Via Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas enters the 2024 NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament, marking its 51st all-time appearance.
Kansas will play Samford in the first round on Thursday, March 16, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Playing as the No. 4 seed for the 14th time in program history, Kansas enters the NCAA Tournament with a 22-10 overall record, including a 10-8 Big 12 mark which finished fifth in the Big 12 in 2023-24. The Jayhawks are 8-5 as a No. 4 seed all-time, including 6-1 against No. 13 seeds.
Kansas will play in the NCAA Midwest Region for the second time in three seasons. Kansas is 45-5 in the NCAA Tournament First Round all-time, while it will be the first-ever meeting between Kansas and Samford. Kansas holds a 111-49 record in the NCAA Tournament all-time.
Kansas will take on Samford, winners of the Southern Conference Tournament (SoCon) with a 76-69 win over East Tennessee State University on March 11. Samford enters the NCAA Tournament with a 29-5 overall record and 15-3 record in conference play. It’s Sanford’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000.
Samford, located in Birmingham, Alabama, is under fourth-year head coach Bucky McMillan, who holds a 77-40 record over his career. McMillan was named the SoCon Coach of the Year after leading Samford to a program-record 29-win season in 2023-2024.
Samford is led by First-Team All-SoCon forward Achor Achor, who averaged 15.8 points per game on 60% from the field and 45% from beyond the arc. Samford enters Thursday’s game after winning four-straight games with its last loss coming to Wofford on Feb. 28.
Samford’s NCAA Tournament appearance is their second all-time, including first since 2000, where the Bulldogs hold an 0-2 record all-time.
