“You know, you look at this team and everybody, including myself, has said what's wrong with this team all year long. We don't do this, we don't do that or we're too small or we don't have enough depth or we don't play hard enough or we're not hungry enough. And all they've done is they're the No. 3 overall seed, and they've won two games in the tournament and are going to the Sweet 16. We've got to win two more games to get where we want to go. But I'm so proud of our kids and nobody can say that they haven't had a great season. Now we have to go make great (turn into) special.”
-Bill Self

Has Self said anything better all season long?

I'm pumped for Friday. We're going to win

Nice balance of youth and experience.
Consistenly finds new ways to win.
Unselfish chemistry between kids that grew up so fast in the last couple months.
Peaking at the right time.
Uber conditioned.

This may not be the prettiest team at the Dance, but just might be the last one on the floor.

I'm happy to be in the Sweet 16, but the last 3 minutes of the Seton Hall game just about killed me. KU just can't seem to help itself at times when the opponent is on the ropes. Missed FTs, TOs, and allowing the opponent to shoot unguarded 3s was a very tortuous finish. When Mitch overthrew a pass to Devonte following the inbounds pass and hit nothing but bench, it appeared our guys were overwhelmed by the situation. I was pretty sure we had it, but wow did we let the Pirates stay in the game.

stoptheflop said:

I'm happy to be in the Sweet 16, but the last 3 minutes of the Seton Hall game just about killed me. KU just can't seem to help itself at times when the opponent is on the ropes. Missed FTs, TOs, and allowing the opponent to shoot unguarded 3s was a very tortuous finish. When Mitch overthrew a pass to Devonte following the inbounds pass and hit nothing but bench, it appeared our guys were overwhelmed by the situation. I was pretty sure we had it, but wow did we let the Pirates stay in the game.

Newman made every FT down the stretch, he was clutch.

I was edge as well, we all were, but Seton Hall was making some pretty tough shots all game. Carrington made a few 25/26 footers with a hand squarely in his face in the last minute. The last thing you want to do is be over-aggressive and foul.. It didn't end pretty but if it wasn't for
Newman making every FT down the stretch the outcome could have been different.

Survive and advance! We accomplished that.

BeddieKU23 said:

Newman made every FT down the stretch, he was clutch.

I loved how Malik wanted the ball in his hands in the last seconds. Not scared to shoot those FTs.

BigBad said:

BeddieKU23 said:

Newman made every FT down the stretch, he was clutch.

I loved how Malik wanted the ball in his hands in the last seconds. Not scared to shoot those FTs.

Important trait to have coming up IMO. If he repeats that level of play again on Friday I don't see how we lose

Not only "This Team" but This Coach. I truly believe he does more with less than most realize. Even if we would happen to face Duke in Elite 8 and lose to the STACKED full of McDonald's All Americans team I think the national opinion of Self will be underachiever. I think its ridiculous but I do think this year could be the year he gets MAJOR national recognition with a Final Four or more.

@BigBad

I just hope we make it to Sunday. It will mean another 30 win season and a 3rd straight E8. I'm enjoying the ride!

If Duke is the opponent I like that KU will likely be viewed as the underdog. We can use that chip on our shoulder the same way Villanova and Oregon have used against us the past two seasons. I like that possibility.

Imagine how much Self, Devonte & Svi are going to want that game..

BeddieKU23 said:

If Duke is the opponent I like that KU will likely be viewed as the underdog. We can use that chip on our shoulder the same way Villanova and Oregon have used against us the past two seasons. I like that possibility.

I actually think in a media perception we are in a no win with Duke because media loves K. If we beat Duke we are the 1 seed so "we should have". If we lose, it will all be about how Self loses in the Elite 8 too much.

@BigBad

I don't see it that way but maybe some will.

I think a large part of KU's fanbase as well as national media will look at beating Duke and getting to the Final 4 as a major accomplishment. That kind of win would hush a lot of the "Self can't get past the Elite 8 talk".

KU doesn't have the perfect team, the perfect roster construction or a bunch of OAD's with 1st round talent . It sure seems like we are an underdog despite the seed

I like our chances in every game because our guys find a way to win (most of the time).

