What Kansas needs to do to win the Final Four

The Kansas Jayhawks are in the Final Four, which is familiar territory for them. This is the 15th trip to the Final Four for the Jayhawks, but their first since 2012.

After falling in the regional finals as No. 1 seeds in each of the last two seasons, Kansas this year was able to get over the hump as the top seed in the Midwest Region, outlasting Duke in overtime in a classic regional final between two of college basketball’s most storied programs.

Dealing with expectations is a part of Jayhawks’ basketball, especially with 14 consecutive Big 12 regular season titles to their credit. Kansas has been lower than a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament just once in the last 12 years (in 2009, when they plummeted all the way to a No. 3 seed), including eight times a No. 1 seed.

Devonte’ Graham leads the Jayhawks in scoring at 17.2 points per game, but the one to watch might be sophomore guard Malik Newman, who carried Kansas in their win over Duke.

Newman scored all 13 points for the Jayhawks in overtime on Sunday and finished with 32 points, mixing the outside (five triples) with the inside (getting to the line 12 times, making 11). Try to take away the three, and he could blow right by his defender:

For the NCAA tournament, Newman is averaging 21.8 points while shooting 44 percent (13-for-29) from distance.

Kansas is an excellent shooting team, ranking 11th in the NCAA in both three-point shooting (40.3 percent) and three-point attempts (25 per game). That volume was especially key for the Jayhawks in overcoming Duke’s zone defense in the regional final, with Kansas shooting 36 three-pointers (tied for their second-most all season) and matching a season-high with 16 offensive rebounds, giving them even more opportunities.

The Jayhawks have kept up their proficient shooting in the NCAA tournament with 39 made threes in their first four games, at a 40.6 percent clip. Junior guard Lagerald Vick has been especially key over those four games, making 10 of his 21 (47.7 percent) from deep.

While Kansas on offense averages a robust 121 points per 100 possessions ranking fifth in the country, on defense they allow 97 points per 100 possessions to rank 41st. That could be a problem in facing their next opponent, with fellow No. 1 seed Villanova the top offensive team in the land.

Villanova is even better at Kansas on offense, leading the nation at 127 points per 100 possessions and they shoot even more threes than the Jayhawks. The Wildcats present a problem in shooting 40 percent from three, and they have made an NCAA record 42 three-pointers during the first four rounds, three more than Kansas.

Where the Jayhawks might be able to make a difference defensively is in the middle with 7-foot center Udoka Azubuike. The big man missed the Big 12 tournament with a left knee injury, and was limited to just three minutes in Kansas’ first-round NCAA contest. The results for Azubuike since his return have been modest: 22 minutes, 11 points, and 8.7 rebounds on average in his three games. But he provides a presence that Kansas can’t replicate without him.

Foul trouble has limited Azubuike in the NCAA tournament, fouling out of the last two games. When he logs at least 24 minutes this season, Kansas is 14-1.

Kansas faces Villanova in the nightcap on Saturday (8:49 p.m. ET, TBS), a matchup of No. 1 seeds. It’s also a rematch of sorts of the South Regional final in 2016, when the No. 2 Wildcats beat the No. 1 Jayhawks, 64-59, on their way to winning the NCAA tournament.

Graham is the only returning starter from that game for Kansas, which also saw seven minutes from Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, now a senior and the Jayhawks’ leading scorer. For Villanova, Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Phil Booth are all back from that game though that trio combined for just 13 points in 60 minutes two years ago.