Eight eerie reasons No. 16 Lehigh could upset No. 1 Kansas
Five years ago, Bucknell pulled one of the biggest first round upsets in NCAA tournament history, stunning No. 3 seed Kansas. Nobody expected the top-seeded Jayhawks to experience a similar fate this year. However, there are some portentous signs suggesting that if a 16/1 upset is ever to occur, this could be the year.
Via Bison137 on the Lehigh Sports Message Board, here are eight eerie similarities between that Kansas-Bucknell game and the forthcoming Kansas-Lehigh tilt:
1. 2005: Kansas played the Patriot League champion. 2010: Kansas to play the Patriot League champion.
2. 2005: Kansas began the year ranked No. 1. 2010: Kansas began the year ranked No. 1.
3. 2005: Kansas enters the tournament ranked No. 1 in the RPI. 2010: Kansas enters the tournament ranked No. 1 in the RPI.
4. 2005: Kansas felt they got shafted by committee in seeding (KU was a No. 3 seed.) 2010: Kansas feels they got shafted by committee by getting placed in a group of death, despite having the top overall seed. (Thanks to commenter Duncan H for that one.)
5. 2005: Game played on March 18. 2010: Game to be played on March 18.
6. 2005: Game played at Ford Center in Oklahoma City. 2010: Game to be played at Ford Center in Oklahoma City.
7. 2005: Game was late game of evening session. 2010: Game to be late game of evening session.
8. 2005: Northern Iowa played in the other game of the evening session. 2010: Northern Iowa will play in the other game of the evening session.
A No. 16 seed is eventually going to defeat a No. 1 seed and, obviously, it will come totally out of the blue. Will Lehigh do the deed on Thursday? It almost certainly won't. But if the Mountain Hawks pull the shocker, don't say you weren't warned. The fates have it all lined up.
