K-State To Meet Creighton in NCAA South Regional Friday
Mar 11, 2018 | Men's Basketball
Tournament Bracket (.pdf)Photo GalleryWatch Video RecapWatch Barry Brown InterviewWatch Cartier Diarra InterviewNCAA Tournament Central
K-State To Meet Creighton in NCAA South Regional Friday
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State was rewarded for a successful season on Sunday, as the Wildcats earned their 30th overall bid to the NCAA Tournament, including the fourth in six seasons under head coach Bruce Weber.
K-State (22-11, 10-8 Big 12) was selected as a No. 9 seed in the South Regional and will travel to Charlotte, N.C., to play No. 8 seed Creighton (21-11, 10-8 BIG EAST) in the first round on Friday, March 16 at the Spectrum Center. The winner will advance to play the winner of the second game between the tournament's overall No. 1 seed Virginia (31-2, 17-1 ACC) and No. 16 seed UMBC (24-10, 12-4 America East) on Sunday, March 18.
The Wildcats will be joined at the venue by No. 2 seed North Carolina, No. 7 seed Texas A&M, No. 10 seed Providence and No. 15 Lipscomb of the West Regional. The top seeds in the South Regional are No. 1 seed Virginia, No. 2 seed Cincinnati, No. 3 seed Tennessee, No. 4 seed Arizona and No. 5 seed Kentucky.
K-State and Creighton will tip off at 5:50 p.m., CT with the matchup between No. 1 seed Virginia and No. 16 seed UMBC to follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The game will be broadcast nationally on TNT with Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and Tracy Wolfson.
Public requests for NCAA Tournament tickets are available until 11:59 pm, tonight. Please click here to request tickets exclusively within the K-State allotment. Tickets are priced at $66 (upper level) and $100 (lower level).
Kansas State is making its 37th postseason appearance, which includes 30 in the NCAA Tournament and seven in the Postseason NIT. The Wildcats advance to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in 12 seasons, including in consecutive seasons for the first time since making five straight appearances from 2010 to 2014. The program has now advanced to the postseason 10 times in the last 12 seasons (eight trips to NCAA Tournament and two to the NIT). The 30 overall bids ties for 20th nationally (along with Georgetown and Illinois), including fourth among Big 12 schools (Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma).
In its last NCAA appearance, No. 11 seed K-State knocked off fellow No. 11 seed Wake Forest, 95-88, in the First Four at the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio on March 14 before losing to No. 6 seed Cincinnati, 75-61, on March 17 in the South Regional First Round at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. Seven current players saw action in one or both of those NCAA Tournament games, including starts in both contests by current juniors Barry Brown, Jr., Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade. K-State has a 7-7 NCAA Tournament mark in its last seven appearances.
The program has posted a 34-33 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play, including 10-5 in the first round. The school will be making its second consecutive appearance in the South Regional and the third overall with the other trip coming in 1993 and is 1-2 all-time in the region. K-State will be making its third appearance as a No. 9 seed and the first since the 2014 NCAA Tournament, in which, the Wildcats lost to No. 8 seed Kentucky, 56-49, in the Midwest Regional in St. Louis. The other appearance as a No. 9 seed came in the 1987 NCAA Tournament when the school defeated No. 8 seed Georgia, 82-79, in overtime before losing to top-seed UNLV, 80-61, in Salt Lake City. Overall, the school is 1-2 as a No. 9 seed.
In K-State's 29 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, the Wildcats have advanced to the Sweet 16 a total of 16 times. The program has also reached the Elite Eight 11 times, made four Final Four appearances and played in one National Championship game (1951).
Head coach Bruce Weber becomes fifth different coach to lead K-State to at least four NCAA Tournament appearances and joins Jack Hartman (1978-82), Lon Kruger (1986-90) and Frank Martin (2007-12) as the only coaches to accomplish it four times in a six-year period. Overall, Weber advances to his 12th NCAA Tournament, which includes six at Illinois and two at Southern Illinois. He is 41st head coach in NCAA history to take three different schools to the tournament, including the 21st active coach. He has a 12-11 record in the NCAA Tournament with three trips to the Sweet 16 and the 2005 Final Four.
The Wildcats earned their fourth 20-win season under Weber and finished in sole possession of fourth place in the nation's top RPI conference, the Big 12, with a 10-8 mark. The 22 wins are the most since winning 27 in Weber's first season in 2012-13, while the 10 in Big 12 play were the most since also winning 10 in 2013-14. The team is led by All-Big 12 First Team selection Dean Wade (16.5 ppg., 6.3 rpg.) and All-Big 12 Second Team and Big 12 All-Defensive Team member Barry Brown, Jr. (16.0 ppg., 3.1 rpg.).
