Kansas is leery of No. 16 Quakers
WICHITA, Kan. – A.J. Brodeur knew the moment Penn beat Harvard for the Ivy League title that the Quakers were headed to the NCAA Tournament, the only questions left being their seed, opponent and destination.
No. 16. Against Kansas. In Wichita. “We were a little surprised by it,” the sophomore forward said ahead of Thursday’s first-round matchup in the Midwest Region, where some are brazenly picking the Quakers (24-8) to become the first No. 16 seed to topple a No. 1 seed since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
“At the same time,” Brodeur said, “we’re excited by it. This is an opportunity for us. All season we were counted out, we were underappreciated, even in our league. This is just another example.”
Brodeur isn’t the only one who thought Penn was slighted, either.
Bill Self remembers the down-tothe-wire test that Cornell, coached by current Penn coach Steve Donohue, gave his Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse a few years ago. And after watching film of the Quakers, and getting a look at their size and veteran backcourt, the coach who has directed Kansas to a record 14 consecutive Big 12 championship came up with a rather simple deduction.
“They don’t resemble a 16-seed at all,” Self said.
The great irony of that statement is that there have been plenty of times that Kansas (27-7) has hardly resembled a No. 1 seed. Remember, this is the same team that lost to Washington in December, and was swept in the regular-season by Oklahoma State, which failed to make the NCAA Tournament.
The second of those losses to the Cowboys was a blowout less than two weeks ago.
“You don’t really want to be that team that does it,” Jayhawks’ guard Devonte Graham said, when asked about the prospect of becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose its opener. “It’s one of those things you think about in the back of your head. Hopefully that doesn’t happen.”
Most years, the 1-16 game is a mere speed-bump on the way to the second round, a chance to shake out any lingering fatigue from the regular season or conference tournament. And that kind of soft toss would have come in handy this season for Kansas, which is hopeful 7-foot sophomore Udoka Azubuike can get back on the floor after hurting a ligament in his left knee last week.
The Jayhawks enjoyed a breakout performance from Silvio De Sousa in winning the Big 12 Tournament, but Self acknowledged that a large chunk of their offensive system is designed for their big man.
“The docs feel he’s making unbelievable progress,” he said. “I’m optimistic he can get in the game. I’m not overly optimistic he can play a lot of minutes and be a real positive force inside for us, but if he can play 80 percent or 70 percent, we’ll play him a few minutes.”