Shocker! KU, Wichita State -- our Marcia and Cindy Brady -- may finally meet on the court
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Say this for the NCAA Tournament selection committee: What they lacked in logic -- Northern Iowa as a 5? Georgetown as a 4? -- they more than made up for in sense of humor.
Kansas hasn't played Wichita State in men's basketball since 1993. In the Sunflower State, the Jayhawks are Marcia Brady, Kansas State is Jan, and Wichita State is Cindy. Cindy with a crazy eye and a carving knife.
Marcia doesn't lace 'em up against Cindy. What, are you nuts? Never. Ever, ever, ever, ever.
Guess what: If the Jayhawks and Shockers both win Friday in Omaha, Cindy and Marcia will get it on Sunday, the way the basketball gods and Sam the Butcher intended.
When the curtain lifted on the 2015 NCAA dance card, Kansas coach Bill Self's long weekend got a little longer: KU was a 2 at CenturyLink Center, as expected, paired with 15th-seeded New Mexico State (23-10). What wasn't expected: The teams waiting around the corner. If the Jayhawks (26-8) advance, they'll get the winner of Indiana (20-13) and ... Wichita (28-4).
The wingtips in Indianapolis did Kansas a solid with a No. 2 seed -- winning an 11th straight Big 12 crown carries weight, as it should, although Iowa State (25-8), which won two of three head-to-head matchups against the Jayhawks, had a beef -- and by starting the journey close to campus. The favors and goodwill pretty much ended there.
Assuming you survive the Aggies, the Shockers or Hoosiers (20-13) are waiting. Assuming you make it to the regionals in Cleveland, third-seeded Notre Dame (29-5), fresh off an ACC tourney title, or Butler (22-10), the No. 6 seed, looms behind the next door. And KU is the 2 in the Midwest Region, where No. 1 and unbeaten Kentucky -- Big Blue Nation pounded the Jayhawks by 32 in Indy on Nov. 18 -- is expected to be sitting, cracking its knuckles, as the top overall seed, the last gate between Self and the Final Four.
But first things first. Or rather, second things first.
Despite being less than 170 miles apart, the Jayhawks and Shockers haven't locked horns in more than two decades now, and the private and public cat-and-mouse game between Self and Shockers coach Gregg Marshall -- especially on Marshall's end -- has only elevated the tensions between the two fan bases in recent years. The Shockers say they've offered to play Kansas in Lawrence, but not without return meetings in Wichita and/or Kansas City as part of the package.
"I'm not going to Allen Fieldhouse for a check," Marshall told FOXSportsKansasCity.com in December 2013.
The Jayhawks have nothing to gain and everything to lose from such a series, of course, and have kept their distance, much to the consternation of Shockers faithful.
Both programs have represented the state well, appearing in at least one Final Four over the last decade, and Wichita basketball is as healthy under Marshall now as it was in 1981 -- the last time the Jayhawks and Shockers clashed in an NCAA tourney setting, the aptly named "Battle Of New Orleans," the Midwest Regional semifinal won by Wichita State 66-65 on a pair of jumpers by Mike Jones.
That game was the first meeting between the neighboring programs since 1955, so the series has seen longer droughts. But rarely would a Round of 32 tilt draw as intense, as emotional a narrative as this one.
Heck, it might be enough to get everybody to forget about Cliff Alexander for a few days. Maybe.
"I told our guys, 'You know how many bullets we've dodged throughout my coaching career on potential matchups like that?'" Self told reporters early Sunday night.
Lookin' good! Check out our gallery of Big 12 hoops cheerleaders.
Of course, the Shockers -- who were upset by Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference tourney semis -- have to survive Indiana first. The Hoosiers limp into Bracketville with six losses in their last nine contests, but offer one of the nation's most electric offenses, when it's clicking (18th nationally in points per game, at 77.5), led by guards Yogi Ferrell (16.1 points per game) and James Blackmon Jr. (15.8 points per game).
If you like elite backcourts locking horns, this might be one of the more entertaining games on the docket over the tourney's first few days. If you like the Shockers, you're hoping the Hoosiers' 5-9 record away from Assembly Hall holds to form, too.
And before the ink is dry in your office pool, Omaha already smells like a giant winner in the 2015 NCAA tourney: Kansas fans, Wichita State fans, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan and Oregon coach Dana Altman, who revived his career over 16 seasons with the Creighton Bluejays.
The Old Market could be a lot of fun this weekend. Or chaos. Or better yet, both.
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter at @SeanKeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com.