Creighton enters Friday's game with a 21-11 overall record, which includes a tie for third place with Providence and Seton Hall in the BIG EAST Conference standings with a 10-8 mark. The Bluejays are led by senior guard and former K-State player Marcus Foster, who earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors for the second consecutive season in 2017-18. He is averaging a team-best 20.3 points on 49 percent shooting, including 42.2 percent from 3-point range, to go with 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 31.6 minutes per game.
Two other Bluejays are averaging in double figures, including junior guard Khyri Thomas (15.3 ppg., 4.3 rpg.) and sophomore forward Martin Krampelj (11.9 ppg., 8.1 rpg.), while four others average between 6.0 and 8.3 points per game. Thomas was named Second Team All-BIG EAST, while freshman guard Mitch Ballock (7.0 rpg., 2.7 rpg.) was named to the league's All-Freshman Team.
Foster played at K-State from 2013-15, averaging 14.1 points on 40.9 percent shooting, including 37.3 percent from 3-point range, with 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 28.6 minutes per game in 62 career games with 57 starts. He was twice named to All-Big 12 teams, including the Second Team as a freshman in 2013-14.
Thomas was a prep teammate of current Wildcat junior guard Kamau Stokes at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia during the 2014-15 season, while Ballock played at Eudora High School in Eudora, Kansas.
Creighton is led by head coach Greg McDermott, who has a 187-92 (.670) record in eight seasons at the helm which includes five NCAA Tournament appearances. He previously spent time as head coach at Wayne State (1994-2000), North Dakota State (2000-01), Northern Iowa (2001-06) and Iowa State (2006-10). Overall, he is 454-284 (.615) in 24 seasons as head coach. He matched up four times during Weber's time as head coach at Southern Illinois from 1998 to 2003, while he went 1-7 against the Wildcats as head coach of the Cyclones.
This will be the 16th meeting between K-State and Creighton on the hardwood, but the first since 1987. The Bluejays own a narrow 8-7 edge in the series, including a 1-0 mark in neutral site games.
The winner of Friday's first round matchup will face either No. 1 seed Virginia (31-2, 17-1 ACC) and No. 16 seed UMBC (24-10, 12-4 America East) on Sunday. The Cavaliers, winners of the ACC regular season and conference tournament, earned the No. 1 seed in the South Region. They are led by three scorers averaging double-figures, including a team-high 14.1 points per game from All-ACC first-team selection sophomore guard Kyle Guy. In addition to Guy, redshirt senior guard and All-ACC second-team selection Devon Hall averaged 12 points per game coupled with 4.3 rebounds per game and a 45.2 3-point percentage during the season.
As the ACC Coach of the year, Tony Bennett's crew finished the season shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc, while limiting the opponent to just 53.4 points per contest and 37.5 percent from the field. Virginia's 17 ACC regular season wins, and nine conference road wins marked a new league record, as the Cavaliers are also just the fourth team in the Associated Press Top 25 era since 1990 to reach the No. 1 spot in the AP weekly poll after being unranked in preseason.
Bennett is an alum of the University of Wisconsin Green Bay ('92), who has a 288-117 overall record in his 11th year as a head coach, including a 219-85 (105-51, ACC) record in his eighth season at the helm of the Cavaliers.
For the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), the Retrievers enter the NCAA Tournament after winning the American East Conference Tournament to earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2008. Coached by head coach Ryun Odom, who coached the team to their fourth 20-win season in program history, the Retrievers averaged 73.9 points per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field in the season and were led by four scorers averaging double-figures. First-Team All-America East Graduate guard Jarius Lyles led UMBC by averaging 20.1 points per game on 43.6 percent from the field, while America East Defensive Player of the Year, K.J. Maura who average 2.0 steals per game.
Odom is an alum of Hampden-Sydney ('96) and is in his second year with UMBC, after posting a 21-13 record in his first season with the team, earning their first winning season since 2007-08 and the 2017 Joe B. Hall Award, presented to the top first-year coach in Division I basketball. Prior to coaching at UMBC, Odom served as head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) during the 2015-16 season, prior to serving as an assistant and interim head coach at Charlotte from 2010-15. He is the son of longtime head coach Dave Odom.
K-State has never faced Virginia and/or UMBC on the hardwood in school history.
