Playing loose as the #1 team in the land...

There were so many positives to take away from last night's blowout win that it almost makes one gush. But at the top of my list, it would be this:

Having just been ranked the #1 team in the land, the Jayhawks didn't shrink from that or let it consume them as play-not-to-lose "pressure." Instead, they came out loose as a goose, with incredible bounce and energy, and played the game with smiles on their faces.

They imposed their will--mercilessly--and managed to have fun the whole time. If we could bottle up that kind of sentiment and approach for the Dance (when we will very likely be adorned the very top seed and be picked to win it all by many pundits), it would do us such wonders. For the one thing that I've noticed with the KU teams that have gone in with high expectations and come up far short--or those that have gone in at least expecting to survive the opening weekend and then gotten bounced--is that they seemed very tight, pressure-filled, and anxious almost from the time they first appeared in the pre-game warmups. (And that includes Coach Self)

Compare that with what we saw last night. Here's what Self said about the team's prep and in-game demeanor:

“I was shocked at how much energy we had in a short practice. Today we were really good at shoot-around. It obviously meant something to the guys tonight. They were on point, focused. Perry was unbelievable. Frank was great. Wayne (Selden, Jr., nine points) was solid. Devonté had another really good game. We made the extra pass. When we got open looks we made them.

“Tonight we were a joyful team,” Self said of the Jayhawks. “We played like a team proud of getting a piece of the Big 12 championship and wanted to validate that to everybody by playing well tonight."

Heading into the game, I was concerned about it not because I felt UT was an equal to us (I did not and do not), but because they were playing at home, on senior night, in a rematch, after just beating OU, not having to travel, and with KU not really having anything more to prove other than perhaps getting a sole crown then instead of waiting till they played ISU at home on Saturday. To me, it was set up as a game where most intangible factors were lining up for UT. I thus set my expectations to encounter a potential loss, and to not be critical of the Hawks if it were to happen--since it was arguably the most likely "letdown" game of the season.

The Hawks then went out and not only competed, but played arguably their best (full-team) game of the year, on both sides of the ball. It was a sight to behold, and in many ways reminded me of the KU win over UNC in '08 (high-level hoops), except in that one we took the foot off the gas a bit whereas in this one we never let up.

If Self, the staff, and the players can channel, bottle, and infuse themselves with the approach they took last night (and in the time preparing for last night) for six games in the Dance, you would have to be exceedingly "bullish" about our chances to not only get to the final game but win it all. Play that loose yet with assassin-like efficiency, and you are going to make yourselves and the worldwide Flock very, very happy when it's all said and done.

In other words, here's to more quotes in late March and April like Self's above...to more of the court magic we saw on display last night, and to the sustained upward progression that we've seen for a month now!

Keep it up, guys--you're making us very proud and staunch believers!

Rock Chalk...

Lots of loose energy, bouncy blue bodies, and smiling faces to be seen...

Yeah, that was one of my favorite sequences too!