Kansas coach Bill Self hopes to avoid another Elite Eight exit in NCAA men's basketball tournament

CHICAGO — Kansas coach Bill Self knows that for all he has accomplished in a Hall of Fame career, the Elite Eight often hasn't been his shining moment.

«We're 3-7 in my career in the Elite Eight games,» Self said Saturday. «So that's not good enough.»

Self, who is 3-5 in Elite Eight games at Kansas after losses at Illinois and Tulsa, understands the importance of improving the mark Sunday when his top-seeded Jayhawks face No. 10 seed Miami in an Elite Eight matchup at the United Center. But his struggles to advance past the regional finals have added perspective on the difficulty teams face.

«It's the hardest game in the tournament to not win,» Self said. «You can talk about first round, you can talk about whatever, it's the hardest game. The national championship finals, at least you're playing for it all. But this one, every goal of every team is road to the Final Four. It's not road to the national championship. It's road to the Final Four.»

Kansas won its last Elite Eight matchup in 2018, beating Duke to win the Midwest region and advance to the Final Four, where it lost to eventual national champion Villanova. The Jayhawks lost in the Elite Eight in both 2016 and 2017. They are searching for their first national title since 2008, Self's lone NCAA championship at the school.

Miami is in the Elite Eight for the first time in team history, although Hurricanes coach Jim Larrañaga won his only previous appearance in 2006, when he guided George Mason to the Final Four.

Self said that while the preparation for Elite Eight games is not harder than others, there are differences, especially given a short turnaround.

«We're at the mercy of CBS or television networks,» he said. «So you could play a late game, play an early