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A friend from Omaha called this week.
"I wanted to make sure you were still coming," he said.
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| Let's see if the Jayhawks can steamroll through Omaha this time around. (Getty Images) |
Wouldn't miss it, actually.
By design or not, this Missouri River burg has become a red-carpet destination for the NCAA tournament. Stars, stories and, maybe by the end of the weekend, some scandal.
Seacrest this!
• Kansas and Kansas State were assigned to Omaha, a frat house road trip come true here in Big 12 territory. K-State hasn't been in the tournament in 12 years. Kansas pretty much owns it, considering this is its eighth consecutive top-four seed.
Hard to believe these two rivals could meet for a third time this season in the regional final just like they did 20 years ago. Kansas buzzed through K-State to the 1988 national championship, its last.
• UNLV coach Lon Kruger has to feel at home since he's darn close to it. Silver Lake, Kan., is only a few hours away. Kruger, one of the more underrated coaches in the country, lost almost every important piece of last season's Sweet 16 team. Be advised this team got to the tournament on a Wink and a prayer. Wink Adams is a key player in the three-guard offense. Prayer? Kruger got significant help from two former walk-ons, Curtis Terry and Rene Rougeau.
• If the Omaha pace becomes too hectic, there's always Wisconsin. Coach Bo Ryan's style has been known to put a quilting bee to sleep. The Badgers were the class of a league that, at times, stunk out loud. Wisconsin posted a school-record 16 conference wins.
But who are we kidding? Omaha this week is all about O.J. Mayo vs. Michael Beasley. The matchup has become more of a prize fight than a first-round game. Two of the most celebrated freshmen in the country -- USC's Mayo and Kansas State's Beasley -- will meet in prime time (7:10 p.m. ET) on Thursday.
The meeting is sort of a reflection on the modern college game. Mayo was kicked out of a high school game, brushed an official and was suspended. By all accounts, though, he has been a perfect gentleman during his likely one-and-done season.
Beasley went to seven high schools, and admittedly didn't know where Kansas was when he set out to play in Manhattan. With that many schools in his background, it would figure that the two have met on the court. Beasley has a 3-0 advantage over Mayo, having beaten him twice in AAU games and once in high school.
