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KU ready to run with UNC

BY RICK PLUMLEE

The Wichita Eagle

Roy Williams has North Carolina running and gunning just like, well, his Kansas teams.

The Tar Heels' transition game can be devastating. Just look at the 25.3-point victory margin they averaged in their race into the Final Four.

For the season, Carolina is averaging 89.2 points. But the Jayhawks don't think they need to slow it down to give themselves their best chance to win.

"I'm not going to tell our guys, 'Let's ratchet it down,"' KU coach Bill Self said Monday. "Our philosophy all year has been to run. It's not like we walk it up the floor."

Sunday's 59-57 Elite Eight victory over Davidson just looked like it. KU is averaging 80.6 points for the season, 72.3 in this NCAA Tournament.

"We want to run," Self said. " 'That won't change."

At the same time, he understands well what can happen if North Carolina starts scoring in bunches off transition.

"They get easy points where they don't have to go against your defense," Self said. "We have to make them go against our defense."

That means defending more than All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough.

"Rather than focus on stopping individuals," he said, "it's how do you slow down their team? To do that, you have to defend all five spots."

Look who's watching -- Self is ever mindful of the impact national exposure has on recruiting. That's another reason why getting past the Elite Eight for the first time brought him so much relief.

"There's so much hype on the Final Four now that the Final Four from an interest standpoint means almost as winning the national championship 25 years ago," he said. "To lose in the Final Four semifinals, I know must be a crusher. But at least you made it to the Final Four.

"So next to losing a national championship game, I can't imagine a tougher game to lose than the Elite Eight game. A successful season is judged in so many ways by getting to the Final Four."

Look who's watching II -- Williams watched KU's victory over Davidson, though he said, "I Ti-Voed it so I didn't have to watch the commercials. It was a great game."

"I know the general public that weren't Kansas fans probably liked the idea of Davidson advancing," he added, "but it was a big-time basketball game."

UCLA's roll -- Memphis coach John Calipari, whose Tigers play UCLA on Saturday, described the Bruins on Monday as "being a cat with nine lives and a Princeton on steroids."

To be sure, the Bruins have some big bodies, not the least of which is freshman center Kevin Love. And they've had to win some squeakers this season.

But UCLA is in its third straight Final Four, losing in the semifinals twice and in the title game to Florida in 2006. Ben Howland brings his most experienced team during that stretch with six players who have been on at least one Final Four team.

"I would have only left Pitt for my childhood dream job," said Howland, an Oregon native who knows well the legends that John Wooden created at UCLA. "It would be special to win the national championship. But it's a very elusive, difficult goal to reach."