MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) Kansas State has received a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament East Regional and will face ninth-seeded Southern Miss in the second round. The Wildcats (21-10) finished fifth in the Big 12 and were bounced in their opening game of the conference tournament by Baylor. But two wins over Missouri and a road victory over the Bears in the regular season locked up their at-large bid. The winner will likely face No. 1 seed Syracuse. It’s the third straight appearance for Kansas State under coach Frank Martin and the fourth in five seasons after taking over for Bob Huggins. The Wildcats lost to Wisconsin in the third round last season and to eventual runner-up Butler in the 2010 regional finals.
K-State and Southern Miss tip off at 11:40am central on Thursday morning in the opening round of the NCAA tournament at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Coverage on KMAN begins at 10:30 from the K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson and Stan Weber.