photo by: Mike Yoder

Kansas fans celebrate during filming of the ESPN College GameDay at Allen Fieldhouse, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, hours before the tip-off between KU and ]Kentucky men's basketball game.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Kansas fans celebrate during filming of the ESPN College GameDay at Allen Fieldhouse, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, hours before the tip-off between KU and ]Kentucky men's basketball game.

For those KU basketball fans who have not sworn off college hoops and crawled into a cave until October, when another season rolls around, this weekend’s Final Four offers a trio of intriguing rooting options.

With that in mind, I checked in with a dozen of the most die-hard KU fans I know to find out who they’re pulling for to take home the national title now that their beloved Jayhawks are no longer in the running.

The options:

• Roy Williams and North Carolina — Old habits die hard and if KU can’t win it, why not pull for the man who won 418 games in 15 seasons and led Kansas to four Final Fours. Enough time has passed between Ol’ Roy’s departure and today that going this route has become easier for most.

• Buddy Hield and Oklahoma — Big 12 pride runs deep around here these days and it seems safe to say that many KU fans would pull for just about any Big 12 team in the Final Four. Add to that the fact that OU star Buddy Hield has the utmost respect from the KU fan base and is as good of a guy as there ever has been in college basketball and this option becomes even more appealing. Besides, the Big 12 winning it all only further validates KU’s 12th consecutive Big 12 title and postseason tourney triumph.

• Jay Wright and Villanova — Believe it or not, there are some sports fans out there — even within Jayhawk Nation — who make it a rule to root for the team that knocked their team out. This, of course, makes the season-ending loss easier to swallow even if getting over the heartbreak of losing to said team can be a major challenge.

So there are the options because, as you all know, there’s probably not a single KU fan out there who would pull for Jim Boeheim and Syracuse, even if they are a double-digit-seeded underdog and even if it has been 13 years since that tough loss to the Orange in the title game.
Let’s see what a few of these fine folks had to say.

photo by: Nick Krug

Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield (24) puts up a shot while guarded by Kansas guard Frank Mason III (0) with seconds remaining in the game during the second half, Monday, Jan. 4, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

“I’m rooting for OU over Nova because
I love Buddy and really didn’t enjoy
the Nova fans. And I’m rooting for UNC
over ‘Cuse because I just like them
better overall. If OU and UNC meet in
the final, I will pull for Roy because
I think it’s time for him to hang it
up and go out on top. I still love him
and I also don’t want to listen to OU
fans throw the national championship
in our face.” — 40-year-old female Lawrence resident.

“I am cheering for OU. I like Buddy
and (OU coach) Lon (Kruger), plus I think it helps the Big
12 brand a little bit.” — 32-year-old male Shawnee resident.

“I think the best team is North
Carolina, but that’s not the team I’m
going to root for. I’m going to root
for Villanova because I like the way
they play better than anyone else and
I think their big guys are better than
I thought they were.” — 65-year-old male Lawrence resident.

“Oklahoma because I think they always
give every game their all and they
share the ball a lot. They are great
guys and I think they are going to go
all the way.” — 11-year-old female New Jersey resident.

“I have some very close connections to
North Carolina and, obviously, Roy
gave us 15 great years, so I love
those guys and I root for them now. So
there’s a part of me that wants them
to win, but, boy, I like Buddy Hield,
too. How do you root against that guy?
I don’t think you can. Normally, I
would root for UNC, but I probably
want Buddy Hield to win a national
championship.” — 43-year-old male Lawrence resident.

“I’m not rooting for anyone now. My
heart always breaks when the season
ends with anyone but Kansas on top.
The tournament is over in my mind.
It’s also possible I’m a sore loser.” — 31-year-old female Lawrence resident.

“I was hoping Virginia was going to
beat Syracuse and then I would’ve been
fine with any of the four winning it
because I really like all four of
those teams and coaches. But I’d like
to see Carolina win it. As a KU fan, I
think it’d be nice to see the best
team left rewarded by winning it all.” — 36-year-old male North Carolina resident.

“Definitely OU. Lon Kruger is nothing
but class and has really done an
amazing job in Norman. His players
reflect his demeanor. They play hard
with respect for the game and their
opponents. There is no better
representative of what college
basketball should be than Buddy Hield.
If KU isn’t going to have its One
Shining Moment then I hope OU does.” — 40-year-old male New Jersey resident.

“My heart says to pull for OU due to
conference ties and the class act of
the coach and players. And that’s
probably all that matters. But
pocketbook-wise, I’ll finish in second
place and win $30 in the the
“investment” pool I’m in if Syracuse
wins one game or Villanova wins it
all.” — 59-year-old female Independence, Mo., resident.

“I’m cheering for Oklahoma because
Buddy Hield is the rare non-KU player
who you wish was a Jayhawk. And even
though they once were at Kansas State,
Lon Kruger and Steve Henson are both
native Kansans and their success helps
make our state look good.” — 38-year-old male Lawrence resident.

“Roy. He’s family. Also, watching the
Tar Heels makes me nostalgic for his
era of Jayhawks. Basically, after we
beat the Tar Heels in 2008, it healed
all wounds with Roy ever since.” — 36-year-old female Fairway resident.

“I’m actually currently in Norman,
Oklahoma, so I will be rooting for OU.
However, that is partly because the
Nova fans were a bit arrogant in
Louisville and that made me want them
to lose. If OU does win Saturday, I
don’t want them to win it all because
I don’t want a Big 12 school to be
national champs if it isn’t Kansas.” — 41-year-old male Lawrence resident.