Kansas, Kansas State, Mizzou to hit the road for NCAA Tournament

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The three local “Power 5″ schools have all received their dance cards!

Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State will be headed to various sites across the country as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off this week.

KANSAS

Kansas is the No. 1 seed in the West Region having a tricky road back to the NCAA National Championship. Being the odds-on favorite means a target on your back, but the Lawrence squad seems ready to go after losing to Texas again to finish out the Big 12 season. KU beats out UCLA, Gonzaga, and UConn who round out the top four in the west.

If you know basketball, you know KU is a legendary school with a rich history as champions. The No. 1 seed isn’t foreign territory for them.

This is the 12th time since 1985 as the No. 1 seed in the bracket since 1985 — when the NCAA went to 64 teams. The program has only been less than a four-seed four times since 1985.

They play No. 16 Howard in the first round this week, then they’ll play the winner of Arkansas and Illinois in the Round of 32 if they don’t get upset. No. 1 seeds are 135-1 against No. 16 teams since the tournament began – the only time it happened was in 2018 when Virginia lost to UMBC.

KU Guard DaJuan Harris Jr. said, “We just got to be locked in and bring a lot of energy. Yesterday, we had a little bit of energy to start the game against Texas, so we just need to bring the energy and play together like we’ve been doing the whole year and we should take care of them pretty good.”

Kansas is 2-0 against Howard all time with the last matchup in 2011. They are making the NCAA Tournament for an NCAA record 33rd straight time.

KANSAS STATE

The season of a lifetime for Kansas State (23-9) continues into March as they are the No.3 seed in the East bracket. They’re the No. 11 overall seed this season despite being picked to finish 10th in the Big 12 in the preseason.

The Wildcats get their 32nd overall bid to the NCAA Tournament and the 12th in the last 17 seasons.

They’ve got No. 14 Montana State out of the Big Sky to prepare for in the first round in Greensboro, North Carolina.

This No. 3 seed designation is the second highest by the program since seeding began in 1979 and it’s the highest seed since 2010 when they were a No. 2 seed.

Five current players – Jerrell Colbert, Abayomi Iyiola, Keyontae Johnson, David N’Guessan, and Desi Sills -- have been a part of teams that have advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Head Coach Jerome, the Big 12 Coach of the Year and a national semifinalist for plenty more, hopes the experience of their transfers helps the boys in Manhattan. He also hopes they all enjoy the moment.

“It’s nothing like it until you experience it. You get to the first practice where you get to run on the blue carpet, go out there and there’s fans in the stands and do it, and see logos, all of that,” he said. “Nothing quite like that. I want them to enjoy it, to just soak it all in, and understand that it’s not six games. It’s just one game.”

MIZZOU

The Tigers, behind first-year Head Coach Dennis Gates, are set to compete in their 29th NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 Seed in the South Region. They will face off against No. 10 Utah State on March 16 in Sacramento, CA at 12:40 p.m. CT.

The Tigers are set to compete in their 29th NCAA Tournament and first in two years. They have advanced as far as the Elite Eight five times, their most recent was in 2009.

Mizzou and Utah State have only played each other twice all time, which came in 1967 and 1968.

Mizzou sits at 24-9, which is the most wins in 11 years. The Tigers matched their best SEC record in school history with 11 conference victories and advanced to the SEC semifinals for the first time this season.