NCAA Tournament Preview - Kansas & Texas

By Big12-Fans Writer Josh Cline


As expected, four Big 12 teams made the 2006 men’s NCAA Tournament when the field was announced on Selection Sunday. Texas earned a two seed for their regular season championship, while Kansas probably moved to a four from a five seed because they beat Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game. Oklahoma backed their way into the tournament garnering a six seed after two straight losses to end their season. Meanwhile, Texas A&M is the surprise team to make it, at least considering preseason expectations, as they snuck in with a twelve seed. Below are previews of what the teams can expect to face in their first weekend of the Big Dance.

Finally, here are our Friday game previews.

#2 Texas (27-6/At-Large Selection)

First Round opponent: #15 Pennsylvania (20-8/Ivy League Champion)
Friday, March 17th @ 9:40 pm ET

What to expect: Texas made the finals of the Big 12 Tournament but had to survive a second half Texas Tech rally and a very close affair with Texas A&M to get there. Once they arrived, the Longhorns folded against a talented, but very young Kansas squad. The Longhorns will have a chance to rebound, however, because they have a match with the Penn Quakers.

Penn rolled through the Ivy League this year, but the league was down this year with Princeton not being the force they usually are and only one other team (Yale) with a winning record. The Quakers are led by Ibrahim Jaaber, a 6’2” guard who averages 18.6 points per outing, and plays the whole game. Penn has had problems playing on the road this season with two overtime games (one win and one loss) and a one-point win in its last three outings against inferior talent. This will essentially be a road game with the large Texas alumni base in Dallas.

Texas will roll in this one behind superior athletic talent in P.J. Tucker, Daniel Gibson, and LaMarcus Aldridge. This one might stay close for a half, but after Rick Barnes settles his team down, they will run away with it in the second half.

What lies ahead: The winner of the California/NC State game. Cal provides a strong inside game with Leon Powe (20.0 ppg, 9.9 rpg), but Texas counters with Aldridge who will be able to contain him. NC State plays the up-tempo version of the Princeton offense and spreads out the scoring. The Longhorns can beat either team, however and should be expected to play next weekend in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

#4 Kansas (25-7/Big 12 Champion)

First Round opponent: #13 Bradley (20-10/At-Large, Missouri Valley Conference)
Friday, March 17th @ 9:30 pm ET

What to expect: The Jayhawks roll into the tournament winning 15 of their last 16 contests. Coach Bill Self has this young team really gelling right now after a 3-4 start to the season (three of the four losses were to tournament teams with an 8 seed or better). KU is led by Brandon Rush who averages 14.1 points per contest. The thing that makes Kansas a dangerous tournament team is the fact that they can excel in any kind of tempo, running with quicker teams and locking down on defense in the half-court game.

Bradley comes in as one of the last teams given an at-large bid, which they gained after a strong run to the Missouri Valley Tournament Championship Game. They had a long drought, where they scored 4 points over 15 minutes spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half. The Braves are one of the few up-tempo squads out of the MVC and expect them to be able to keep up with Kansas speed-wise. Big men Marcellus Sommerville and Patrick O’Bryant lead the way for Bradley and could pose a tough match-up for Sasha Kaun and Julian Wright.

Kansas will win this game because they are athletically superior and because they are simply the better team. Bradley could make it close, and maybe even make it a buzzer beater, but Kansas is too good in the backcourt to lose this one. If you’re looking for a 4-13 upset special look elsewhere.

What lies ahead: #5 Pittsburgh or #12 Kent State. Pitt is overrated and could very easily lose to Kent State. Kansas should be able to beat either of these two teams and head to Oakland for the Sweet 16. KU probably has the easiest road to the Final Four of any Big 12 team.

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