By Steve Brisendine
The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - Keith Langford is used to lurking in the shadows. After all, that's what slashers do best.

Kansas' sophomore guard doesn't get the attention given to senior stars Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich, but he has frustrated one defense after another with his blindingly fast first step and quick cuts to the basket.

The question now is whether Langford and the Jayhawks can do the same thing to Syracuse's feared 2-3 zone in Monday night's NCAA championship game.

"I know that they've been running that zone all year, so they're going to be pretty good at getting back into transition," Langford said Sunday. "We're probably going to have to crank it up a gear."

An extra gear would be something to see, given the way Kansas' running game demolished Marquette in the Jayhawks' 94-61 semifinal victory Saturday.

Kansas outscored the Golden Eagles 16-2 on the break, and drives by Langford, Hinrich and point guard Aaron Miles fueled a 56-32 advantage in scoring from the lane.

"It felt like a track meet out there," Marquette swingman Dwyane Wade said. "They made us run so fast, and they just kept doing it the whole game."

One play in the first half typified just how good the Jayhawks' running game can be.

Miles grabbed a defensive rebound and flipped the ball to Langford, who was streaking toward midcourt.

Langford blew past point guard Travis Diener, who was shoulder-to-shoulder with him when the play started, and dunked to cap a 44-second stretch in which he scored six of his 23 points.

"I think that all starts with Aaron," Collison said. "When he has the attitude that he's going to push from free throw line to free throw line as fast as possible is when we're at our best."

Syracuse forward Craig Forth sounded less impressed by the display.

"I would say they play an extremely confident game when they're up by 35 or 40 points," Forth said. "Some of the moves they were making out there were playground moves. If they're in a closer game, it'll be different."

Maybe, maybe not.

Langford was so cool on the court in high school he earned the nickname "Ke-Freeze." Whether it's a tight game or a blowout, he bides his time until the defense gives him an opening - and then zip, he's gone and the ball is in the basket.

"We talk all the time about getting the ball inside by dribble or pass, and Keith gets it inside by dribble better than anybody we have," Kansas coach Roy Williams said.

But despite his skills and his scoring average - 15.8 points, third behind Collison and Hinrich - Langford is rarely the first player anyone mentions when talking about Kansas.

"He is overlooked. I don't think there's any question," Williams said. "I was really surprised he didn't make even second- or third-team all-conference this year, because he's been that kind of player for us."

What makes that especially surprising is that in his two years at Kansas, Langford has been one of the Jayhawks' best postseason players.

He made one start in last year's NCAA tournament, when Hinrich was slowed by a sprained ankle, and averaged almost 11 points in five games.

This season, Langford has led Kansas in scoring twice in the NCAA tournament and is averaging 18 points. His defense has gotten so much better that Williams has assigned him to guard Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse's star freshman forward.

"Keith has been the difference-maker this year," Hinrich said. "He has grown so much and become a lot more mature. He's not just a scorer any more."