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Tennessee Volunteers guard Dalton Knecht (3) is guarded by Kansas Jayhawks guard Kevin McCullar Jr. (15) during the final round of the Allstate Maui Invitational on November 22, 2023, at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
If Kansas can make it out of Salt Lake City and advance past the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament to reach Detroit, there are some familiar faces from this season in the Kansas quarterback.
The good news for the Jayhawks is that they've beaten them all — the Midwest Region includes No. 2 Tennessee, No. 7 Texas and the No. 9 TCU.
KU beat Tennessee 69-60 on the final day of the Maui Invitational, just 13 hours after the Jayhawks had lost their season opener to Marquette. Despite minimal rest, they held the Volunteers to 31.0 percent shooting on the day in Honolulu, while center Hunter Dickinson had 17 points and 20 rebounds.
Texas and TCU were two of the conference opponents KU only took on at home. he didn't have to travel to Austin or Fort Worth this season. The Jayhawks' wins nearly clinched the conference.
The Horned Frogs were threatening to win a second straight at Allen Fieldhouse, twice with a minute left on Jan. 6, when former Jayhawk Ernest Udeh Jr. appeared to have a steal on an entry pass. But on review he was adjudged to have committed a flagrant foul on Dickinson by elbowing him. Dickinson made two free throws and eventually, by the end of the game, a contested layup that won the game.
The Texas game was never this close as KU, despite playing without Kevin McCullar Jr., led by 20 at halftime and cruised to an 86-67 victory. The Jayhawks held Texas stars Max Abmas and Dylan Disu to five and eight points, respectively, and sent the Longhorns out of the Big 12 Conference in dominant fashion.
TCU center Ernest Udeh Jr. (8), a transfer from Kansas, congratulates Kansas center Hunter Dickinson (1) after the Jayhawks' 83-81 win Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-WorldKansas guards Nicolas Timberlake and Jamari McDowell celebrate after making a basket Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, against Texas.
Several Jayhawks have experience with the other teams in the area. This year's regional top-seed Purdue was a frequent foe for Dickinson during his time at Michigan, playing the Boilermakers four times and sometimes dueling with their decorated big man Zach Edey.
KU played and lost to No. 5 Gonzaga in the first game of Dajuan Harris Jr.'s 2020-21 freshman season, McCullar also played against them during his time at Texas Tech, and Parker Braun had them as an opponent of the conference in Santa Clara.
Harris and the Jayhawks also beat Creighton (No. 3 seed in the region) in 2020-21 at Allen Fieldhouse again on their way to the 2021-22 national title.
Other history includes, but is not limited to, McCullar's Red Raiders facing Utah State (No. 8 seed TCU faces) during the 2020-21 season and Grambling and Montana State (both potential No. 16 contenders in the First Four) in 2021-22, and Brown's Missouri team faces conference rival South Carolina (No. 6 seed) in 2019-20 and both the Gamecocks and Oregon (No. 11 seed) in 2020- 21.
Full Midwest Region (Detroit)
No. 1 Purdue
No. 2 Tennessee
No. 3 Creighton
No. 4 Kansas
No. 5 Gonzaga
No. 6 South Carolina
No. 7 Texas
No. 8 Utah State
No. 9 TCU
No. 10 Virginia State/Colorado
No. 11 Oregon
No. 12 McNeese
No. 13 Samford
No. 14 Akron
No. 15 Agios Petros
No. 16 Montana State/Grabling State
The rest of the support
Eastern Region (Boston)
No. 1 UConn
No. 2 Iowa State
No. 3 Illinois
No. 4 Auburn
No. 5 San Diego State
No. 6 BYU
No. 7 Washington State
No. 8 Florida Atlantic
No. 9 Northwest
No. 10 Drake
No. 11 Duquesne
No. 12 UAB
No. 13 Yale
No. 14 Morehead State
No. 15 South Dakota State
No. 16 Stetson
Southern District (Dallas)
#1 Houston
No. 2 Marquette
No. 3 Kentucky
No. 4 Duke
No. 5 Wisconsin
No. 6 Texas Tech
No. 7 Florida
No. 8 Nebraska
No. 9 Texas A&M
No. 10 Boise State/Colorado
No. 11 NC State
No. 12 James Madison
No. 13 Vermont
No. 14 Auckland
No. 15 Western Kentucky
No. 16 Longwood
West Region (Los Angeles)
No. 1 North Carolina
No. 2 Arizona
No. 3 Baylor
No. 4 Alabama
No. 5 Saint Mary's
No. 6 Clemson
No. 7 Dayton
No. 8 Mississippi State
No. 9 Michigan State
No. 10 Nevada
No. 11 New Mexico
No. 12 Grand Canyon
No. 13 Charleston
No. 14 Colgate
No. 15 Long Beach State
No. 16 Howard/Wagner
2024 NCAA Tournament Preview
KU men to face Samford
KU women paired with Michigan
A look at the rest of the Midwest
Why KU men's basketball could or could not win the NCAA title
Forgotten regular season moments
Venues, seeding could create informal postseason
KU is moving towards milestones affected by IARP
Can Johnny Furphy come of age in the tournament?
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Written by Henry Greenstein
