OMAHA, Neb. -- Everything seems to be in place yet again for Kansas, which for the second consecutive year needs just two victories -- in a gym that its rabid fans can reach in less than half a day's drive -- to make it to the Final Four.
It didn't work for the Jayhawks a year ago, though, and winning this year's Midwest Region could be an even bigger challenge.
Top-seeded Kansas (29-7) faces fifth-seeded Clemson (25-9) tonight in a Sweet 16 matchup just 200 miles up the interstate from Allen Fieldhouse. A year ago, the top-seeded Jayhawks lost to Oregon in nearby Kansas City in the Elite Eight. In 2016, the Jayhawks were eliminated in the regional finals by eventual national champion Villanova in Louisville.
"One of the benefits of being seeded high is (that) you get an opportunity to possibly play close to home. And I don't think it will have much to do with the outcome of this weekend, though," Kansas Coach Bill Self said. "I really believe that sometimes playing close to home can actually be a little bit more of a distraction or bring a little bit of pressure."
The Jayhawks will face a red-hot Clemson team picked to finish 13th out of 14 teams in the ACC -- a team that routed Auburn 84-53 last weekend in the third-biggest blowout by a lower-seeded team since 1979. The Tigers are playing in their first regional semifinal in 21 years, and as such have almost nothing to lose.
Kansas, a basketball school if there ever was one, has won 14 consecutive Big 12 titles -- but it hasn't reached the Final Four since 2012. Still, Self has been getting the most out of a team without as many sure-fire future pros as he usually has at his disposal.
"I've seen Bill (Self's) teams from afar, because I'm a basketball junkie and I study everything," Clemson Coach Brad Brownell said. "But to watch him do what he's doing with this group, (it's an) unbelievable coaching job to take a different kind of team and to still win the conference."
The nightcap will feature good friends Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim squaring off when second-seeded Duke faces ACC rival Syracuse, the No. 11 seed that has once again advanced deep into the tournament behind its lockdown defense.
The Blue Devils beat a good Rhode Island team 87-62 to reach its 26th regional. And although four of the top five scorers are freshmen, led by likely lottery pick Marvin Bagley III (21.2 points, 11.3 boards a game), they also have perhaps the most experienced player in the tournament in senior Grayson Allen.
Syracuse was the last team added to the tournament and has yet to look pretty this March, but that's what the Orange does. The 55-53 victory over Michigan State showed that they might be rediscovering the magic that lifted them to the Final Four in 2016 as a No. 10 seed.
Duke easily handled Syracuse 60-44 in their only meeting back on Feb. 24.
"We're expecting to see a completely different team than the last time," Bagley said. "Syracuse is going to be a completely different team. Last game we both had pretty bad games as a team, as a whole."
Sports on 03/23/2018