Musings at the mid-week:
■ Among points Bill Self raised Tuesday was the need for Kansas to play like a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
■ That happened in one half on opening weekend in KC. Wow, was that a good half as the Jayhawks buried North Carolina.
■ One make outside 2 feet against Western Kentucky remains incredible.
■ Interesting when Self notes one characteristic of this year’s KU squad is how close it has come to reaching its ceiling.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With Kansas, the number in front of the name is rarely emphasized during the NCAA Tournament.
Seeding, allegedly, does not matter.
Names, however, are an altogether different beast. Which was why the Jayhawks, who have been bounced before by mid-majors, struggled in their tourney opener.
They disregarded Western Kentucky from the outset, then grew so tight they could not sink even one jumper worth three points.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The mannerisms were all familiar Friday, yet few in the Sprint Center seemed interested … or perturbed.
There was Roy Williams putting his glasses on and off as if he was adjusting from headlines to agate type.
And there Roy was bent over as if in some sort of gastric distress over a call.
And there Roy was saving timeouts like Indian head pennies.
Yet Williams may just as well have been Andy Enfield.
Musings at the mid-week:
■ Fully expect a lot of national types to be among the media contingent at Sprint Center for the NCAA Tournament.
■ Marshall Henderson has created quite a stir. Enough that Ole Miss denied 80 some interview requests for its powder keg on Monday.
■ “It’s like traveling with the Beatles,’’ said Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy.
■ Henderson could have gone off in the Big 12. Texas Tech was one of the four schools where he landed the past four years.
A television cameo has not yet been scheduled on ‘This Old House,’ but then maybe that’s next.
Lon Kruger is definitely Mr. Fix It when it comes to basketball rebuilds.
His latest project, Oklahoma, was a job he accepted last season. By guiding the 20-11 Sooners to the NCAA Tournament, the Silver Lake native will be taking a fifth program to the Dance. OU drew a No. 10 seed and opens Friday against San Diego State.
LAWRENCE — The 6th day of February was when fashionable overkill favoring prohibitive underdogs went viral.
Kansas triggered the sentiment. It lost at TCU.
What had been a mere whisper suddenly swelled into an uproar: This is the year a No. 16 seed beats a No. 1 in the NCAA Tournament!
Well, the time has come. The NCAA bracket was unveiled Sunday.
And, as fate would have it, Kansas was seeded on the 1-line.
“It’s going to happen, a 16 is going to beat a one. Eventually,’’ KU coach Bill Self said.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The offensive script Kansas State used throughout its championship run in football was re-enacted Saturday in Sprint Center.
Except the Wildcats could not generate the desired result Bill Snyder so often stipulated.
To paraphrase: Winning at time of possession can be a critical statistic as long as you score points.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Honestly, Iowa State seemed to be the most amped for the first semifinal game Friday at the Big 12 Tournament.
Fuming over bad calls in its last matchup with Kansas, as well as blowing an opportunity to upset the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse, virtually every Cyclone declared the showdown with KU a grudge match.
Little did they know Bill Self would step in and light the biggest fire.
Self lost his temper, maniacally, and yet swung momentum as Kansas stomped Iowa State, 88-73.
Musings at the mid-week:
■ Nothing is as predictable at a conference basketball tournament than a coach predicting a wide-open event.
■ That’s the nature of a conference tourney. Upstarts often make deep runs.
■ In the Big 12, however, the last time a team other than Kansas or Missouri won the championship was Oklahoma State in 2005.
■ Missouri will not defend its crown, but instead go to Nashville for the SEC Tournament. Norfolk State is not in that field.
■ Quick, name the only two Kansas State selections to Big 12 all-tournament teams.
MANHATTAN — The last time Rodney McGruder stepped foot in Bramlage Coliseum, he was not sure when, or if, he would return.
The occasion was Senior Night, when the senior thought he bid farewell to Kansas State fans one last time.
Yet there he was Monday, talking to another crowd, hoisting a Big 12 championship trophy and cutting down a net.