K-State was one of nine Big 12 teams to earn berths to the NCAA Tournament and NIT, including seven in the Big Dance, joining No. 1 seed Kansas (Midwest), No. 3 seed Texas Tech (East), No. 5 seed West Virginia (East), No. 6 seed TCU (Midwest) and No. 10 seed Oklahoma (Midwest) and Texas (South) in the field. In addition, Baylor is a No. 1 seed and Oklahoma State a No. 2 seed in the NIT. The Big 12 is the first league since at least 1996-97 to accomplish such a feat.
In addition, all three Division I programs in the state of Kansas (Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State) all advanced to the NCAA Tournament for fifth time in seven seasons.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On the program progressing to the NCAA Tournament in recent years…
"You want to continue this improvement we started with a very young group and even that, if Kam [Stokes] does not go down we are probably right there in the hunt for at least possibly an NIT bid and we were kind of disappointed that year we did not get that. Then last year we had a great finish and it gave us a nice opportunity and experience, we got a chance to win a game. I think I said all along, it was a driving force for our guys, we lost two really good players, one is in the NBA, one is playing overseas and yet we have been able to add a couple guys. Obviously everyone has improved in our program and has taken big steps and now you progress where we are in the top part of the league and getting in the semi-finals of the tournament two years in a row, so I am just proud of our guys, with what they have done and how hard they have worked and I told them I am proud of them, and now all of the work you have to prepare yourself. You have this opportunity, you have to take care of your body, you have to get your mind right, and that is the preparation and come play with a big heart, that are the things we have to do this weekend."
On Dean Wade and Barry Brown Jr…
"My first wish was to get in the NCAA tournament, second wish was to play Friday, which gives them another day to recover. I think Barry shot around today, but Dean is going to be about the middle of the week before we let him do something. But we got two prayers answered to get into the tournament and play on Friday. You hope you have those guys back, obviously they are two of the best players in the league and we are one the best leagues in the country, so they are two of the best players in the country and you need them. At the same time, our guys competed against one of the top seeds in the country Kansas and played their butts off and gave them a game and kept it close but just could not get over the hump. Again, a good experience for some of the other guys, hopefully give them a little bit of boost of confidence and if they get that opportunity to go into the game and do something."
On probability of Dean Wade and Barry Brown Jr. playing on Friday…
"I do not think there is any doubt about Barry, he will be fine. He ran around and shot today. Dean, we think he should be fine, until the doc says, 'let him run around and we will see what happens.' We will know more as the week goes on, but we feel good about it. Wes [Iwundo] played five weeks with a similar-type injury, we just never practiced him. Wes was an exceptional athlete and his game did not really slip too much but we had Dean shooting a little bit today, just some spot shooting and some stuff like that."
On coaching against Marcus Foster…
"Marcus [Foster] is a good player, Coach McDermott is a great coach, they have one of the better offensive teams in the country. We told our guys, 'we played Oklahoma, TCU, Kansas, some of the best offensive teams in the country and we have done ok guarding them.' I think defending them is going to be key, they're great in transition. Coach McDermott, I faced him at Southern Illinois when he was at Northern Iowa. Coach Lowery faced him when he moved to Creighton, so we know him and his system. Obviously, he does a great job, his son [Doug McDermott] was an exceptional player for him. He is a great offensive mind and beside Marcus, their point guard [Khyri Thomas] is one of the better players in the league and is an NBA possible draft choice, so they have a lot of players that are going to play and play well and we are going to have to defend them."
On coaching against a former player…
"If you find a way to win then you have to coach against Nigel Johnson probably, so we get all of our former guys, it is a reunion week. So once the game starts it is fine. If anything, we know his tendencies and we coached him, we helped him, grow as a player. We just have to go play, all we can worry about is ourselves and getting ourselves ready.
He [Marcus Foster] does not have any ill-feelings toward us or anything, I know he said that he would have made some other decisions, but I have said it many times, if I helped him become a better player and a better person in the long run, that is my job, that is what I am supposed to do as a coach. I am a coach, I am an educator, if I did that and helped him in life, I feel good about it."
On excitement of being selected…
"Oh yea, with that alphabetical order stuff, I kept, "A, B, C," and we popped up quick. It was a relief, I thought we were ok, when Davidson won today, I went to coach Spierow, because he has all the matrixes and all of the stuff, he kept assuring me we were fine. I feel bad for Baylor, I feel bad for Oklahoma State, I just think our league is the best, I know we got 70 percent, but I think it easily could have been 80 and maybe even 90 percent. When you look at Oklahoma State, their wins and they beat Florida State and beat Oklahoma two out of three. You look at Baylor, they beat Creighton earlier in the year, they played some good people, but I am just happy for our guys for being a part of it."
