DETROIT – A KU fan clad in a denim shirt and orange hat left his courtside seat with about five minutes remaining in Friday night’s game. He’d seen enough of the blowout.

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Kansas Basketball vs. Villinova

Photo gallery of Kansas's Sweet 16 game against Villinova Saturday, March 29, 2008.

But before he walked up to the exit, he stopped to say a few words to Brennan Bechard, Chase Buford, Brad Witherspoon and three team managers who were sitting a few rows behind the KU bench.

“Have fun at the Riverwalk,” he said.

Not so fast sir. The man was referring to a tourist attraction in San Antonio, the spot of the Final Four. Kansas isn’t there yet, but the Jayhawks are one game away after beating 12th-seeded Villanova 72-57 Friday night at Ford Field. They’ll face Davidson in the Elite Eight on Sunday.

“We ready for it,” Darrell Arthur said. “This is where we want to be.”

Maybe the man had a reason to be overly excited. Kansas has now blistered three straight overmatched opponents in the NCAA Tournament. A team that fans have been calling Final Four or bust for since October will get the opportunity on Sunday against Davidson to make the season a special one.

Kansas is in the Elite Eight for the second season in a row and for the third time in coach Bill Self’s five-year tenure. And as anyone who follows college basketball knows, Self has yet to take a team into the Final Four.

Yea, there might be a few TVs in the Lawrence-Kansas City area tuned into CBS Sunday afternoon.

“We’ve been to this game may times,” Self said. “We feel this is our time, our turn.”

To get to the Elite Eight, the Jayhawks needed Russell Robinson. Tenth-seeded Davidson bounced the favored Wisconsin Badgers 30 minutes before Kansas took the floor to earn its spot in the regional final. Robinson didn’t want to see his career end with a similar upset, and he made sure it wouldn’t.

Inspired by playing against an East coast school and several New Yorkers, he scored on two defended three-pointers and directed an alley-oop to Rush off the backboard early in the game. By the 11:42 mark, Robinson had 13 points, and the Jayhawks led 24-10.

“Russell was the key to the game for us,” Self said.

He also rendered Scottie Reynolds ineffective. Reynolds, Villanova’s star point guard, didn’t score until the midway point of the first half, long after Kansas built a double-digit lead. A play by Darrell Arthur symbolized the Jayhawks’ dominance over the supposed-to-be-spectacular Reynolds. On an inbounds play, Arthur caught an alley-oop and dunked on Reynolds, causing him to fall to the ground. Oh, Arthur did that to him in the second half, too.

Reynolds got back up both times. He probably should’ve just stayed on the ground. Not he or anyone on Villanova could touch Kansas, although the Jayhawks frustrated Self with their at times lax effort in the second half.

Yawn. That’s the way it’s been in March for the Jayhawks. Small second-half letdowns are all Self’s been able to complain about. Kansas has defeated opponents by an average margin of 19 points per game.

Plain and simple, they’ve looked like a Final Four team. Sunday, the nation will find out if they are.

Kansas will be playing the hottest team in the tournament. Davidson has upset Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin to make it to the regional final. The Wildcats are the nation’s darling and are led by baby-faced Stephen Curry, who’s scored more than 30 points in all three of his team’s games.

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Elite Eight preview

Photo gallery preview of Kansas's Elite Eight matchup against Davidson College.

“He looks like a 12-year-old kid,” junior guard Brandon Rush said, “but he plays like a grown man.”

In addition to shutting down Curry, the Jayhawks will have to move beyond their bad experience from last year’s Elite Eight. Kansas lost to UCLA 68-55 and appeared tight the whole game. The Jayhawks missed several layups and shots inside the lane. The guards couldn’t force turnovers. Kansas played like an inexperienced team.

Now, they know what to expect. Five seniors want to make their last season more memorable than it already has been. All the players want to win it for Self.

The Jayhawks will be favorites, and this time, they say they’re ready to play the role.

“Last year gave us a nice taste of what we want to do,” Robinson said. “Guys are still hungry and ready to eat a big plate this time around. It was a tough loss, but it wasn’t bitter. It gave us a good taste of what could potentially happen. Now we’re ready to go out and see exactly what can happen.”