Kansas Upset Allows Opponents To Live A Little Longer

Rarely does the opportunity present itself for us to write about Oral Roberts around here, and when it involves a victory over the toupeed and suddenly under-fire Bill Self, it's too much for us to resist.

The Golden Eagles beat Kansas in Lawrence last night, and in a convincing fashion. Predictably, this has led to even more frustration from the Jayhawks faithful about Self, who has struggled transferring his outstanding recruiting classes into NCAA Tournament success, a similar problem to the one he had at Illinois, where he was nevertheless revered. Kansas has its own problems right now — by the way, don't tell us about the SI jinx; Kansas was on a regional cover, as were Connecticut, Wisconsin and UCLA — but we, as always, must focus on Oral Roberts.

As we've mentioned before, it's difficult not to be bewildered by a Division I basketball team at a school run by a man who once claimed God would kill him if he didn't raise $8 million. (He raised the money and survived. WHEW!) This was in the heyday of televangelists, in 1987, around the time of Jerry Falwell's Jimmy Swaggert's trembling lower lip and Jim Bakker climbing Mt. Hahn. God's intense interest in the matters of Oral and his parishioners, frankly, would make us rather nervous to play for the Golden Eagles; if they don't make the tournament this year, we're scared of what Jehovah is capable of.

Oral Roberts Shocks No. 3 KU [Kansas City Star] They Must Draw 6,000 Fans, Or God Will Call Them Home [Deadspin]