Sat Apr 5 10:22:19 2008

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Jayhawks and Tar Heels square off in Final Four action

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San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - In what is sure to be one of the most memorable Final Fours in NCAA Tournament history, powerhouses Kansas and North Carolina will take the floor at the Alamodome in San Antonio in Game Two, following the UCLA/Memphis matchup. It marks the first time in tournament history that all of the top seeds have advanced to the Final Four.

The matchup with Kansas will be bittersweet for UNC's Roy Williams, who coached in Lawrence for 15 seasons before taking the helm in Chapel Hill five years ago. The significance of it is not lost on Williams.

"I have the greatest love for a place that I gave my heart, my body and my soul for 15 years. I will never play the University of Kansas in a regular season game. It will have to be some type of tournament - whether it's NCAA or a holiday tournament. But nobody in the world could have more love or tried to give more to that place than I did for 15 years. And they gave me a chance. They gave me a chance when I was not exactly a household name; I was barely a name in my own house. I have no idea what my emotions will be, I'm just ecstatic for this club right now to be going to San Antonio and to enjoy what's going on and enjoy their accomplishments."

The top-seed overall, UNC navigated the tournament field with relative ease to reach its 17th Final Four. The Tar Heels have won each game of this event by double figures, with victories over Mount St. Mary's (113-74), Arkansas (108-77), Washington State (68-47) and finally Louisville (83-73). With the run this year, UNC has now moved to 96-38 in tournament play, third in wins behind both UCLA (98) and Kentucky (98).

Kansas is taking part in its 13th Final Four and third in the last seven seasons. This year has been a huge success, with the team's 35 wins tying the school record for a single season (1986 and 1998). The Jayhawks moved into the Elite Eight with tournament wins over Portland State (85-61), UNLV (75-56) and Villanova (72-57), and then got all they could handle from Cinderella Davidson in the Midwest Regional Final, getting by the Wildcats at the buzzer, 59-57.

With all the side stories including the connection with Roy Williams, it will be up to Bill Self to keep his team focused tonight.

"I can't speak for Roy. But it's a game -- North Carolina's players against Kansas' players. It's been five years since Roy went to Carolina. I'm sure I'll say this again, I'll say it now: as Kansas fans, representing Kansas, we should be proud of the time that Roy gave us, because excellence was definitely the standard while he was there. There may be some talk about it, all those things. But our focus will not be on that. Our focus will be on their team."

These two programs are meeting for the ninth time, with UNC holding a 6-2 advantage, including a 2-1 edge in NCAA Tournament play. The first ever meeting took place in the 1957 NCAA Championship Game, with UNC winning a three-overtime marathon. The other two tournament games came in the Final Four, with Kansas winning in 1991 before losing to Duke in the title game, and North Carolina returning the favor in 1993, en route to the national championship. The last time the two teams met was in the 2002 Preseason NIT, with UNC posting a 67-56 victory.

Kansas' greatest strength this season has been its unmatched depth. The Jayhawks have plenty of interchangeable parts and that has led to the team leading the nation in scoring margin (+19.4), ranking second in assists (18.2 per game) and third in field goal percentage (.507). Four of the team's five starters are averaging double figures, led by Brandon Rush's 13.1 ppg. Rush has really come on strong in the second half of the season and has become the team's catalyst. He is shooting a meager .423 from the floor overall, but is better from behind the arc at .429 (78-of-182). Backcourt mate Mario Chalmers (12.7 ppg, team-high 163 assists and team-high 90 steals) is the straw that stirs the drink for Kansas and gets everyone else involved in the offensive flow. Perimeter help comes in the form of guards Sherron Collins (9.2 ppg) and Russell Robinson (7.4 ppg, 157 assists, 75 steals), but that depth took a slight hit on Friday, as reserve guard Rodrick Stewart fractured his knee cap in practice. The frontcourt has its share of weapons as well, with forwards Darrell Arthur (12.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Darnell Jackson (11.2 ppg, team-high 6.7 rpg) and reserve center Sasha Kaun (7.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg).

Most teams can't match Kansas' offensive firepower, but North Carolina is not most teams. The Tar Heels rank second in the nation in scoring this year at 89.2 ppg. It certainly helps when the centerpiece of the team happens to be the National Player of the Year. Junior forward Tyler Hansbrough has been a force since day one in Chapel Hill and he has put it all together this season, culminating in a stat line that includes 22.8 ppg and 10.3 rpg. The 6-9 Hansbrough is certainly one of the nation's premier frontcourt players, but UNC really elevated its game when point guard extraordinaire Ty Lawson (12.8 ppg, team-high 163 assists) went down with an ankle injury. In his absence, the Tar Heels found their halfcourt game. It has been a huge boost to the team's overall effectiveness, now that Lawson is back in the lineup. Sharpshooter Wayne Ellington is certainly better off, coming into this game averaging a hefty 16.6 ppg, thanks in large part to his 41.4 percent shooting from behind the arc (77-of-186). Other key contributors include super sub Danny Green (11.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Deon Thompson (8.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Marcus Ginyard (7.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg).