The Kansas Jayhawks are moving on to the 2012 NCAA Final Four, where they'll face the Ohio State Buckeyes. It's all thanks to their win—by a second-half-influenced score of 80-67 against the North Carolina Tar Heels—but was that at all thanks to their Midwest regional placement in St. Louis? St. Louis and Lawrence are hardly on speaking terms most of the year, but the Tar Heels fans', at the edge of what could reasonably be considered the Midwest, were overwhelmed by a wild KU crowd. They got home-court advantage by default.
It's hard to suggest that as a reason for their win—I'd probably lead off with Tyshawn Taylor's performance, if I were trying to come up with reasons—but it is an odd artifact of the seeding process.
More SB Nation St. Louis coverage of the Kansas Jayhawks' Elite Eight win over North Carolina:
- John Henson's ankle injury cost the Tar Heels against Thomas Robinson in the first half.
- And though Stilman White was strong as a playmaker in his second start of the season, he wasn't able to make up for Kendall Marshall's injury, which proved to be a crucial loss for the Tar Heels.