The game will be played at 8:45 p.m. Central on Friday at Viajas Arena. It will be shown on CBS.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo yes, I like where we\u2019re going,\u201d Self added.<\/p>\n
If the Jayhawks win on Friday, they would play either No. 12 seed Northern Iowa, the team that eliminated KU in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, or No. 5 seed St. John\u2019s, the transfer destination of former KU player Zuby Ejiofor, who recently was named Big East player of the year.<\/p>\n
Two wins would mean a spot in the Sweet 16, possibly against No. 1 seed Duke, on Friday, March 27, in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never like the draw, ever,\u201d Self said, showing respect to all teams in the tourney.<\/p>\n
Yet he gives thumbs up to seeding and the day of the first game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually like that it\u2019s on Friday just to give us an extra day, because we could use some practice time. So I like that,\u201d Self said.<\/p>\n
His Jayhawks went 1-1 at the Big 12 tournament, defeating TCU 78-73 on Thursday before getting clobbered by Houston 69-47 in Friday\u2019s semifinals. The team had a productive practice on Sunday, Self stated, noting he gave Melvin Council Jr. the day off because of the heavy workload he\u2019s had all season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re studying Cal Baptist. I don\u2019t know as much. I know who their coach is (Rick Croy, 13th season) and where they are (Riverside, California), and the league (WAC) and winning it and all that stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I know they\u2019ve got Dominique (Daniels, senior guard). He\u2019s averaging about 22 or 23 and he\u2019s shot 180-something 3s this year.<\/p>\n
Dominique Daniels, a senior guard, has averaged 23.2 points per game. He\u2019s made 61 of 186 3s for 32.8% for the Lancers (25-8).<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that (guarding Daniels) will be a top priority, but I\u2019m looking forward to studying them tonight and have a better feel and a better book on them,\u201d Self said of the school that made the jump into Division I basketball on July 1, 2018.<\/p>\n
There had been some talk KU might drop to a 5 seed after losing five of nine games down the stretch, but the Jayhawks, ranked 14th in the country last week, secured a No. 4<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually thought we would be a 4 or 5. I thought we would be \u2026 based on how Vanderbilt played today (loss to Arkansas) and how Arkansas and Wisconsin played (Wisconsin lost to Michigan Saturday), I thought it was a situation we\u2019d be a 4 or 5.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got the No. 1 overall seed (in East Regional in Duke<\/a>), which probably means we were the 16th seed as the 4, I would think,\u201d Self added.<\/p>\n If KU does defeat Cal Baptist, it will face potential interesting storylines in the second round Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Northern Iowa already beat us in the (NCAA) Tournament in a 1 versus (9),\u201d Self said. Indeed, No. 9 seed NIU stopped No. 1 seed KU 69-67 in a second-round tourney contest on March 20, 2010, in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n \u201cWe played them in a second-round game, which would be the same as this one. And we\u2019ve never played Rick (Pitino, St, John\u2019s) in the tournament. Obviously I believe he\u2019s as good as our business has, so we\u2019ll have to prepare really hard for that.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re fortunate enough to get past and beat Cal Baptist, which you know, we\u2019re not going to look past anybody and certainly not them \u2026 but I\u2019m happy for Zuby. We didn\u2019t want Zuby to leave (after 2022-23 season). Ernest (Udeh) was still here at that time, and we recruited Hunter (Dickinson, both bigs), so he made the right decision for \u2018Zube.\u2019 He\u2019s a terrific kid and had unbelievable success. I\u2019m really happy for him,\u201d Self added.<\/p>\n The bottom part of the East Region bracket includes teams such as UConn, UCLA, Michigan State, Louisville and UConn.<\/p>\n \u201cThey said all along UConn was on the 1-line up until what, two days ago?\u201d Self said of the Huskies, who were knocked off by St. John\u2019s by 20 points in the Big East tourney. \u201cThen you have Michigan State as a 3. They were talked about being a 2. And then you have, in my opinion, as hot a 5 as there is, period (in St. John\u2019s). They win the Big East, beat UConn by 20, and they\u2019re the fifth seed. I think this year all along that 3, 4, 5, 6 (seeds), it seems harder to me. It seems like there\u2019s less separation than there maybe has been in years past.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories from Kansas City Star<\/p>\n
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