LAWRENCE, Kan. --Kansas will get a taste of the Ivy League! Jayhawks head coach Bill Self joked that he's glad that the match-up takes place on the court and not in the classroom.
"From an academic standpoint, thank God we aren't competing against them in all those areas."
After the Quakers dramatic win on Sunday, their reward is a 16 seed against the top-ranked Jayhawks who are coming off one of their top performances of the year following Saturday's win against West Virginia.
"If you look at our body of work we weren't worth a flip in Stillwater," said Self. "We were better against OSU in Kansas City, we weren't worth a flip against K-State, then we were really good against West Virginia. I think we played our best game, I think we should be on an uptick."
For the past two seasons, seniors like DeVonte' Graham have all too familiar with early exits, being eliminated in the elite 8 both years. Now with more experience and Kansas finally coming together, their expectations are to play with more intensity and focus on better results.
"It's definitely something you think about, falling short in the elite 8 back to back years," said Graham. "Getting over that hump and to the Final Four it's something we definitely want to do and this our last chance to do it."
That road to the Final Four starts Thursday, where Kansas hopes to be in the driver's seat the rest of the way through March Madness.
