FRIDAY,APRIL4,2003 FINALFOUR --- THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3B Final Four teams go claw to claw, hue to hue 'Hawks to play Golden Eagles for championship game berth Kansan file photo By Doyle Murphy dmurphy@kansan.com Kansan senior sportswriter Some how, some way, the Jayhawks are in New Orleans preparing to play Marquette at 5:07 p.m. tomorrow in the first game of the NCAA Final Four. They made it. Quite an accomplishment, considering Kansas couldn't make it past the semifinal round of the Preseason National Invitational Tournament and started the season with a 3-3 record. Even more impressive was that the Jayhawks won out in a West Regional that featured Duke, Notre Dame, Illinois and Arizona. Sophomore guard Aaron Miles looks to pass the ball against Nebraska earlier this season. Miles is averaging 6.9 points per game for the Jayhawks, who will play in their second consecutive Final Four starting tomorrow against Marquette Tack on the fact that sophomore forward Wayne Simien didn't play a game during the tournament, and some might say it sounds downright surprising to hear former critics pronouncing 2003 the year of the layhawk. "Nobody thought we were the favorite before this," sophomore guard Keith Langford said, "so we're still using the same motivation we've been using throughout the season. Anybody that's put us as the favorites now are just jumping on the bandwagon late." Langford and the Jayhawks may be skeptical of their new supporters, but a match-up with the team that bounced tournamentfavorite Kentucky out of the running won't allow for too many distractions. Kansas is junior guard Dwayne Wade. Against Kentucky, Wade posted a triple-double, an almost unheard of feat in college basketball. The Wildeats simply had no answer for his 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, and they bowed out 83-69. The performance was enough to earn Kansas coach Roy Williams' respect. "He's really good," Williams said. "I don't know how you describe that part of it. He's a guard, but he's a powerful guard. He can shoot, but he can take the ball to the basket. He can pass and he can rebound. To have a triple-double in the regional finals, you can go back a long way and I don't know if you'll ever find that." A triple-double is a little out of character even for the all-everything Wade, but he still averages a team-best 21.6 points per game. Heisalso an All-American and one of five finalists for the Wooden Player of the Year Award. The Jayhawks know firsthand what kind of player it takes to earn those credentials. Their senior leader, Nick Collison, has an identical resume. Superstars aside, Kansas senior guard Kirk Hinrich said all the players would be ready to battle. "They are a great team." Hinrich said. "We think they are as good of a team as we have played all year." KANSAS VS. MARQUETTE KANSAS(29-7) MARQUETTE(27-5) P No. Player Ht. Yr. PP RPG F 4 Kick Collison 6-9 Sr. 18.6 9.5 F 5 Keith Langford 6-3 Sr. 18.6 9.5 G 11 Aaron Miles 6-1 Sc. 8.9 3.2 G 11 Jeff Graves 6-1 Jr. 8.7 6.4 G 25 Michael Lee 6-3 So. 4.7 2.2 F 33 Bryant Nash 6-6 Jr. 3.0 2.4 F 33 Moulaye Nishq 6-1 Jr. 1.3 1.5 - Opponent: Marquette - When: 5:07 p.m. Saturday - Where: New Orleans F No. Player Ht. Jr. PPG RG F 1. Todd Townsend 6-7 Su. 60.0 2.7 G 3. Davy Jones Wide 6-5 Jr. 21.8 10.3 G 4. Davy Jones Wide 6-10 Jr. 6.0 10.5 G 34 Travis Diern 6-1 So. 12.1 13.3 F 55 Robert Jackson 6-1 Sr. 15.4 17.5 F 20 Steve Novak 6-10 Jr. 6.8 2.1 G 32 Joe Chapman 6-4 Fr. 2.4 1.3 G 40 Ferry Sanders 6-8 Fr. 2.3 1.7 TV: CBS Radio: KLZR 105.9 FM By Kevin Flaherty By Kevin Flaherty kflaherty@kansan.com Kansan staff writer The other semifinal contest: battle of the orange teams While Kansas matches up against Marquette in one game of the Final Four, the other matchup will have the crowd seeing orange. The Syracuse Orangemen (28-5 overall, 13-3 Big East Conference) will square up against the burnt orange of the Texas Longhorns (26-6, 13-3 Big 12 Conference). Here are some keys to the game. Syracuse's vaunted 2-3 zone Syracuse is always a terror in tournament time because its defense is so hard to overcome. "His (Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim) zone has always been good," Barnes said. "The one he's got now is the length of his players, big and athletic, taking away gaps." Rick Barnes, Texas coach, said the Syracuse zone defense was its trademark. Syracuse rebounds well out of its zone, and few teams outside the Big East have figured it out. If Texas can pass well and can find the holes in the zone, it should advance to Monday night. My star is better than your star Both teams have All-American caliber players in T.J. Ford and Carmelo Anthony. Texas's Ford, the lightning-quick Naismith award winner, is averaging 15.1 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game and 9.5 assists per game during the tournament. Anthony, everybody's national freshman of the year, averaged 22 points per game and 10 rebounds per game over the season. Anthony said Ford was one of the fastest players in college. Quick versus strong "We're going to try and keep him in front of us and make him turn the ball over a little bit," Anthony said. Syracuse is extremely long and quick in several positions and has shown that quickness can be better than brute strength. Texas is big and brawny, led by James Thomas on the interior, but it has to box out and keep Syracuse from pogo-jumping all over the floor. Bottom line — if Ford can get into the lane, expect to see Texas in the championship game. If Syracuse can force him to shoot, it will advance. Either way, expect to see orange. The X-Factors After the stars, both teams have players who can take over a game. Syracuse's Gerry McNamara and Texas' Brian Boddicker are both fantastic three-point shooters who can shoot their team into a game when they're on. Syracuse's Hakim Warrick and Texas' Brandon Mouton are both slashers offensively and shut down players defensively. Look for Mouton, also a strong three-point shooter, to have an effect on the game before all is said and done.