No. 2 (Midwest) Kansas (32-6)

Beat No. 15 Detroit 65-50; No. 10 Purdue 63-60; No. 11 North Carolina State 60-57; No. 1 North Carolina 80-67; No. 2 (East) Ohio State 64-62. (3-5) 1940, lost to Indiana 60-42; 1952, beat St. John’s 80-63; 1953, lost to Indiana 69-68; 1957, lost to North Carolina 54-53 (3 OT); 1988, beat Oklahoma 83-79; 1991, lost to Duke 72-65; 2003, lost to Syracuse 81-78; 2008, beat Memphis 75-68 (OT). The Jayhawks start three guards, Tyshawn Taylor, Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford, who all scored in double figures Saturday in the comeback win vs. Ohio State. Taylor and Johnson can both handle the ball and have 183 and 135 assists, respectively, on the season. Taylor is the team’s second-leading scorer at 16.5 points a game and shoots 47.7% from the field and 37.7% from three-point range. He can be prone to turnovers (3.5 a game), however, and committed five vs. the Buckeyes. Johnson averages 10.1 points and shoots 43.2%. He had several key plays in the rally against OSU. Releford, 6-6, is the Jayhawks’ thirdleading rebounder at 4.3 a game and can use his size to get inside. He shoots 50.6% from the field and averages 8.6 points. All-american Thomas Robinson has burst onto the scene this year after playing a backup role the first two seasons and become one of the premier players in the nation. The man the Jayhawks count on in the clutch, 6-10 Robinson averages 17.7 points and 11.7 rebounds and shoots 51% from the field. He is coming off a 19point, eight-rebound performance in the semifinals. Underrated 7-foot center Jeff Withey has become a defensive presence inside, averaging 3.6 blocks a game. He has 27 in the NCAAS this year, two off the single-tournament record set by Florida’s Joakim Noah in 2006. Withey blocked seven OSU shots to go with four points and eight rebounds. He is the team’s second-leading rebounder at 6.3 a game and fourth-leading scorer at 9.1 points.