Kansas basketball learned its fate in the NCAA Tournament today during Selection Sunday. The Jayhawks will play in the Midwest region as a No. 4 seed, with their first-round matchup coming against the Samford Bulldogs.
The four-seed ties the lowest finish for a Bill Self-coached team since his tenure at Kansas began 20 years ago. After finishing 21-10 in the regular season, KU bowed out of the Big 12 Tournament early with a blowout loss due to the absences of Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar.
The two leading scorers in the conference are expected to return by the Round of 64, meaning KU would be at full strength for the first time in a while. Dickinson is nursing a dislocated shoulder he suffered in the regular season finale, while McCullar has dealt with a bone bruise in his knee for nearly two months.
Samford, the Jayhawks' first-round opponent, is a scary opponent to open the tourney against. They have a high-octane offense that scored 86.0 points per game and surpassed 100 points five times. The Bulldogs shot 39.3% from beyond the arc, good for seventh-best in the country. They also rank fifth in points scored per game.
Samford lost by 53 points to Purdue in its first game of the campaign, but its resume is otherwise impressive. They sit at 29-5 with a 15-3 conference record and beat East Tennessee State in the Southern Conference Championship game to advance to the first March Madness appearance since 2000. 6-foot-9 forward Achor Achor leads the Bulldogs with 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
While it is not the best draw KU could have gotten, they could face a relatively weak No. 5 seed in Gonzaga if they advance to the second round. Purdue is the top seed in the Midwest region. Kansas plays its first game of the Big Dance on Thursday, March 21.
The Midwest Region 👀 pic.twitter.com/c44mnu5ezU
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2024