What's a reasonable definition of an "easy" road to the Final Four in the 64/65-team era?
Playing three double-digit seeds would seem to be a pretty fair definition, even if that gives a bit of short shrift to a really good No. 10 seed like Davidson.
Still, Kansas managed to have one of the least painful paths to the Final Four of the last 20 years. Only four other teams got to play three double-digit seeds while also avoiding one of the top five seeds in their bracket.
Of course, looking back, just about all of them had some sort of intriguing road block to overcome:
* 1990 UNLV (16, 8, 12, 11): It's so easy to remember the Runnin' Rebels simply thrashing Duke in the national title game. But Jerry Tarkanian's crew also administered a 30-point beatdown to a particularly motivated No. 11 seed in the regional final -- Loyola Marymount, which was still mourning the death of star Hank Gathers a few weeks earlier. Forgotten amid the blowouts was UNLV's closest scare of the tournament, a 69-67 defeat of 12th-seeded Ball State (who, contrary to my original post, was coached by Dick Hunsaker and not Rick Majerus).
* 1990 Arkansas (13, 12, 8, 10): The only non-No. 1 seed on this list, Nolan Richardson needed to dispatch the first supposedly mediocre North Carolina team in a generation to reach a regional final. The Razorbacks did so with ease, then edged fellow Southwest Conference member Texas 88-85 to give Richardson his first Final Four appearance.
* 1991 North Carolina (16, 9, 12, 10): The Tar Heels made it to a regional final after trouncing Eastern Michigan, but then had to contend with Temple's wise old Owl, John Chaney. As was usually the case, Chaney's team managed to keep it close before Carolina emerged with a 75-72 victory. Like 1990 Arkansas and 2001 Michigan State, the Tar Heels lost in the national semifinals.
* 2001 Michigan State (16, 9, 12, 11): The bulk of the 2000 national title team was gone, but the Spartans still made it back for a third straight Final Four. However, the last two double-digit seeds were less than pleasant opponents. First up was Gonzaga, chronically underseeded at No. 12, before a regional final meeting with Chaney's last regional finalist at Temple. Michigan State survived, but was bounced handily by Arizona once it got to Minneapolis.
* 2008 Kansas (16, 8, 12, 10): The Jayhawks barely survived Davidson (which, upon further review, probably should have been in the neighborhood of a No. 6 seed), but had no great troubles with the likes of UNLV and Villanova. But it would be no surprise if Kansas was quickly shown the door on Saturday, continuing the trend of early departures of relatively untested tournament teams who nevertheless make it to the Final Four.
--- Patrick Stevens
