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Kansas seeks another trip to "Elite Eight"

Mar 28, 2008 - 2:17 PM No. 12 Villanova (22-12) at No. 1 Kansas (33-3) 9:40 pm EDT

DETROIT, Michigan (Ticker) - Coach Bill Self and Kansas hopes to continue their winning ways when they hit Motown.

Self looks to guide the top-seeded Jayhawks to their ninth consecutive win on Friday when they meet 12th seed Villanova in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

In his fifth season roaming the sidelines at Kansas, Self has his squad on the verge of heading back to the "Elite Eight" for the second straight campaign.

Kansas (33-3) fell short to UCLA in last year's regional final. The Jayhawks are looking for their first national championship since 1988.

Mario Chalmers had 17 points and Russell Robinson added 13 to help Kansas use a second-half surge in Saturday's 72-56 rout of UNLV in the second round.

"We have a nice blend of power, inside scoring, guys who can run, quickness on the perimeter to break you down, guys who can shoot off the kick-out," Self said. "I do think we have a really good team. I won't say it's the best team we've had. I'll wait and see how it plays out."

Scottie Reynolds scored 25 points and Corey Stokes chipped in 20 as the Wildcats reach the round of 16 for the third time with Sunday's 84-72 victory over Siena.

As one of the last teams picked for the tournament, Villanova improved to 7-3 in the NCAA Tournament under coach Jay Wright, who also guided the program to the regional semifinals in 2006.

The Wildcats (22-12) and Jayhawks are meeting for the first time in the tournament, but Villanova holds a 2-1 record in the all-time series.