Kansas Basketball gets nice draw in 2019 NCAA Tournament

Kansas basketball earned a four-seed in the NCAA Tournament and are a part of the Midwest Regional. Despite the lower seed than what KU fans expect each year, it’s hard to be angry with seed the Jayhawks drew.

After a not-so-traditional season for the Kansas Jayhawks basketball program, one would have thought that their run in March Madness this season would be a little more difficult. After seeing their path, however, KU fans have to be feeling much more confident.

Kansas has been a one-seed the last three years, but were given a four-seed in 2019. The road consists of two games in Salt Lake City and, if the Jayhawks win both of those, they’ll essentially get a home game for the Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight, as it’ll be played at Sprint Center. Yup… Right down the highway from Allen Fieldhouse.

Before either of those games happen though, the Jayhawks have to take care of business against their first two opponents. As a four-seed (the first time they’ve been a four-seed since 2006), KU will play a 13-seed in round one and that’ll be against Northeastern of the Colonial Athletic Association, who went 23-10 this past season.

Assuming the Jayhawks play to their seed, they’ll face either Auburn or New Mexico State in the Round of 32. Auburn, a five-seed, won the SEC Tournament and are red hot right now.

Even with that being the case, the Aggies aren’t a team to overlook. New Mexico State went 30-4 and even though they’re just a 12-seed, could give Auburn a run for their money. If the Aggies are able to knock off Auburn, they’ll have a good chance at upsetting Kansas as well.

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If KU is able to beat Northeastern and either Auburn or New Mexico State, they’d likely face off against one-seed North Carolina, but the Jayhawks would have a huge advantage. North Carolina, despite being the top seed in the conference, would have to travel much further than KU would, which is a disadvantage for sure.

It’s not a bad draw for Kansas at all and with how poorly this team has looked throughout the 2018-2019 season, they need all the help they can get come tournament time. Getting to play the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight less than an hour from Allen Fieldhouse is huge for this team and it could sound like a home game for the Jayhawks should they make it to that point.

Iowa State is also in the Midwest Regional, meaning the Hilton South crowd could pack Power and Light and the Sprint Center once again this year. It’d be fun if KU and ISU faced off in the Elite Eight, but let’s just take it one game at a time.

Unlike their in-state rivals Kansas State, the Kansas Jayhawks have a favorable schedule. New Mexico State could be tough, but they have to take care of business against Auburn first. KU should be able to get to the Sweet Sixteen and from there, they have two basically home games standing between them and a potential Final Four appearance.

This season hasn’t been a typical Kansas basketball type of season, but this is a nice draw for the Jayhawks.