Kansas-Villanova could upstage Sister Jean Mania
SAN ANTONIO — And for the appetizer to this Final Four feast, we give you …
Two No. 1 seeds?
It’s not often two elite programs that have national championship resumes and are coached by two of the more recognizable names in college basketball will meet in a national semifinal and yet enter such a grand stage in supporting roles.
Makes sense. You figure Sister Jean has a closer connection to higher beings than most.
If anyone is going to grab headlines, it’s her side.
The popular storyline of the NCAA Tournament that is No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago and its 98-year-old team chaplain on Friday did, in fact, relegate Kansas and Villanova to the back seat of media attention at the Alamodome.
But come Saturday night, playing second fiddle to a nun just might provide a classic.
If you like scoring and 3-point shooting and teams trying to match each other from distance over 40 minutes and spacing and freedom of movement — who doesn’t? — Kansas-Villanova has every chance to outshine anything that Loyola against Michigan offers in the first matchup.
“In college, we all watch the NBA,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “We all learn from those guys; they’re the best — players and coaches. And then I think the rules, the 3-point line, but the emphasis on movement and lack of physicality is making that the evolution of the game — skill, perimeter shooting.
“That’s where I think this is going to continue to be a big part of the game. And then in college we all look and see who gets to the Final Four and what they’re doing. And a lot of us emulate that style.”
The Wildcats and Jayhawks do, teams built from the outside-in, led by All-America point guards and numerous other players who shoot 40 percent or better from 3.
Villanova is six 3-pointers shy of setting a single-season Division I record and yet can play any way and win. In Kansas, however, the Wildcats will face an opponent much like they see in Creighton and Butler and Marquette in the Big East.
Only better.
Villanova might have a more diverse offense than Kansas, but when the Jayhawks get going from deep, you’re probably not beating them.
It’s one of the more ironic truths in the college game, given Kansas coach Bill Self for years felt about the 3-pointer as Sister Jean might expletive-laced tirades at referees.
When he arrived in Lawrence in 2003 and for many seasons thereafter, Self preferred his offense run through his bigs, thinking that making 3s was fool’s gold, a strategy that eliminated the pursuit of getting easy baskets, that when his team took too many long jumpers, it relaxed defensively and became soft at that end.
Um, times have changed.
Before 2017-18, the single-season high for Kansas in 3-point attempts was 787 and makes 318.
This season: 953 attempts, 384 makes.
“I think the game has gotten smaller,” Self said. “You know, historically we’ve always played two bigs until the last two years and then we played small, but primarily because of personnel. I’ve always thought the hardest offense to guard is when you have a (power forward) who can shoot. Now the hardest offense to guard is when you have four guards that can really shoot. And in Villanova’s case, they always have five on the floor that can.
“It’s just gotten smaller. You’ve got to coach to your personnel and coach to your roster.”
This thing could get pretty wild and crazy and open Saturday night. Jumpers could be falling from everywhere.
Which means while Sister Jean might have dominated the narrative Friday, the spotlight now shifts to those playing, and it’s pretty difficult for two 1 seeds to remain an appetizer for long.
Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.
