Kansas earns No. 2 seed, faces New Mexico State
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas, after winning its 11th straight regular-season Big 12 Conference title, will open the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional against 15th-seeded New Mexico State.
The Jayhawks (26-8) will remain close to home when the open tournament play on Friday in Omaha, Nebraska -- with a potential matchup against in-state foe Wichita State looming in the third round.
Kansas led by as many as 17 points before losing 70-66 to Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament championship game on Saturday. Perry Ellis leads the Jayhawks with 13.8 points per game, while Frank Mason III averages 12.3 points and is hitting 40.7 percent of his 3-point shots.
The Aggies (23-10) won their fourth straight Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship with an 80-61 win over Seattle.
Iowa State draws 3rd seed in South, opens vs 14th-seed UAB
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Iowa State has earned the No. 3 seed in the South Region.
The two-time Big 12 Tournament champion Cyclones (25-8) will open NCAA Tournament play on Thursday in Louisville against 14th-seeded UAB (19-15).
The Cyclones are in the tournament for the fourth straight year under coach Fred Hoiberg. They rallied from 17 points down to beat Kansas in the Big 12 final on Saturday.
The Blazers won their first Conference USA Tournament and made it into the bracket for the first time since 2011.
Coach Jerod Haase said earning an NCAA Tournament berth is "a rallying cry" for a school that has faced criticism from fans and students for dropping its football program.
No. 3 seed Baylor faces No. 14 seed Georgia State
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Baylor better be ready for significant travel if the Bears get through the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
The third-seeded Bears will face No. 14 seed Georgia State on Thursday in Jacksonville, Florida.
Baylor could be forced to go from one coast to the other with the West Regional being played in Los Angeles. But the Bears (24-9) will be happy to do so after a lackluster performance in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
Baylor closed the season winning six of seven before losing to the Jayhawks in the conference tournament.
The Bears' balance is what makes them a potential threat for a deep run, with four players averaging double-digit scoring.
Georgia State (24-9) won the Sun Belt regular-season and conference tournament titles and is led by R.J. Hunter, averaging 20.1 points per game.
Oklahoma gets No. 3 seed, faces Albany in NCAA Tournament
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Oklahoma reached the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year and will face Albany in its opener on Friday night.
The Sooners (22-10), ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25, haven't won an NCAA Tournament game since 2009, when they fell to North Carolina in a regional final. Oklahoma got a No. 3 seed in the tournament after losing to Iowa State 67-55 in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
Albany (24-8) is making its third straight appearance in the tournament, clinching the America East's berth with a 51-50 win over Stony Brook in the conference title game. Peter Hooley hit a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left.
Albany is 1-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, getting its only victory last season by beating Mount St. Mary's at the First Four in Dayton before losing to Florida.
No. 5 seed West Virginia, Buffalo face off in Midwest Region
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- West Virginia will face first-time NCAA Tournament participant Buffalo on Friday in Columbus, Ohio, in an intriguing 5-12 matchup in the Midwest Region.
The fifth-seeded Mountaineers (23-9) went 11-7 in the Big 12, arguably the nation's toughest league, before falling to Baylor in the league tournament.
Buffalo (23-9), under the direction of former Duke star Bobby Hurley, won the Mid-American Conference tournament to earn the league's automatic bid. The Bulls matched a school record with 23 wins this season and are 42-19 in two years under Hurley.
The Mountaineers have been to a pair of Final Fours, including a run in 2010.
Sixth-seeded Butler to open with Texas in NCAA tourney
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Butler returns to the NCAA Tournament after last season's absence, earning a No. 6 seed in the Midwest regional and opening play against 11th-seeded Texas in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
The Bulldogs (22-10) lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament to Xavier, but they own wins over North Carolina and Georgetown this season.
Kellen Dunham leads Butler, which lost in the NCAA championship game in both 2010 and 2011, with an average of 16.7 points per game.
The Longhorns (20-13) make the tournament despite finishing with an 8-10 record in the Big 12 Conference and having a pair of four-game losing streaks this season.
Texas lost 69-67 to Iowa State in the conference tournament quarterfinals and is led by sophomore Isaiah Taylor's 13 points per game.
Oregon on a roll, not so the Oklahoma State Cowboys
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- The No. 8 seed Oregon Ducks open the NCAA Tournament against No. 9 seed Oklahoma State on Friday in a matchup of teams heading in opposite directions.
Led by league Player of the Year Joseph Young, the Ducks (25-9) burnished their NCAA credentials with a strong finish to the regular season, including wins over Colorado and Utah in the Pac-12 Tournament.
But they were no challenge to Arizona in the title game, getting blown out 80-52. They also lost to the Wildcats by 18 in Eugene and 24 in Tucson.
Oklahoma State (18-13) doesn't exactly enter the NCAA Tournament on a roll.
The Cowboys have lost six of their last seven but they got in based on five Top 25 wins and own three top-10 wins.