On how Dean Wade and Barry Brown Jr. have changed since last year…
"Oh, immensely. I do not think there is any doubt. Their confidence, their abilities, they have approved on the court in their games. Obviously, Barry's leadership, Rodney [McGruder] was special, I have had some other guys Deron Williams and some Cardinal guys at SIU that were special leaders, but Barry is as good as anyone as far as leadership. Even Dean has become a little more verbal, at least maybe sign language and stuff, whereas before he was afraid to even do anything. They have really grown as players, and as people confidence wise."
On Creighton's style of play…
"They are an offensive minded team; Coach McDermott is a brilliant offensive coach. When he had his son obviously they had an unbelievable weapon and they ran a lot of sets for him and we have watched them. I am good friends with Mac [Coach McDermott] so you kind of watch the guys you know."
On talking with Kamau Stokes…
"Coach Frazier sat down and talked with him a long time today, I just kind of grabbed him here on the court. I just said, 'Kam do not put pressure on yourself, let the game come and help us be prepared and work your tail off in the next four days to get ready so you have a chance to be successful on the court. That is all you can do. He needs conditioning, he needs workouts, he needs practice time, we did a good individual workout and weights with everyone today and he needs some good days at practice and feels good about himself so maybe he can be surprise shining star on Friday."
On this year's team…
"We have a good group and they have come a long way, if this group can find a way to win the Big 12 Championship next year now you can say that it is the best team. This group is special in their own rights and the thing that I appreciate is their perseverance. With Kam going down and how they responded then you lose Dean and Barry, they keep responding and coming back. Some tough loses, the Kansas loss, the loss in Morgantown and they persevered. That is their character and their leadership that makes the difference and makes them fun to coach."
On Makol Mawien's presence…
"One, I am so proud of him to be named on the all-tournament team. When you think about all of the great players in our league. If you win and have success, you can score the points, but if you do not win and have success you do not get the accomplishments and the achievements and honors. You have two Kansas guys, two West Virginia guys and ours, so going down the line of all the good players in our league, draft choices, Mak [Mawien] got it. It is a nice honor, we talk about perseverance, we told him, 'we are going to go to you,' it is one of the matchups we thought we had an advantage with [Mitch] Lightfoot and their other bigs, he really rose up to the occasion. The big thing will be everyone play well at the same time. That is the key, when we are good we guard the heck out of people, we play hard and balance and share the basketball and if that happens this weekend we will have good success."
On playing Mike McGuirl…
"I feel so bad for him, because this summer, what he showed you the other day [against Kansas], in the summer he did all the time. He was better that some of our other guys. Then he got hurt twice, he missed a lot and then for him to take himself out of redshirt, it has been a tough situation. But I am so happy for him to go in and play like he did, he did not show any fear. He has a little bit of cockiness to him, which is a good thing, he is not afraid of anyone and I am proud of how he has played and how he has dealt with the situation. He has dealt with it very maturely and I have talked to him several times because it has not been easy for him."
Junior Forward Dean Wade
On officially being a part of the field of 68…
"It feels great, and we are all excited. It is kind of a relief now that we know where we are at and who we are playing. We do not have to worry anymore about whether we are in or not. We can focus on Creighton and what we can do there."
On sitting out vs. KU and seeing Barry Brown miss most of the game, too…
"It sucked sitting on the sideline, but I was trying to do anything I could do to help the team. I was trying to talk and keep everyone positive. When I saw Barry go down, I felt bad. His eye was swollen, and I felt terrible. Honestly, when he got poked at first I was saying 'man, his eye just fell out of his head.' I felt so bad for him."
On what he and Barry bring to the team being back from injury…
"I think we just bring a little more experience. We have only been there once, but we have had a little success when we beat Wake Forest. It brings a vocal leader in Barry and I back on the floor. Hopefully we can keep everybody calm under stress."
Junior Guard Barry Brown
On what he learned from last year's NCAA appearance…
"It was a real moment. It kind of came and went pretty fast. It felt good to get in there and win a game in the First Four in. I think the biggest thing I learned was to take advantage of every game because it is really about survive and advance. We can't look ahead at all toward your next opponent because if you cannot beat your first opponent, then there is no next opponent."
On the opportunity to guard Marcus Foster…
"My mindset is the same. He is one of the better players, and hopefully I get that matchup to show what I can do."
On how scary getting poked in the eye was for him…
"It was very scary for me. When I got up blood was coming out of my eye and all I saw was blood in my eye. When I came back out there my guys fought, so it was great to see that. Right now, I am doing pretty good. I can see and everything is fine."
