OPEN GAME THREAD: North Texas

by BracketCat on Mar 18, 2010 12:00 PM CDT in Men's Basketball

KansasState NorthTexas

No. 2 seed Kansas St. Wildcats (26-7) VS. No. 15 seed North Texas Eagles (27-8)

NCAA Tournament — First Round
Ford Center — Oklahoma City, Okla.
Thursday, March 18 — approx. 1:40 PM CST

CBS Sports | March Madness On Demand

It's time for March Madness!

Only four No. 2 seeds have fallen in the first round since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams, which equates to a 2-seed success rate of 98 percent.

Let's hope the Cats keep their eyes on the prize and don't become the fifth.

They should handle this game with ease, but any team capable of losing to Iowa State at home on Senior Night also is capable of losing to a mid-major conference tournament champion.

As always, "survive and advance" is the name of this game.

For K-State's game notes, follow the jump.

From the K-State Sports Information Department:

Kansas State (26-7, 11-5 Big 12) was rewarded for its successful season on Sunday night, when the Wildcats earned their 24th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their second in the last three seasons by receiving an at-large bid to the tournament.

The squad was selected as a No. 2 seed in the West Regional and will travel to Oklahoma City, to play No. 15 seed and Sun Belt Conference champion North Texas (24-8, 13-5 Sun Belt) at the 17,611-seat Ford Center today.

The winner will advance to play either No. 7 seed BYU (29-5, 13-3 MWC) or No. 10 seed Florida (21-12, 9-7 SEC) on Saturday, at a time to be determined.

The Wildcats and Mean Green will play 30 minutes after the conclusion of the contest between BYU and Florida, which is slated to begin at 11:40 a.m.

The four teams will be joined in the Oklahoma City bracket by No. 1 seed Kansas, No. 8 seed UNLV, No. 9 seed Northern Iowa and No. 16 seed Lehigh, who all play in the Midwest Regional second session tonight.

All the games in Oklahoma City will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports, with Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) and Dan Bonner (analyst) on the call.

K-State is making its 31st postseason appearance, which includes 24 in the NCAA Tournament and seven in the National Invitational Tournament.

It marks the fourth consecutive postseason appearance for the Wildcats and the first in the NCAA Tournament since losing to No. 3 Wisconsin 72-55 in the second round of the Midwest Regional, in Omaha, Neb., on March 22, 2008.

The four straight postseason trips are the most since the school advanced to the NCAA Tournament each season from 1987 to 1990.

The program has posted a 28-27 (.509) all-time record in NCAA Tournament play, including a 9-4 mark in first-round games.

The school will be making its fifth appearance in the West Regional and the first since 1987, with an 8-6 record all-time.

The No. 2 seed is the highest for K-State since seeding began in 1979, surpassing the previous high of a No. 4 seed in 1988.

It marks just the sixth time that that Wildcats have earned a seeding of eight or better in the NCAA Tournament.

In the program's 23 previous NCAA Tournaments, the squad has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen a total of 16 times, reached 11 Elite Eights, made four Final Four appearances and played in one NCAA title game.

The Wildcats were one of a Big 12-record seven teams to earn berths in the NCAA Tournament, joining No. 1 seed Kansas, No. 3 seed Baylor (South), No. 5 seed Texas A&M (South), No. 7 seed Oklahoma State (Midwest), No. 8 seed Texas (East) and No. 10 seed Missouri (East) in the field.

Poll

Who wins?

Kansas State

51 votes

North Texas

3 votes

54 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | 328 comments

Comments

Anyone see this over in the sidebar?

Link

Man, who wants to be Jeff Capel right now? Just when he probably was sighing in relief that their horrible 13-18 season finally is over, this happens.

I think I know where the house-cleaning might begin…

Bring On The Cats