Storied teams in line to clash before Final Four
Region has Kansas, Duke, Michigan State
The Midwest Region could be called the NCAA Tournament’s Blue Blood Bracket.
Top-three seeds Kansas, Duke and Michigan State have combined for 271 wins in 118 tournament appearances, 39 Final Fours and 10 national championships.
Kansas is a No. 1 seed for a third straight year and eighth time since 2007. The Jayhawks open in Wichita, Kansas, on Thursday against Penn.
Duke, runner-up to Atlantic Coast Conference champion Virginia in the regular season, plays Iona on Thursday in Pittsburgh. Michigan State, the Big Ten regular-season champ, meets Bucknell on Friday in Detroit.
Kansas coach Bill Self, whose team has lost in regional finals the last two years, said the Jayhawks’ path sets up well if they can beat Penn and then No. 8 Seton Hall or No. 9 North Carolina State. Wichita is 2½ hours from their campus, and Omaha is three hours to the north.
Kansas is among three Big 12 teams in the Midwest, with TCU earning a No. 6 seed and Oklahoma a No. 10. The region also has three ACC teams, with Clemson joining Duke and North Carolina State.
Some things to know about the Midwest Region:
Star power
Some of the biggest names in college basketball are in the region. Headliners include Big 12 player of the year Devonte Graham of Kansas, Big 12 freshman of the year and national scoring and assist leader Trae Young of Oklahoma, ACC player of the year and rookie of the year Marvin Bagley III, Grayson Allen of Duke and Miles Bridges of Michigan State.
Auburn drought ends
Auburn, fresh from its first Southeastern Conference regular-season title since 1999, ended a 15-year NCAA Tournament drought. The Tigers earned a No. 4 seed after playing all season without top post players Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley. Both were entangled in the federal investigation into college basketball that cost coach Bruce Pearl his top assistant.
Auburn won just two of its final four games after losing the SEC’S top shot blocker, Anfernee Mclemore, to an ankle injury.
Careful, Spartans
History suggests that a Michigan State-duke matchup in Omaha would be bad for the Spartans. The Blue Devils have won 12 of 14 matchups against Michigan State, including an 88-81 victory early this season in a meeting of the top two teams in The Associated Press poll. If the Spartans get to the regional final, they may face a Kansas team that beat them by 20 in the second round last year.
Names to know
Kansas freshman Silvio De Sousa, who joined the team at midseason, had 16 points on 8-for-8 shooting and 10 rebounds in the Big 12 title game against West Virginia. De Sousa emerged as a replacement for 7-footer Udoka Azubuike, who missed the Big 12 tournament with a knee injury. Charleston guard Joe Chealey averages 17 points and 3.7 assists per game.