Jayhawks

Kansas got the best of 'ol Roy and his Tar Heels once again.     Behind the impassioned play of Travis Releford and Jeff Withey, the top-seeded Jayhawks shook themselves out of a first-half slumber and blitzed No. 8 seed North Carolina down the stretch for a 70-58 victory Sunday in the third round of the NCAA tournament.     Withey had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Releford finished with 22 points for the Jayhawks (31-5), who also knocked former coach Roy Williams' team out of the NCAA tournament during their 2008 title run and again last season, when Kansas marched all the way to the Final Four.

Well, that was interesting.  Ok ok I'm sure Kansas fans have used some more, uh, colorful language than 'interesting' to describe how the Jayhawks played tonight.  But you've got to admit it looked a lot like the Purdue game last season.  And the NC State game.  And a little similar to the Ohio State game.  So it can't be all bad, right? First positive thing:  Kansas won!  Like Jeff Withey reminded us after the game, you just have to win.  It can be ugly but it just has to be a W at the sound of the final buzzer.

So far today I've had about three cups of coffee, worked out at Stone and Barbell club, gotten ready for work, eaten lunch, written my stuff for the 5 and 5:30 shows, edited and sent it back, shot another quick 10 second hit for our marketing department, watched the end of the Ole Miss Wisconsin game and then I sat around for a minute and now I'm writing my blog.  Oh and we're still more than 6 hours away from tipoff between Kansas and Western Kentucky....

As the KU men's basketball team gears up for their first tournament game against Western Kentucky, Jayhawk fans everywhere are faced with a serious question. What exactly is a Hilltopper? His name is Big Red, and he is the mascot for Western Kentucky. He was born in 1979 and is known for belly shakes and slides. The athletics department said the mysterious creature can best be described as the "Spirit of the Western. " The school sits on top of a hill, which further explains the Hilltopper's name and Big Red's curves.

Well, I'm not in the same room but I'm back in the same hotel where I was just a few short days ago.  I'm back in Kansas City and following the Jayhawks in their postseason run once again.  This is the fourth straight year I'm following the Hawks and I'm hoping that this cycle I've been on with them doesn't start over every three years. I started covering them when they lost to UNI in Oklahoma City three years ago.  The next year I went with them to the elite eight where they lost to VCU in San Antonio.  And of course last year I watched them lose in the championship game to Kentucky in New Orleans.  I mentioned all the games they lost but Kansas has had some pretty awesome wins too especially last year.  Their win over Purdue in Omaha was insane, and then their games against NC State and UNC in the sweet 16 and elite 8 were phenomenal.  That game against Ohio State in the final four?

And here's the championship game we all wanted:  Kansas vs Kansas State.  #1 seed vs #2.  Regular season champion vs, um, regular season champion. Today at 5 The Sunflower Showdown will take place in Missouri.  As you'd expect the overall series in conference tournament play belongs to Kansas.  The Jayhawks have won their last 10 straight tournament games against Kansas State but this is just the fourth time ever that the two teams will meet in a conference championship game.  Kansas State beat KU in 1980, Kansas then won in 1981 and 2010.  When the Jayhawks do make the Big 12 championships they don't lose often.  This is KU's 10th trip to the Big 12 championships in the 17 years of the event.  Overall they're 8-1 in the Big 12 championship game and they're 12-5 overall in all their conference championship games.  Let's face it, as great as yesterday's games were, this is the light at the end of the tunnel.  Lately, Kansas has taken almost everything.  The Jayhawks have won 46 of the last 49 meetings with their in-state rival.  Since the inception of the Big 12 the Jayhawks own a 38-3 record against the Wildcats including a 7-0 record in the Big 12 championship.  While Kansas State is looking for the ultimate upset, Kansas is looking to pad its already impressive history.  If KU wins it will be the school's 13th ever conference title and it's 9th Big 12 title.  You know, it's a really gray day here in Kansas...

Coach Bill Self is really fun to watch when he's coaching.  When he's angry he gets so red in the face and when he's nervous, he wrings his hands over and over until it seems they're going to blister.  One new tic I've noticed with Self is that when he watches  his son play, he chews on his pinky fingernail over and over.  That should tell you something about Thursday's Kansas game:  Tyler Self got playing time. Not exactly what you'd expect in conference tournament time but this was Kansas versus Texas Tech.  Not exactly a huge surprise either.

Iowa State senior guard Will Clyburn was very frank after the Cyclones' win over Oklahoma on Thursday:  "I want some payback," said Clyburn.  He was referring to his teams overtime loss to Kansas in Ames earlier this season.  A loss that was marred by what the Cyclones faithful saw as poor officiating. Only it wasn't just officiating that has the Cyclones wanting revenge.  Elijah Johnson's breakway dunk in the final seconds of that game in Ames, when it was already decided, was tantamount to him giving Iowa State the middle finger.  Well, at least it was in the Cyclones' players and fans eyes.

Kansas State and Kansas tied for the regular-season Big 12 title, but that doesn't mean they feel very good about themselves entering the league tournament. The Wildcats lost a road game against Oklahoma State on Saturday, while the Jayhawks were routed by Baylor a few hours later in a game that would have given them the outright title. Consider it proof that the Big 12 tournament should be unpredictable. West Virginia and Texas Tech open Wednesday night at Sprint Center, with the winner advancing to play Kansas.

The Big 12 released the bracket for the Men's Basketball Tournament, and the Kansas Jayhawks will hold the #1 seed. Click Here to see the complete bracket. Kansas State, who tied with the Jayhawks for the conference regular season title will be the #2 seed. Kansas owns the tiebreaker over the Wildcats due to winning both head-to-head games this season. The tournament starts on Wednesday in Kansas City at the Sprint Center. Kansas & Kansas State will both play on Thursday.