Coach: Bill Self, six years at Kansas, six years in NCAA tournament.
How they got here: At-large bid; Midwest first round: def. No. 14 seed
North Dakota State 84-74; Midwest second round: def. No. 11 seed Dayton 60-43.
They'll keep winning if ...: They control point guards. North Dakota State's Ben Woodside (37 points) lit them up in the first round, but Sherron Collins nearly matched him with 32 points. He poured in 25 points in the second round victory over Dayton. Next up for Collins is Michigan State's Kalin Lucas, who isn't as strong but is quicker. An off game by Collins or center Cole Aldrich hurts the Jayhawks' chances considerably, largely because of inconsistent production from everyone else. Collins and Aldrich are the only Jayhawks to have reached double figures in scoring during their first two tournament wins.
Memorable moment: Playing at Oklahoma for the sole possession of first place in the Big 12, the Jayhawks got off to a slow start, but rallied for a huge
lead before downing the Sooners, who were without standout Blake Griffin. Kansas was content feeding the ball inside to Cole Aldrich, who dominated the glass. Outside
bombs by Sherron Collins and drives by Tyshawn Taylor sealed the outcome and the Jayhawks went on to capture their fifth consecutive regular-season title in the Big 12.
Sherron Collins
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Go-to guys: Sherron Collins is a stocky guard who is fearless going to the hoop and just as dangerous from 3-point range. Tough to contain, though he's
only 5-foot-10. Cole Aldrich moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore, but figured to be a special contributor after stopping North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough in last
year's national semifinal. Aldrich is a beast on the glass and the best in the Big 12 at altering shots.
Strengths: Kansas does not swipe the ball and launch its transition game off steals like it did with Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson in the
backcourt, but its defense remains solid. Enough perimeter threats exist to make teams play honest defensively, which prevents them from sagging on Aldrich, who is good
at converting lobs. Collins is a player who can ice games when he's hot.
Weaknesses: Sometimes Collins grows too impatient and tries to force offense when he's not hitting. Taylor, an unsung freshman, is wildly inconsistent,
though he improved over the final half of conference play. It's possible to get Aldrich into foul trouble. How he adapts to different officiating in the NCAA tournament will be
interesting. Experience could be an issue, though enough Jayhawks experienced the national title run a year ago to be able to groom the rookies.
