Clemson relies on starting guards Marcquise Reed, Shelton Mitchell and Gabe DeVoe for the much of its offense.

“They have three. But all three of those guys are like Malik — they can go out and get 30. Or they could be like Devonte’ and go get 35 or they could be like Svi and get 30,” Self said. “These guys can really score the ball and they’re good with the ball, and the other thing that they probably do better than us in that regard is they can go get their own shot when the offense breaks down.”