KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Big 12 regular-season co-champion Kansas State will begin its quest for another Elite Eight berth (or more) Friday against the University of California-Irvine in San Jose, California.
The Wildcats (25-8) and Sunflower State rival Kansas both drew No. 4 seeds when the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bracket was announced Sunday evening.
2019 NCAA Tournament bracket
K-State, which shared the conference title with Texas Tech, is the fourth seed in the South Regional, which will conclude in Louisville, Kentucky. The Anteaters (30-5) are the No. 13 seed.
The Jayhawks (25-9), who lost the Big 12 Tournament championship Saturday against Iowa State (23-11) at the Sprint Center, are the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Regional.
If KU can survive a first-round matchup with 13th-seeded Northeastern (23-10), who are the champions of the Colonial Athletic Association, it would face the winner between SEC Tournament champion Auburn (26-9) and New Mexico State (30-4). The winner of that second-round game would advance to the Sweet 16 in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Sprint Center will host the Midwest Regional semifinals March 29 and the regional title game March 31 in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
North Carolina (27-6) is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, while the sixth-seeded Cyclones from Ames, Iowa, also are in the Midwest Regional along with No. 2 seed Kentucky (27-6) and No. 3 seed Houston (31-3).
If KSU wins its opening game against the Anteaters, it would face the winner of fifth-seeded Wisconsin (23-10) and 12th-seeded Oregon (23-12).
Virginia (29-3) is the No. 1 seed in the South, while Tennessee (29-5) is the No. 2 seed and Purdue (23-9) is the third seed.
