- The St. Louis Post-Dispatch had a story yesterday about Tyler Zeller of North Carolina. Zeller is the nephew of Al Eberhard, former University of Missouri great, who recommended that the Indiana high schooler consider his alma mater. According to Zeller, then MU coach Mike Anderson wasn't interested. "We talked to the coach, but he said I didn't fit into his system," said Zeller. Really!?
- In the "did you know" category, Kansas Citians may not know or have forgotten that TBS sideline reporter Craig Sager had a stint in the ol' Cowtown early in his career. Sager started in Ft. Myers, FL and got to know Whitey Herzog, then the manager of the Kansas City Royals. When an opening came up at a Kansas City TV station, Herzog advocated for Sager. After his stop in Kansas City, Sager then went on to CNN as a sports reporter and now is celebrating his 32nd anniversary working for Turner Broadcasting.
- Also on Sager, not only is he a clothes horse for all outfits colorful and bright, but he also collects sports memorabilia. Sager has the sand wedge used by Tom Watson on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach, in the 1982 U.S. Open, when Watson famously holed in from the fringe rough and went on to beat Jack Nicklaus in that unforgettable duel.
- North Carolina and Kansas are in the top four in Sweet 16 appearances. UNC has 24 such appearances and Kansas has 18. (Duke and Kentucky are tied at 22.)
- Kansas' NCAA Tournament record, all-time, is now 89-39 over 41 appearances. The Jayhawks have been to 13 Final Fours, finishing first three times and second five times. Their overall .693 tournament winning percentage, among teams with 20 or more appearances, trails Duke (35 years - .756), UCLA (44 years - .730), North Carolina (42 years - .724), and Kentucky (52 years - .695.)
- The Jayhawks have been to 23 straight tournaments, the best current streak among tournament teams. This streak is second only to North Carolina's 27 straight appearances from 1975-2001.
- Tomorrow's Kansas-North Carolina match-up will be the fifth between the schools and the first outside of the Final Four. The tournament series record is 2-2: Kansas won in 1991 and 2008 and North Carolina won in 1957 and 1993.
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