It’s a great storyline, one that should be on the frontal lobe of your noodle as the game unfolds before us tonight. I’m all about history, themes, patterns, jinxes, etc. Consider:
»No Big XII/Big 8 team has won a national championship since Kansas did it against Oklahoma in ‘88.
»Bill Self, much like Roy Williams in ‘03, is coaching in a national title game against a stud freshman who will be a top 3 draft pick in the following draft.
»Like Williams, there are rumors about Self’s employment at his alma mater despite the fact that he, like Williams, is coaching at a historical, proud college hoops program in Kansas.
»Kansas has lost in just two title games (Duke, ‘91, was the other). Seems like more, right?
»Memphis is very much like UNLV in 1990: A team from a non-Big 6 conference that has tons of athletic ability, a coach with a bit of a bad rep to his name amongst the coaching fraternity and plenty of future pros. Plus, it’s a team (Memphis) that’s going against another—Kansas is much like Duke in this respect—with great team play, a coach on the rise that’s making a name for himself and a few smooth players. (Don’t tell me Rush doesn’t kind of remind you of Grant Hill. Yes I’m also referencing the hair.)
»In the ‘Hawks’ favre: Not including Vegas, the last team that won a title that wasn’t from a Big 6: Marquette in ‘77.