K-State (22-11, 10-8 Big 12) was selected as a No. 9 seed in the South Regional and will travel to Charlotte, N.C., to play No. 8 seed Creighton (21-11, 10-8 BIG EAST) in the first round on Friday, March 16 at the Spectrum Center. The winner will advance to play the winner of the second game between the tournament's overall No. 1 seed Virginia (31-2, 17-1 ACC) and No. 16 seed UMBC (24-10, 12-4 America East) on Sunday, March 18.
The Wildcats will be joined at the venue by No. 2 seed North Carolina, No. 7 seed Texas A&M, No. 10 seed Providence and No. 15 Lipscomb of the West Regional. The top seeds in the South Regional are No. 1 seed Virginia, No. 2 seed Cincinnati, No. 3 seed Tennessee, No. 4 seed Arizona and No. 5 seed Kentucky.
K-State and Creighton will tip off at 5:50 p.m., CT with the matchup between No. 1 seed Virginia and No. 16 seed UMBC to follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The game will be broadcast nationally on TNT with Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and Tracy Wolfson.
Public requests for NCAA Tournament tickets are available until 11:59 pm, tonight. Please click here to request tickets exclusively within the K-State allotment. Tickets are priced at $66 (upper level) and $100 (lower level).
Kansas State is making its 37th postseason appearance, which includes 30 in the NCAA Tournament and seven in the Postseason NIT. The Wildcats advance to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in 12 seasons, including in consecutive seasons for the first time since making five straight appearances from 2010 to 2014. The program has now advanced to the postseason 10 times in the last 12 seasons (eight trips to NCAA Tournament and two to the NIT). The 30 overall bids ties for 20th nationally (along with Georgetown and Illinois), including fourth among Big 12 schools (Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma).
In its last NCAA appearance, No. 11 seed K-State knocked off fellow No. 11 seed Wake Forest, 95-88, in the First Four at the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio on March 14 before losing to No. 6 seed Cincinnati, 75-61, on March 17 in the South Regional First Round at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. Seven current players saw action in one or both of those NCAA Tournament games, including starts in both contests by current juniors Barry Brown, Jr., Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade. K-State has a 7-7 NCAA Tournament mark in its last seven appearances.
The program has posted a 34-33 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play, including 10-5 in the first round. The school will be making its second consecutive appearance in the South Regional and the third overall with the other trip coming in 1993 and is 1-2 all-time in the region. K-State will be making its third appearance as a No. 9 seed and the first since the 2014 NCAA Tournament, in which, the Wildcats lost to No. 8 seed Kentucky, 56-49, in the Midwest Regional in St. Louis. The other appearance as a No. 9 seed came in the 1987 NCAA Tournament when the school defeated No. 8 seed Georgia, 82-79, in overtime before losing to top-seed UNLV, 80-61, in Salt Lake City. Overall, the school is 1-2 as a No. 9 seed.
In K-State's 29 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, the Wildcats have advanced to the Sweet 16 a total of 16 times. The program has also reached the Elite Eight 11 times, made four Final Four appearances and played in one National Championship game (1951).
Head coach Bruce Weber becomes fifth different coach to lead K-State to at least four NCAA Tournament appearances and joins Jack Hartman (1978-82), Lon Kruger (1986-90) and Frank Martin (2007-12) as the only coaches to accomplish it four times in a six-year period. Overall, Weber advances to his 12th NCAA Tournament, which includes six at Illinois and two at Southern Illinois. He is 41st head coach in NCAA history to take three different schools to the tournament, including the 21st active coach. He has a 12-11 record in the NCAA Tournament with three trips to the Sweet 16 and the 2005 Final Four.
The Wildcats earned their fourth 20-win season under Weber and finished in sole possession of fourth place in the nation's top RPI conference, the Big 12, with a 10-8 mark. The 22 wins are the most since winning 27 in Weber's first season in 2012-13, while the 10 in Big 12 play were the most since also winning 10 in 2013-14. The team is led by All-Big 12 First Team selection Dean Wade (16.5 ppg., 6.3 rpg.) and All-Big 12 Second Team and Big 12 All-Defensive Team member Barry Brown, Jr. (16.0 ppg., 3.1 rpg.).
Creighton enters Friday's game with a 21-11 overall record, which includes a tie for third place with Providence and Seton Hall in the BIG EAST Conference standings with a 10-8 mark. The Bluejays are led by senior guard and former K-State player Marcus Foster, who earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors for the second consecutive season in 2017-18. He is averaging a team-best 20.3 points on 49 percent shooting, including 42.2 percent from 3-point range, to go with 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 31.6 minutes per game.
