Location -- Indianapolis.

Leading scorer -- Terry Brown, 6-foot-2 senior guard, 16.0 ppg.

Final record -- 27-8.

Former KU forward Mike Maddox knew expectations for the 1990-91 Jayhawks weren't high, but he didn't realize how low until years after graduation.

"I was talking to Mark Turgeon, and he said, 'Before the season started, we thought you guys were going to be lousy,'" Maddox said, referring to the former KU assistant who's now head coach at Wichita State.

From Nov. 23, 1990, to April 1, 1991, KU proved Turgeon wrong.

In fact, the '90-'91 team Roy Williams rode to his first Final Four as a head coach is remembered 10 years later as one of the most remarkable in the Williams era.

"I think it did push our program to another level that we've been basically able to maintain," Williams said. "I think it legitimized us and legitimized me a little bit more, maybe."

After earning a share of the Big Eight regular-season title, the Jayhawks nearly stumbled in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, edging New Orleans, 54-49. An 83-65 whipping of Indiana in the Southeast Regional semfinals gave KU a dose of confidence, which they rode to a 12-point whipping of Arkansas and a Final Four berth. After a stirring national semifinal victory against North Carolina -- and Williams' mentor, Dean Smith -- the Jayhawks simply couldn't keep up with Duke in the championship.

"They won two national championships in a row, and we didn't play well," Maddox said during an interview on the 10th anniversary of the Final Four appearance. "We didn't shoot the ball well, we missed a lot of easy shots.

"It bothers you, to be that close and not have won."