City of Basketball Love

Sarah Kelly Shannon (@thesarahkelly)
--

[Ed. Note: For the second time in three years, Villanova is in the Final Four, taking on Kansas in the national semifinals on Saturday afternoon. Sarah, who covered the opening rounds for us in Wichita two weeks go, happens to be a KU alum who still closely follows the team. She’s provided a breakdown of her alma mater for the Wildcats fans.]

Game details
When: Saturday, March 31, 2018
Where: Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
Tipoff: 8:49 p.m. Eastern
Channel: TBS

How they got here: Kansas has definitely enjoyed the advantages afforded to a No. 1 seed. The Jayhawks opened tournament play with a 76-60 win over No.16 Penn in Wichita, less than three hours’ drive from their campus in Lawrence. They cruised past Seton Hall 83-79 before heading to Omaha (also three hours from Lawrence, in the opposite direction) for the Sweet 16. With a too-close-for-comfort, 80-76 win over No. 5 Clemson, the ‘Hawks secured their third straight Elite Eight appearance. Sunday’s game against No. 2 Duke was an instant classic, ending in an 85-81 overtime victory.

History: This is Kansas’ third Final Four in 10 years. The Jayhawks advanced to the national championship game in 2012, eventually losing to a Kentucky team that included Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. In 2008, they beat John Calipari’s Memphis team in overtime for a national title. That national title, by the way, was awarded in San Antonio. Kansas has played in the NCAA Tournament every year since 1990, missing the 1989 postseason because of sanctions.

Team Breakdown
Frontcourt: When the season began, Silvio De Sousa was in prep school at IMG Academy (Fla.). Now he’s playing in the Final Four. The four-star recruit who cut his senior year short to enroll early at Kansas has added much-needed depth to the Jayhawks’ depleted front court. When 7-footer Udoka Azubuike -- who’s recovering from a knee injury -- fouled out against Duke, De Sousa took over and grabbed a crucial rebound on Trevon Duval’s missed three-pointer with 35 seconds left in overtime. Azubuike leads Division I in field goal percentage (.775) but shot just 4-6 for nine points inn 19 minutes against Duke.

Backcourt: The combination of seniors Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (the kids call him Svi) and Devonte’ Graham is dangerous from three -- they’re shooting 45 percent and 40 percent, respectively. With a slightly smaller sample size (he averages 31.4 minutes to Graham’s 37 and Svi’s 34) is breakout star Malik Newman, a sophomore transfer from Mississippi State who’s made a name for himself by hitting 42 percent shooting from deep. The Jayhawks rank fifth nationally in adjusted offense, scoring 121 points per 100 possessions, according to KenPom.  

Bench
Junior guard Lagerald Vick has scored double-digit points in every NCAA Tournament game this year. He’s also racked up 185 rebounds this season, good enough for third on the team. If he stays hot, he’ll be a difference-maker for the Jayhawks.

Mitch Lightfoot has played a reduced role since De Sousa was cleared to play in January, but he could still see some action if Azubuike gets into foul trouble early. The 6-foot-8 sophomore didn’t play a minute against Duke, but he racked up 41 minutes on the court in the tournament’s first weekend. Also, Lightfoot is a cool name for an athlete.

Players to Watch
Devonte’ Graham, who’ll be fighting to extend his college career a few more days. The senior captain and first-team All-American hasn’t been much of a factor in the last two games, scoring just 11 points against Duke and eight points against Seton Hall. But he still made the Midwest Region’s All-Tournament team, presumably on the merits of his performance against Penn: 29 points, six assists, six rebounds, and three steals.

Malik Newman, Kansas’ surprise break-out star and the Midwest Region’s Most Outstanding Player. Against Duke, the 6’3 guard put up 32 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.

Storyline to know
Kansas will play the “Nobody believed in us” card, despite the No. 1 seed. With regular-season losses to teams like Arizona State and Washington and a double round-robin against the strongest conference in college basketball, Kansas wasn’t a shoe-in to win its 14th straight Big 12 title -- but it did, and it won the league tournament for good measure. ESPN’s Pablo Torre, along with plenty of other pundits, predicted Kansas would be the first No. 1 seed to fall to a 16 seed, further feeding the against-all-odds narrative, though the odds were always in the Jayhawks’ favor.  A down year at Kansas is still an incredible year anywhere else, but this Final Four appearance is as close to an underdog story as head coach Bill Self gets.