Two other Bluejays are averaging in double figures, including junior guard Khyri Thomas (15.3 ppg., 4.3 rpg.) and sophomore forward Martin Krampelj (11.9 ppg., 8.1 rpg.), while four others average between 6.0 and 8.3 points per game. Thomas was named Second Team All-BIG EAST, while freshman guard Mitch Ballock (7.0 rpg., 2.7 rpg.) was named to the league's All-Freshman Team.
Foster played at K-State from 2013-15, averaging 14.1 points on 40.9 percent shooting, including 37.3 percent from 3-point range, with 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 28.6 minutes per game in 62 career games with 57 starts. He was twice named to All-Big 12 teams, including the Second Team as a freshman in 2013-14.
Thomas was a prep teammate of current Wildcat junior guard Kamau Stokes at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia during the 2014-15 season, while Ballock played at Eudora High School in Eudora, Kansas.
Creighton is led by head coach Greg McDermott, who has a 187-92 (.670) record in eight seasons at the helm which includes five NCAA Tournament appearances. He previously spent time as head coach at Wayne State (1994-2000), North Dakota State (2000-01), Northern Iowa (2001-06) and Iowa State (2006-10). Overall, he is 454-284 (.615) in 24 seasons as head coach. He matched up four times during Weber's time as head coach at Southern Illinois from 1998 to 2003, while he went 1-7 against the Wildcats as head coach of the Cyclones.
This will be the 16th meeting between K-State and Creighton on the hardwood, but the first since 1987. The Bluejays own a narrow 8-7 edge in the series, including a 1-0 mark in neutral site games.
The winner of Friday's first round matchup will face either No. 1 seed Virginia (31-2, 17-1 ACC) and No. 16 seed UMBC (24-10, 12-4 America East) on Sunday. The Cavaliers, winners of the ACC regular season and conference tournament, earned the No. 1 seed in the South Region. They are led by three scorers averaging double-figures, including a team-high 14.1 points per game from All-ACC first-team selection sophomore guard Kyle Guy. In addition to Guy, redshirt senior guard and All-ACC second-team selection Devon Hall averaged 12 points per game coupled with 4.3 rebounds per game and a 45.2 3-point percentage during the season.
As the ACC Coach of the year, Tony Bennett's crew finished the season shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc, while limiting the opponent to just 53.4 points per contest and 37.5 percent from the field. Virginia's 17 ACC regular season wins, and nine conference road wins marked a new league record, as the Cavaliers are also just the fourth team in the Associated Press Top 25 era since 1990 to reach the No. 1 spot in the AP weekly poll after being unranked in preseason.
Bennett is an alum of the University of Wisconsin Green Bay ('92), who has a 288-117 overall record in his 11th year as a head coach, including a 219-85 (105-51, ACC) record in his eighth season at the helm of the Cavaliers.
For the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), the Retrievers enter the NCAA Tournament after winning the American East Conference Tournament to earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2008. Coached by head coach Ryun Odom, who coached the team to their fourth 20-win season in program history, the Retrievers averaged 73.9 points per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field in the season and were led by four scorers averaging double-figures. First-Team All-America East Graduate guard Jarius Lyles led UMBC by averaging 20.1 points per game on 43.6 percent from the field, while America East Defensive Player of the Year, K.J. Maura who average 2.0 steals per game.
Odom is an alum of Hampden-Sydney ('96) and is in his second year with UMBC, after posting a 21-13 record in his first season with the team, earning their first winning season since 2007-08 and the 2017 Joe B. Hall Award, presented to the top first-year coach in Division I basketball. Prior to coaching at UMBC, Odom served as head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) during the 2015-16 season, prior to serving as an assistant and interim head coach at Charlotte from 2010-15. He is the son of longtime head coach Dave Odom.
K-State has never faced Virginia and/or UMBC on the hardwood in school history.
K-State was one of nine Big 12 teams to earn berths to the NCAA Tournament and NIT, including seven in the Big Dance, joining No. 1 seed Kansas (Midwest), No. 3 seed Texas Tech (East), No. 5 seed West Virginia (East), No. 6 seed TCU (Midwest) and No. 10 seed Oklahoma (Midwest) and Texas (South) in the field. In addition, Baylor is a No. 1 seed and Oklahoma State a No. 2 seed in the NIT. The Big 12 is the first league since at least 1996-97 to accomplish such a feat.
