When KU's Magical Manning Tour rolls into Kemper Arena this afternoon (4:32 p.m., tipoff) for the NCAA Tournament semifinals, the Jayhawks rum smack-dab into the school that ruined their Final Four party two years ago.

Duke defeated KU 71-67 that day in Dallas, ending the Jayhawks most successful season and stamping Manning with the rap that he disappeared in big games. Manning, in quick foul trouble, was held to a career-low four points.

"I remember going out and not playing the way I wanted to," said Manning, who was a sophomore. "I didn't help the team on offense or defense."

Jayhawk Coach Larry Brown remembers something else - bad officiating.

"He was never allowed to play," said Brown, who has said Larry Bird wouldn't have had a good game under those circumstances. "He's taken the blame, but - hey - he only played 23 minutes."

One other thing about that game bugs Brown.

"So many people judged him (Manning) off that performance." Brown said.

Those judgments generally were harsh, although back-to-back All-America years have made believers out of some skeptics.

And for those still on the fence ... here's a testimonial from the person who has to figure out a way to stop Manning today - Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski.

"He's as good as anyone we've played against in my eight years at Duke," said Krzyzewski, who has a pretty fair player on his own team, 6-foot-10 All-American Danny Ferry.

But says Coach K: "I don't thin Danny Ferry is as good as Danny Manning, he's unique; he's terrific."

Krzyzewski's evaluation is based on the KU-Duke game in Lawrence on Feb. 12. The Blue Devils, trailing 23-8 midway through the first half, won 74-70 in overtime despite Manning's 31 points.

"I was amazed at Manning." the Duke coach said. "he's just a lot better than I thought. He's going to be a special, special player (in the NBA)."

For KU, a four-point underdog , to win today, it probably will need a special performance today from its All-American, who has carried the Jayhawks to this unprobable season-ending scenario.

"We don't have as much talent as Duke," Manning said about the 28-6 Blue Devils, ranked fifth in the final wire service polls and carrying an eight-game winning streak. "But we didn't get here on talent. We got here because we worked hard."