We always look at our opponents and say, "how we gonna stop that guy!"

Put the shoe on the other foot... how is our opponent going to stop our offense? How do they stop Devonte?

We have to shoot well... that is the biggest key. Pretty much key for every team, but we aren’t going to overwhelm opponents with superior sustained D or a rebounding advantage, so at least svi, Newman, or devonte have to be ON.
It’s good that we have 3 very good shooters and strong post guy who can score.
Self is right on - hell of a good season in spite of losing Preston

Seton hall got extremely hot at end of game, but we hung on... we have been in a LOT of tough close games this year. We are battle tested!!. Tough division, and tough overall schedule. And Yes we could use some luck too! Maybe Clemson will have a off game.. then Maybe Syracuse will stay red hot and beat dook, then Peter out against us :)

My expectations for this team were like they are every year. Big 12 regular season champion and Final 4! Then came the Billy Preston "issue". Then the home loss to ASU. Then the home losses to Texas Tech and OSU! Suddenly I found myself "lowering" my expectation to a share of the Big 12 regular season title and a Sweet 16! Which is crazy as most schools would consider this kind of season and HUGE success. I'm happy. They've accomplished what i had hoped for. No pressure to live up to unfair expectations. Just play to win. I"m just going to set back and enjoy the games!

Espn Just reseeded the sweet 16 and dropped to a 3 seed.

@Fightsongwriter

At least they finally get it. "Bill Self might be approaching his most impressive postseason feat."

Self almost always over achieves.

I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm satisfied, but with where this team was 2 months ago a B12 title seemed like a long shot. We not only won it by 2 games but took the tournament as well and we have made the sweet 16. I want more, we have come so close to a FF these last 2 years, I want one and a chance to play for a NC pretty bad. That being said I have zero expectations for this team going forward, one could say they've already achieved past their potential and maybe even talent level.

Nice post @BeddieKU23 but I will admit that they've exceeded my expectations. I really thought they were very prone to an early exit, not 1st round obviously, but 2nd. But we played well. Down the stretch against SH we made a lot of plays. SH made some really tough shots that made the 4 point win look closer than it was. Playing close games all year long helped us Saturday as well. Clemson will be tough, I looked at their schedule and it kind of reminded me of Seton Halls. A lot of losses but mainly good losses. Only lost to one non tournament team, a pretty good Temple team who made the NIT. They were near the top of the rankings for a while then they started losing quite a few games but like I said, they were good losses.

@Fightsongwriter If we're not ready for Clemson, ESPN will look smart. But our team seems to play up to the competition. So I think we'll be pretty decent Friday night.

I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that most posters thought that the Sweet 16 was this teams ceiling and many even posted KU would not make it out of the first weekend, particularly after Preston left.

It is amazing how the team came together, after being written off several times along the way, and the key turning point was the ISU game in Ames (ready to admit it now, @HighEliteMajor?) and the team is now on a 10-1 run since then with the only loss being a meaningless game at OSU. In many ways, every win from here on is gravy and KU is basically playing with house money given the makeup of the team compared to others and the expectations throughout the year.

Any way you see it, an amazing accomplishment by the the team and coaching staff.

I'm happy with how the season has unfolded. Lots of highs, some lows, but overall this group has done some great things.

I do expect more, I want more. We've made it this far, why not win the whole thing.

Losing to Clemson in Basketball? Doesn't that just sound unthinkable. We are Kansas, time to show it.

The last thing I want is ACC's school showing up the Big-12.

This team has it all. A senior leader who can take over games scoring, distributing, defense, you name it. A 3rd year guard who can score with the best of them. A Senior wing who can shoot the lights out. A big man with a competitive streak and game-changing size on both sides of the ball. This team will win or lose as a team I'm sure of that.

Wouldn't it be nice if KU gets to the Final Four by running the table against the best of the entire East Coast and topping it off by spanking Kentucky?