In addition, all three Division I programs in the state of Kansas (Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State) all advanced to the NCAA Tournament for fifth time in seven seasons.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber
On the program progressing to the NCAA Tournament in recent years…
"You want to continue this improvement we started with a very young group and even that, if Kam [Stokes] does not go down we are probably right there in the hunt for at least possibly an NIT bid and we were kind of disappointed that year we did not get that. Then last year we had a great finish and it gave us a nice opportunity and experience, we got a chance to win a game. I think I said all along, it was a driving force for our guys, we lost two really good players, one is in the NBA, one is playing overseas and yet we have been able to add a couple guys. Obviously everyone has improved in our program and has taken big steps and now you progress where we are in the top part of the league and getting in the semi-finals of the tournament two years in a row, so I am just proud of our guys, with what they have done and how hard they have worked and I told them I am proud of them, and now all of the work you have to prepare yourself. You have this opportunity, you have to take care of your body, you have to get your mind right, and that is the preparation and come play with a big heart, that are the things we have to do this weekend."
On Dean Wade and Barry Brown Jr…
"My first wish was to get in the NCAA tournament, second wish was to play Friday, which gives them another day to recover. I think Barry shot around today, but Dean is going to be about the middle of the week before we let him do something. But we got two prayers answered to get into the tournament and play on Friday. You hope you have those guys back, obviously they are two of the best players in the league and we are one the best leagues in the country, so they are two of the best players in the country and you need them. At the same time, our guys competed against one of the top seeds in the country Kansas and played their butts off and gave them a game and kept it close but just could not get over the hump. Again, a good experience for some of the other guys, hopefully give them a little bit of boost of confidence and if they get that opportunity to go into the game and do something."
On probability of Dean Wade and Barry Brown Jr. playing on Friday…
"I do not think there is any doubt about Barry, he will be fine. He ran around and shot today. Dean, we think he should be fine, until the doc says, 'let him run around and we will see what happens.' We will know more as the week goes on, but we feel good about it. Wes [Iwundo] played five weeks with a similar-type injury, we just never practiced him. Wes was an exceptional athlete and his game did not really slip too much but we had Dean shooting a little bit today, just some spot shooting and some stuff like that."
On coaching against Marcus Foster…
"Marcus [Foster] is a good player, Coach McDermott is a great coach, they have one of the better offensive teams in the country. We told our guys, 'we played Oklahoma, TCU, Kansas, some of the best offensive teams in the country and we have done ok guarding them.' I think defending them is going to be key, they're great in transition. Coach McDermott, I faced him at Southern Illinois when he was at Northern Iowa. Coach Lowery faced him when he moved to Creighton, so we know him and his system. Obviously, he does a great job, his son [Doug McDermott] was an exceptional player for him. He is a great offensive mind and beside Marcus, their point guard [Khyri Thomas] is one of the better players in the league and is an NBA possible draft choice, so they have a lot of players that are going to play and play well and we are going to have to defend them."
On coaching against a former player…
"If you find a way to win then you have to coach against Nigel Johnson probably, so we get all of our former guys, it is a reunion week. So once the game starts it is fine. If anything, we know his tendencies and we coached him, we helped him, grow as a player. We just have to go play, all we can worry about is ourselves and getting ourselves ready.
He [Marcus Foster] does not have any ill-feelings toward us or anything, I know he said that he would have made some other decisions, but I have said it many times, if I helped him become a better player and a better person in the long run, that is my job, that is what I am supposed to do as a coach. I am a coach, I am an educator, if I did that and helped him in life, I feel good about it."
On excitement of being selected…
"Oh yea, with that alphabetical order stuff, I kept, "A, B, C," and we popped up quick. It was a relief, I thought we were ok, when Davidson won today, I went to coach Spierow, because he has all the matrixes and all of the stuff, he kept assuring me we were fine. I feel bad for Baylor, I feel bad for Oklahoma State, I just think our league is the best, I know we got 70 percent, but I think it easily could have been 80 and maybe even 90 percent. When you look at Oklahoma State, their wins and they beat Florida State and beat Oklahoma two out of three. You look at Baylor, they beat Creighton earlier in the year, they played some good people, but I am just happy for our guys for being a part of it."
On how Dean Wade and Barry Brown Jr. have changed since last year…
"Oh, immensely. I do not think there is any doubt. Their confidence, their abilities, they have approved on the court in their games. Obviously, Barry's leadership, Rodney [McGruder] was special, I have had some other guys Deron Williams and some Cardinal guys at SIU that were special leaders, but Barry is as good as anyone as far as leadership. Even Dean has become a little more verbal, at least maybe sign language and stuff, whereas before he was afraid to even do anything. They have really grown as players, and as people confidence wise."
