Madness, said coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams. Especially since this year’s Final Four takes place inApril.

Two of the most storied programs in the history of men’s college basketball play today at the Lawrence JoelColiseum. This time, the expected epic struggle comes not for a championship or even a regional title, but in the second round of the NCAATournament.

“It’s kind of weird to see it happening in the second round, that Duke andKansas are playing,” BlueDevil freshman Jason Williams said on Saturday’s off day. “I look forward to it. There’s going to be a lot of tradition on the court tomorrow, a lot of prestige behind the programs, and it’ll just feel good to represent Duke University.”

On the line is a trip to the Sweet 16 and top billing on the latest page in the series’ history. Duke and Kansas battled for the national championship in 1988 and 1991, with Danny Manning’s Jayhawks prevailing the first time around and Christian Laettner’s BlueDevils winning the school’s first title in ‘91.

When it comes to the NCAATournament, it doesn’t get much better than Duke and Kansas. They’re tied for fourth among all teams with 86 tournament games. The Devils are fourth with 65 wins andKansas fifth at 58. That’s also how they stack up in Final Four appearances, the Devils holding a 12-10 lead.

But after today, only one team’s numbers will improve, because No. 1 seed Duke drew an incredibly tough eighth seed, Kansas’ lowest ever.

“I don’t think it’s right. There’s nobody who can convince me that they can legitimize that seed,”said Kansas head coach Roy Williams, whose team stands 24-9 after beating No. 9 DePaul 81-77 in overtime Friday. “Disappointing — confused is probably the better word.”

Talk of a Kansas-Duke showdown almost became a battle of blue demons and devils. The Jayhawks trailed 77-71 before scoring the game’s last 10 points. Duke then followed with a lackluster 82-55 pounding of No. 16 Lamar.

“Kansas is a team coming off its best win,”Krzyzewski said. “When you’re down six points in overtime against a very talented DePaul team and come back through your defense, those are very, very gratifying wins. We’re going to get them at their best. To me, if we beat them it’d be a heck of a win for us.”

Kansas obviously impressed the Duke head coach more than it did the selection committee that determined the bracket. The Jayhawks didn’t meet expectations with an 11-5 record in the Big 12 Conference and finished 6-8 against teams in the NCAATournament.

“We’ve had a season where there’s been some potholes along the way, but we can erase all the stumbles by coming out and playing our best basketball game of the year,”Roy Williams said. “That’s what we have to have. If we do not have our best basketball game of the year, it will be almost impossible to beat Duke.”

Kansas doesn’t fear the Blue Devils, who lead the all-time series 5-1, but a hefty dose of respect is evident.

“I know Duke and Kansas have historically been the top programs in the nation. They’re on top this year,” Nick Collison said. “We’re just going to come out and give it everything we have and try to get a big win.”

Players on both sides admitted they have to play better than Friday night. Lamar trailed by as few as 15 points midway through the second half before Duke pulled away from the 32-point underdog. Kansas struggled to contain DePaul’s athletic lineup.

Jason Williams hopes to capitalize on that again. The BlueDevils have drifted to a perimeter game in recent weeks, averaging 22 attempts per game from the 3-point line this season. When Williams puts his head down and drives to the basket, collapsing defenses pay for leaving people open at the arc.

“It’s the most difficult challenge our team has and it’s caused by good dribble penetration,”Roy Williams said. “That’s how they hit the open 3s. We’ve got to do a good job of guarding the basketball and then close out and challenge the 3-point shot as well. They’ve got five guys who can shoot it. That stretches your defense so far.”

Shane Battier and Chris Carrawell lead the BlueDevils with 17.4 points a game. Battier shoots 46 percent from the 3-point line, whileCarrawell, JasonWilliams, Nate James and Mike Dunleavy Jr. all shoot better than 36 percent from long range. All average at least 10 points a game.

Kansas’ top gunner in Kenny Gregory. He averages 12.7 points a game but connected on 11 of 12 field goals for 22 points in the win against DePaul. Freshmen Drew Gooden and Collison also look to make their mark in the series. Each averages in double figures and has played a more significant role than expected entering the season.