KU plans on anniversary celebration

One of the best ways to celebrate a championship anniversary is to win another.

Kansas’ last national title came in 1988. Twenty years later, the Jayhawks are in position to commemorate that season with another title.

The paths are even similar. In 1988, the Jayhawks played its first two games in Lincoln, Neb., and the next two in Pontiac, Mich. This year, Kansas will spend the first weekend in Omaha, Neb. If it wins twice, it will advance to Detroit for the Midwest Regional.

The big difference is that the 1988 team, led by current KU assistant coach Danny Manning, was a No. 6 seed. The national championship was a surprise.

This season, Kansas is a No. 1 seed and one of the favorites to be cutting down the nets in the Alamodome on April 7.

“I don’t know if your ultimate goal is to be a No. 1 seed,” said Kansas coach Bill Self, whose team closed the season in a rush to earn the top seed. “Your ultimate goal is to keep advancing.

“We’ve been a No. 1 seed a couple of times since I’ve been coaching and didn’t get to the Final Four, and we’ve been a seven seed and got to the Elite Eight.”

Self has coached Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas to the regional final, but he has never led his team to the Final Four. Last year, Kansas lost in the West Regional final to UCLA.

“So much of it is matchups and catching a lucky break,” Self said.

Georgetown, which reached the Final Four last season, is the No. 2 seed in the Midwest. If the regional final matches the two top seeds, the Hoyas-Jayhawks game could be a classic.

Kansas could face an interesting second-round game. If UNLV defeats Kent State in the first round and the Jayhawks beat No. 16 seed Portland State, Kansas would face a Runnin’ Rebels team coached by Lon Kruger.

He’s a former Kansas State guard who was coaching the Wildcats in 1998 when the Jayhawks beat Kansas State to reach the Final Four.