Monday, April 7, 2008
SAN ANTONIO — For five days the players watched and read all about North Carolina’s advantages.
How the Tar Heels could run better than anyone else. How Tyler Hansbrough played harder than any player in history.
Members of the KU cheer team celebrate Kansas' victory after the game.
Could Kansas handle all that?
“From what I’d seen on ESPN,” senior guard Russell Robinson said, “I guess not. They said Tyler would do this and they would do that.”
As it turned out, Carolina didn’t do much of anything. Kansas beat the Tar Heels 84-66 at their own game Saturday at the Alamodome, running past them at the beginning and end, and upsetting the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
“We were the underdog the whole game,” junior guard Brandon Rush said. “We just came out and applied pressure to them. We got up and did some big things.”
Kansas showed the nation that Carolina might not have been the best running team and certainly not the best team in the tournament within the first few minutes.
Rush made three-pointers. Cole Aldrich stole a rebound from Tyler Hansbrough then later hit a fadeaway over the Tar Heels’ star. Nothing could go wrong for the Jayhawks.
Carolina didn’t have it so easy. Shots missed everything but the backboard on more than one occasion. Loose balls went into the hands of Jayhawks. One player even got called for a lane violation.
When the players looked at the scoreboard with 6:45 left in the first half, they were on top 40-12. Kansas had made a 25-2 run.
“We definitely played the best basketball we’ve played in the first half in that first 15 minutes,” Rush said.
That’s how a team without expectations can play.
The Jayhawks entered Saturday night’s game against the Tar Heels without a care in the world. Yeah, they wanted to win, but this wasn’t like last weekend. Back then, they dealt with playing against Davidson, America’s sweetheart, and Stephen Curry, the face likely to be seen the most times on “One Shining Moment.” They watched the three other No. 1 seeds advance to the Final Four and knew they needed to make it to complete a historical run.
And then there was this thing about Self not making it to the Final Four in his first four previous trips to the Elite Eight.
“People have termed our postseasons as failures,” Self said. “They just felt like something was off their back, and they just played free and easy.”
They got their lead a little too early though.
“It seemed like the clock was taking forever to tick,” Robinson said.
Carolina made its run and trailed by 17 at halftime and by just four midway through the second half. Self thought back to his first NCAA Tournament game at Tulsa. His team was up 26 on the College of Charleston, which ended up hitting a three-pointer to take the lead with one minute left.
“I still remember watching the tape later,” Self said, “and Al McGuire said it would have been the biggest comeback in NCAA tournament history.”
Tulsa won that game. Self made sure his team wouldn’t lose this one.
With the Tar Heels down 64-59 near the six-minute mark, Self called a timeout and told his players to just relax. Collins hit a three-pointer on the next possession. Rush took over the rest of the way, scoring eight of his 25 points in the last few minutes.
With Rush leading the way, Kansas closed on a 20-7 run, sealing a spot in the title game. The Jayhawks have been eyeing this night since October. Now they get their opportunity to make Kansas history.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Aldrich said.
—Edited by Sasha Roe
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