If you call Russell Robinson’s cell phone this week, don’t expect a lengthy chat with him.

“People call out of the goodness of their hearts to wish you good luck,” the junior guard said. “You can’t respond to everybody.”

He’s had his phone set to vibrate all week — “If I hear it, I hear it” — and is advising the younger players to do the same. All aspects of the players’ routines become critical as each round of the NCAA tournament brings more national attention.

Kansas begins that journey Friday night in Chicago when it faces Niagara at 6:10. After losing in the first round each of the past two seasons, coach Bill Self is trying to keep a sense of normalcy as the Jayhawks travel around the country.

“We basically tell them that the way we have prepared and focused has worked, and that we can’t get out of that routine,” he said.

Success for the Jayhawks would mean a trip to California for the Sweet 16.

The team’s last visit to the Golden State was a good one: In 2003, Kansas defeated Duke and Arizona in Anaheim to advance to the Final Four, ultimately losing the national championship game to Syracuse.

But that’s not what anybody on this year’s team wants to talk about. It’s like pulling teeth to get them to admit that the second round even exists.

“We have a chip on our shoulder,” Robinson said. “We’ve got to prove that we can win, and win big.”

It’s an often-repeated fact that a No. 1 seed has never lost to a No. 16 seed, but there are also other factors working in the Jayhawks’ favor. The early-evening game is the ideal time, Self said, because it allows the players to avoid an early wake-up call, but also doesn’t create a lot of anxiety.

Last year, sophomore guard Julian Wright said that the team sat around watching basketball all day, which may have distracted them from their own game that night. The players are all basketball fans themselves, and watch games during their free time. That’s something they’ll cut back on in Chicago.

“We’ll try to watch a little bit, but not too much,” Wright said. “Those games aren’t for us. They’re for everyone else.”

During the Big 12 Championship, the players watched games from around the country during the day, and even caught Niagara’s victory in the Metro Atlantic championship game.

“We’re basketball players and basketball fans, but we don’t let it consume our lives,” Robinson said.

Maintaining a team identity becomes even harder during March Madness, when last-second shots and great performances make their way across the country in a matter of seconds.

For the Jayhawks, no one player has stepped up to command the attention this season. There are eight that have all taken their turn carrying the team at one time or another, and Self wants to make sure the focus is on the team and not individual accomplishment.

“Guys have to play for Kansas. There will be agents and runners that will tell them to do this or that and tell them this is their moment to shine,” he said. “I don’t buy into that stuff, and our players don’t either.”

It’s not easy for a player on the team to get national attention. Sophmore guard Brandon Rush has to share the attention with freshman guard Sherron Collins and sophomore guard Mario Chalmers, but that hasn’t bothered him so far.

It’s the coach’s job to keep the players level-headed, and Self rarely praises their efforts, instead focusing on the areas of their game that need to be improved.

But as Tuesday’s press conference was winding down, he allowed himself to deviate from the script for just a few seconds.

“I love this team,” he said. “I really like how it doesn’t matter who it is that has the big game. I like that Sherron can go scoreless last week and get 20 points on the big stage. I like that Brandon can miss shots but then come back and make one, and I like that Mario can score nine points one game and still want the shot to force the game into overtime.”

That chemistry is a rare sight in college basketball, which is increasingly being dominated by big-time players ready to jump to the NBA. If the Jayhawks can stay together, they’ll be the favorites to spend some time in California next weekend. Of course, nobody is willing to say that.

“We’re just ready to get that first game out of the way,” Robinson said.

Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips@kansan.com.

— Edited by Mark Vierthaler