On Creighton's style of play…
"They are an offensive minded team; Coach McDermott is a brilliant offensive coach. When he had his son obviously they had an unbelievable weapon and they ran a lot of sets for him and we have watched them. I am good friends with Mac [Coach McDermott] so you kind of watch the guys you know."
On talking with Kamau Stokes…
"Coach Frazier sat down and talked with him a long time today, I just kind of grabbed him here on the court. I just said, 'Kam do not put pressure on yourself, let the game come and help us be prepared and work your tail off in the next four days to get ready so you have a chance to be successful on the court. That is all you can do. He needs conditioning, he needs workouts, he needs practice time, we did a good individual workout and weights with everyone today and he needs some good days at practice and feels good about himself so maybe he can be surprise shining star on Friday."
On this year's team…
"We have a good group and they have come a long way, if this group can find a way to win the Big 12 Championship next year now you can say that it is the best team. This group is special in their own rights and the thing that I appreciate is their perseverance. With Kam going down and how they responded then you lose Dean and Barry, they keep responding and coming back. Some tough loses, the Kansas loss, the loss in Morgantown and they persevered. That is their character and their leadership that makes the difference and makes them fun to coach."
On Makol Mawien's presence…
"One, I am so proud of him to be named on the all-tournament team. When you think about all of the great players in our league. If you win and have success, you can score the points, but if you do not win and have success you do not get the accomplishments and the achievements and honors. You have two Kansas guys, two West Virginia guys and ours, so going down the line of all the good players in our league, draft choices, Mak [Mawien] got it. It is a nice honor, we talk about perseverance, we told him, 'we are going to go to you,' it is one of the matchups we thought we had an advantage with [Mitch] Lightfoot and their other bigs, he really rose up to the occasion. The big thing will be everyone play well at the same time. That is the key, when we are good we guard the heck out of people, we play hard and balance and share the basketball and if that happens this weekend we will have good success."
On playing Mike McGuirl…
"I feel so bad for him, because this summer, what he showed you the other day [against Kansas], in the summer he did all the time. He was better that some of our other guys. Then he got hurt twice, he missed a lot and then for him to take himself out of redshirt, it has been a tough situation. But I am so happy for him to go in and play like he did, he did not show any fear. He has a little bit of cockiness to him, which is a good thing, he is not afraid of anyone and I am proud of how he has played and how he has dealt with the situation. He has dealt with it very maturely and I have talked to him several times because it has not been easy for him."
Junior Forward Dean Wade
On officially being a part of the field of 68…
"It feels great, and we are all excited. It is kind of a relief now that we know where we are at and who we are playing. We do not have to worry anymore about whether we are in or not. We can focus on Creighton and what we can do there."
On sitting out vs. KU and seeing Barry Brown miss most of the game, too…
"It sucked sitting on the sideline, but I was trying to do anything I could do to help the team. I was trying to talk and keep everyone positive. When I saw Barry go down, I felt bad. His eye was swollen, and I felt terrible. Honestly, when he got poked at first I was saying 'man, his eye just fell out of his head.' I felt so bad for him."
On what he and Barry bring to the team being back from injury…
"I think we just bring a little more experience. We have only been there once, but we have had a little success when we beat Wake Forest. It brings a vocal leader in Barry and I back on the floor. Hopefully we can keep everybody calm under stress."
Junior Guard Barry Brown
On what he learned from last year's NCAA appearance…
"It was a real moment. It kind of came and went pretty fast. It felt good to get in there and win a game in the First Four in. I think the biggest thing I learned was to take advantage of every game because it is really about survive and advance. We can't look ahead at all toward your next opponent because if you cannot beat your first opponent, then there is no next opponent."
On the opportunity to guard Marcus Foster…
"My mindset is the same. He is one of the better players, and hopefully I get that matchup to show what I can do."
On how scary getting poked in the eye was for him…
"It was very scary for me. When I got up blood was coming out of my eye and all I saw was blood in my eye. When I came back out there my guys fought, so it was great to see that. Right now, I am doing pretty good. I can see and everything is fine."
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
K-State Men's Basketball | Game Replay vs Cincinnati - February 11, 2026
Thursday, February 12
K-State Men's Basketball | Coach Tang Press Conference vs Cincinnati
Thursday, February 12
K-State Men's Basketball | Game Highlights vs Cincinnati
Thursday, February 12
K-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at TCU
Saturday, February 07