@JayHawkFanToo Actually, I agree. I think it was a turning point in retrospect. But you and others purposefully misstated what I had said. Which was the game meant nothing unless KU followed it up with wins to change the narrative. Your comment about our record after that game of course supports my prior position.

And on your suggested victories for KU to win the title, I would not prefer UK getting to another FF. But I’d take any national title.

BeddieKU23 said:

“You know, you look at this team and everybody, including myself, has said what's wrong with this team all year long. We don't do this, we don't do that or we're too small or we don't have enough depth or we don't play hard enough or we're not hungry enough. And all they've done is they're the No. 3 overall seed, and they've won two games in the tournament and are going to the Sweet 16. We've got to win two more games to get where we want to go. But I'm so proud of our kids and nobody can say that they haven't had a great season. Now we have to go make great (turn into) special.”
-Bill Self

Has Self said anything better all season long?

I'm pumped for Friday. We're going to win

That is totally on point! That's dope and it makes me swell with Jayhawk pride!

RCJHGOKU

I totally agree with Self's words. It's already a great season, but it's going to take 2 wins to make it special and 4 to make it immortal.

I'm sure Devonte, from Raleigh, NC will be amped for the games this weekend. It's a chance to show up all the teams the gave him the cold shoulder. It would be satisfying to get one win this weekend, but oh-so-sweet to get two.

@BeddieKU23 Couldn't agree more with anything you stated. - - Sadly the thing is , We as in us ( KU ) fans - -we have become spoiled - - so very spoiled. -We have had such really good teams over the last what 15 yrs from Roy and now 15 from Bill - - -that we just can't conceive anything else but upper crust. Your right - -your so right. - - You really sit back and look at it - I feel sorry for these kids in a way. - Can you possibly imagine the pressure these kids feel? - -Oh you'll never hear them say it - -complain about it - but I mean the now the tradition of this school - -they can read - -they have ears -- they read articles- they see what some quote - -un quote fans say - -Is what we say fair about these kids? - - - Most of the time NO it's not - -there kids - they're going to have off days - - off shooting nights - -defensive days - - - Every kid at Every School goes through those same things

It's just at KU these type of things are looked at as un acceptable - - sparking remarks like - - - " What a waste of a scholarship " -OR Why the hell is he playing - -why is he on the court - -OR he can't play any defense at all - -this kid is worthless -OR this kid should be playing at a mid major but not at KU. - -These kids see and read these things - -You don't think that adds extra pressure on them? - -Hell yes it does.

We hear these kids say what's one of the first things we hear them say- - " Well we didn't want to be the one's to break the streak " - -if that's not additional pressure - then you best guess again - - Us as fans are So critical - -So , So , So , Critical - -that's where we have become so dam spoiled.

I mean these kids already have enough pressure cause as we all know when that uniform says Kansas were taking everyone best shot. - -Schools where the arena is maybe half full for other games and yet when we play - it is a capacity -their running special promo's - like white outs- -blackouts - -bringing in the special effects they normally don't do - -were hyping their game - -Were Kansas - that in it'self - is pressure. - Yet when Malik has off nights - -When SVI isn't hitting his shot - - When Vick doesn't step up - boy the sky is falling.

Yet after having said all of this - -This team which is been said is one of our weakest teams in recent memory - - yet all this team has done is - - Win our 14th consecutive league championship -by two games - - Not only have we won the regular championship - -we won the post season Big 12 Championship - -Which is how long had it been since that happened 2-3 years? - - - We have once again made the sweet 16 with a very legit chance of making the elite 8 or hell even the final four. - -We have yet again have a player in the final four as National player of the year - - We have played with a very limited bench the entire season and yet achieved all of this? - Yet some are still not satisified? -- WHY? - -it's because we have just become to dam spoiled -that's why - you have to love these guys. - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY

If it's KU vs Duke in the elite 8 matchup then expectations are tempered. If it's KU vs Syracuse aw heck we better be in the final four!

@BucknellJayhawk3

Why temper? If we want to be the best don't we have to beat some of the best out there to do it!

To win it all KU will have to beat Clemson first and then likely Duke, Villanova and Kentucky. That would be quite a run.