Des Moines, Iowa – Jalen Wilson, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward from Denton, Texas is nearing the end of his college career. Having captured a National Championship last season, Wilson, the Big 12 Player of the Year, is the leading scorer on a Kansas team hoping to make another deep run throughout the month of March.

Wilson, not surprisingly, opened up his final NCAA Tournament opener with a bang on Thursday. In helping Kansas (28-7), the No. 1 seed in the West Region, defeat Howard, the No. 16 seed, 96-68, Wilson scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

Sitting in front of his locker inside of KU’s locker room in Wells Fargo Arena on Friday, Wilson talked about the challenge of facing Arkansas, the No. 8 seed in the West Region, on Saturday.

“That’s a great comparison,” said Wilson when asked about Arkansas and TCU being similar on the hardwood. “I’d say, as far as how athletic they are and getting to the paint, yes. The biggest challenge with Arkansas is the athleticism and if we don’t control the glass tomorrow, we’ll struggle.

“I would say that rebounding will definitely be important,” he added. “We also need to limit them (Arkansas) to one shot. We’ve just got to control the glass and slow the game down a little bit.”

In a tournament where you either win or go home, Wilson, who said playing with a great deal of energy tomorrow will be one of the biggest keys, said he’s feeling no pressure with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.

“No, I don’t really feel any pressure at all,” said Wilson. “Not all of us won it last year, but being able to help the team, lead us in the right direction, I just try to have guys go out and have fun. You don’t have to worry about winning a championship right now.

“You’ve just got to worry about winning what’s in front of you,” he added. “After that, everything else will come.”

How important, according to Wilson, is having fun in a single elimination tournament?

“Oh, it’s the most important part,” he said. “It’s the best time of the year for basketball. Regardless of how many games you play, you only get to do this so many times. You’re only guaranteed one more game after every single win.

“Just embrace the moment and have fun,” he added.

Kansas, without question, wouldn’t be in the position it is today without Jalen Wilson. During what is expected to be his final season at Kansas, Wilson, the Big 12 Player of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team performer, averaged 20.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

Offensively, Wilson shot 42.8 percent from the field, 33.7 percent from behind the arc, and 79.8 percent from the free-throw line. A consensus First Team All-American, Wilson’s impact, both on and off the court, will never be forgotten.

“Yeah, he's tremendous,” said Norm Roberts. “He has been one of the best leaders we've ever had and one of the most competitive kids we've ever had Everybody knows Jalen went through a situation, but I've never seen a kid handle a situation like he did and take full accountability. We talk about when that situation happened, usually a kid addresses the team and says I'm sorry.

“He didn't do that,” he added. “He addressed the team for 10 to 15 minutes saying, I'm taking total responsibility. I screwed up here. This shouldn't happen. I'm not going to do that again. He went through a whole thing on his own and he really took accountability. He has grown up so much. He cares about Kansas and about his teammates, and that's reflected every day when he comes to practice and when he's around.”