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DETROIT - Top five signs that Kansas had its way in Friday night's Sweet 16 game against Villanova.
1. Russell Robinson, who rarely looks to score, had 13 points in the first 8:15 and made three three-pointers.
2. Kansas utilized four alley-oop passes for easy baskets, including one that Brandon Rush took off the backboard and slammed home.
"Russ (Robinson) just gave me a bad pass," Rush said. "I still managed to catch it with my hands and dunk it somehow."
3. Jeremy Case scored in the first half and Tyrel Reed played in the first half.
4. KU coach Bill Self looked like a cross between Ralph Miller and Adolph Rupp, sitting on a stool on the elevated floor in front of the Jayhawks' bench. Miller started using a stool on the sideline when he coached at the University of Wichita in the 1960s and Rupp, a diabetic, rested his foot on one during games at Kentucky.
Self, at times, looked like the Great Thinker as he sat on his stool with his chin resting on his hand.
5. Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson and Sherron Collins combined for four first-half points, yet the Jayhawks led by 19 at the half.
It wasn't exactly a varsity-JV scrimmage, but Villanova, a young team with a high upside for next season, did not have what it takes to hang with Kansas, despite a late run that made the score -- KU 72, Villanova 57 -- look respectable.
Here's guessing Davidson will hang with the Jayhawks in Sunday's regional final.
The 10-seed Wildcats (Davidson's version, not Villanova's) continued their impressive run through the tournament with a 73-56 win over Wisconsin. Davidson, a tiny school from the Southern Conference, has captured the imagination of the country. And the Wildcats are as good as imagined thanks to the backcourt play of Stephen Curry and Jason Richards.
Curry scored 33 points (he's averaging nearly 34 in the tournament) and made six three-pointers. Just last week, Wisconsin handled Kansas State and did not allow the Wildcats to make a three-pointer in the second round in Omaha. Richards had 13 assists and no turnovers in 39 minutes. The rest of the Wildcats contribute in their own ways and will give KU a test.
Which is what Villanova didn't provide.
Ford Field, which seats 72,818, was about three-quarters empty midway through the second half, lending even less atmosphere than normal for this cavernous building that will be the site of next year's Final Four.
Even when Davidson was lighting it up during an impressive second-half run against Wisconsin, there wasn't much noise. The several thousand Wildcats fans gave it their best shot, yelling and screaming and ecstatically reacting to the tournament's most unlikely development. In a basketball venue, they would have maxed out the noise meter.
Here, they might as well have been whispering.
Perhaps this huge barn looks good on television, but in person it's way too big and stale for college basketball. This tournament is, the NCAA tells us, the biggest sporting event in the world. Friday's games in Ford Field, though, had no vibe. In the home of Motown, this place doesn't make you feel like you want to dance. It makes you want to curl up somewhere and fall asleep.
"I would never say it was a bad atmosphere, but I would say if was kind of indifferent," KU coach Bill Self said. "The fans are so far away and it seemed like our fans were even farther away than most."
The one-sided nature of the Villanova-KU game surely had something to do with the malaise. KU jumped to a 26-10 lead midway through the first half and while Villanova did get to within 28-20, the Wildcats' comeback was short-lived. By halftime it was 41-22 and I spent the second half hoping the Supremes would reunite and perform at midcourt.
Last year, KU played its West Regional games at The Pond, in Anaheim, Calif., a basketball facility. Those games, against Southern Illinois and UCLA, were full of energy and atmosphere, partly because they were competitive.
But I'm not sure how you could create much of a basketball atmosphere inside this place. Or football, for that matter. As evidence, I present to you the Detroit Lions.
Never mind, I suppose, because Sunday's Davidson-KU regional final will be fun to watch even if you can hear a pin drop.
It will be fascinating to see how the Jayhawks combat Davidson's backcourt. KU's trio of Mario Chalmers, Russell Robinson and Sherron Collins have, at times, been burned by opposing guards despite their quickness and athleticism. They'll have to square up and defend Davidson's Richards and Curry straight up, without a lot of gambling.
The best bet for Kansas is to take it to Davidson early. Because if the Wildcats are able to hang around for the first 10 minutes or so, they'll probably be there until the end. Then anything can happen.
Davidson is the real deal, good enough to beat Kansas if the Jayhawks aren't on their game.
Eagle sports columnist Bob Lutz co-hosts "Sports Daily" from 9-11 a.m. weekdays on KFH, 1240-AM and 98.7-FM. Reach him at 316-268-6597 or blutz@wichitaeagle.com.