Kansas Prepares for Villanova

Kansas News

Man on a mission: Frank Mason III driven to move Jayhawks past ’Nova | KUsports.com
Just a freshman, Frank Mason III made a key blunder on Villanova’s shot heard ’round the Bahamas back in 2013.

Milt Newton’s job safe for now | KUsports.com
Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glenn Taylor says he plans to keep general manager Milt Newton on through the draft and free agency to evaluate him fully.

Elite Eight chatter: Jayhawks and Wildcats look forward to regional final | All Eyes on KU | KUsports.com
The Kansas players, coach Bill Self, as well as their counterparts at Villanova, and coach Jay Wright, stayed busy this afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, with media interviews previewing their Saturday night Elite Eight showdown at the KFC Yum! Center.

Villanova's Jay Wright once pointed to 2 talented KU freshmen as a prime examples of the importance of coaching | Tale of the Tait | KUsports.com
Villanova defeated a young Kansas team that featured freshmen Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and a handful of players on this year’s team on a late shot by then-sophomore guard Ryan Arcidiacono.

Notebook: KU’s Graham says he’s over cramps | KUsports.com
“This morning they monitored what I was eating, making sure I got a lot of carbs and calories in me,” said Graham, who, for some reason, “kind of didn’t have an appetite (Thursday),” thus didn’t eat much prior to the 79-63 victory over the Terps.

’Nova-Kansas three matchup: efficiency vs. volume | KUsports.com
Even with second-seeded Villanova shooting a red-hot 53 percent in this year’s NCAA Tournament — including a 10-of-15 clip in Thursday’s Sweet 16 victory over Miami — top-seeded Kansas University enters tonight’s Elite Eight showdown with significantly better three-point statistics.

Stanford hires Haase | KUsports.com
Stanford hired University of Alabama at Birmingham coach Jerod Haase as its new basketball coach Friday, a week and a half after firing eighth-year coach Johnny Dawkins.

Other News

Sunday's Elite Eight an all-ACC affair after league goes 4-0 on Friday - CBSSports.com
Somewhere Mike Slive, the master of the All-SEC football national championship, approves of John Swofford's ninja magic in basketball. And by ninja magic, we mean the ACC raiding the Big East to survive as a conference.

Takeaways: ACC rules on Friday, clinches two spots in Final Four - CBSSports.com
No. 1 Virginia, No. 1 North Carolina, No. 6 Notre Dame, and No. 10 Syracuse all escaped Sweet 16 Friday with wins. The common denominator there should be obvious: all four of those teams are ACC teams who will face off in a veritable ACC semifinal on Sunday to get a chance to go to the Final Four.

Trade market for 49ers' Colin Kaepernick is down to just one team - CBSSports.com
According to NFL.com, two of those teams -- the Browns and Jets -- are out. The Browns just signed Robert Griffin III, another young quarterback looking to jumpstart his career. Meanwhile, the Jets and Ryan Fiztpatrick remain at odds on what constitutes fair compensation, but contingency plans apparently won't include Kaepernick.

Iowa State cheerleader gets the wrong side of court side seat: a face ball - CBSSports.com
It happens to players all the time, resulting in a numb nose and maybe a few uncontrollable tears. Sometimes it happens to fans sitting courtside, including cheerleaders. One Iowa State cheerleader caught a deflection to the face in Friday's game in Chicago, an 84-71 Virginia win.

Important News

Guns N’ Roses Tease 21-City North American Summer Tour - Speakeasy - WSJ
The reunited rock group announced via Twitter they are embarking on a 21-city North American tour this summer, with stops including Atlanta, New York, St. Louis and Toronto. Guns N’ Roses did not provide information on dates or venues for shows. On the band’s website, a video shows fans at a concert, the words “Coming Summer 2016,” and a list of cities, accompanied by the group’s hit song “Patience,” suggesting more news to come.