#1 Texas vs. #32 Kansas

#1 Texas
G T.J. Ford G Stephen Jackson F Mike Dunleavy F Chris Bosh C Jeff Foster

#32 Kansas
G Earl Watson G Maurice Evans G Adrian Griffin F Matt Freije F Wayne Simien

Texas has the best five of these ten players; this matchup shouldn't be close. The Texas team is well balanced with a play-making point guard in Ford, three point shooting and solid wing play in Jackson and Dunleavy, Foster provides rebounding and defense, and a highly efficient All-Star power forward named Chris Bosh will score from the high post. On the Kansas side, only Watson and Evans belong in an NBA rotation, and they really belong at the tail end, though Watson currently plays a lot of minutes for a bad Seattle team. Let's run the numbers...

Team: Texas
Wins: 981
PPG: 102.0
RPG: 74.47
APG: 22.07
TPG: 20.97

Team: Kansas
Wins: 19
PPG: 72.178
RPG: 25.205
APG: 15.91
TPG: 13.07

Wow. The undersized Simien and Freije trying to rebound against great rebounders like Foster and Bosh turns out to be sort of like a kindergardener rebounding against you and me--Texas averaged more rebounds than Kansas did points! Texas shot 45% against Kansas's 39%; shot three times as many free throws, and outscored Kansas by, on average, 30 points per game. This Texas team isn't just out to blow away teams full of guys who are barely hanging on; they're out to win this thing, as the #1 seed. And on that note, there are a few reasons to worry going forward. There isn't a true superstar on this team--someone to make something from nothing as the shot clock winds down; 20 turnovers per game is more than you'd like; Dunleavy is a lousy defender, and Ford a lousy shooter. But there's no questioning that they're winners today.

Tomorrow: #17 Nevada/Utah vs #16 Idaho/Minnesota; Texas plays the winner of that contest on 3/27.
Full Bracket Here.