The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS -- Some folks believe in fate and destiny, others find the notion absurd. Things happening for a reason, as if they’re meant to be? A little too "Twilight Zone" for them.
Seems just about everyone from Kansas falls into the first camp.
Tyshawn Taylor points to a comeback win over Missouri, when the Jayhawks were down by 19 in the second half. Thomas Robinson remembers gut-check wins over Purdue and N.C. State, and the fact that North Carolina guard Kendall Marshall was hurt when Kansas ran into the Tar Heels.
Athletic director Sheahon Zenger remembers looking at the scoreboard Saturday night, when the Jayhawks trailed Ohio State by 13 points, and figured they had a chance if they could get the lead under 10 by halftime. Travis Releford’s layup at the buzzer made it a nine-point game.
"You come to expect those things out of this team," Zenger said Sunday.
The Jayhawks eventually would fend off the Buckeyes in the final minutes, walking the same tightrope they’ve teetered on all tournament long right into the national championship game.
They’ll attempt to win perhaps their most improbable title Monday night against Kentucky.
"You either have that vantage point in life or you don’t, and I tend to approach life from that vantage point," Zenger said, when asked whether things happen for a reason.
"This team, you have a bunch of overachievers
They’ve needed every ounce of tenacity, every bit of nerves, just about every time. Nothing has come easy this season, nothing delivered to a gilded program on a golden platter.
It’s a departure from most seasons at Kansas, where wins are judged by margin of victory.
Sure, there have been plenty of blowouts, but there have been many more close games -- tight losses to Duke and Missouri, tighter wins over the Boilermakers and Wolf Pack. They’re games that steeled a veteran team for the stretch run and gave a scrappy collection of overachievers the confidence to keep going when things get rough and time is running out.
"The ones that we won, it felt so good to come back and take a game from somebody, and I think we like that feeling," said Elijah Johnson. "There’s been some situations where we’ve been behind and had to fight back, and at Kansas, we don’t lie down. We fight back."
The Wildcats have rolled into an intriguing title tilt with a phalanx of NBA-ready talent, rarely getting tested along the way. They’ve been coldly efficient throughout the NCAA tournament, just as they were in the regular season, when they lost only to Indiana and Vanderbilt.
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