Print edition: 
MANHATTAN — Kansas State got everything it was hoping for Sunday. A No. 2 seed and Oklahoma City. The Wildcats will play their first-round West Regional game against No. 15-seed North Texas on Thursday night at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.
Not only is it K-State's highest seed in school history, but they get to start close to home.
"It's a dream," forward Jamar Samuels said. "I smiled. I had a grin all the way from ear to ear. It was a really good feeling."
K-State coach Frank Martin said he anticipated a No. 2 or 3 seed, and would have been fine with either. What he was truly pleased about was the destination.
"I'm just happy our kids are going to be able to play so close to the state of Kansas," Martin said. "So our fans can be there and continue to support our guys."
As they watched the selection show at Colbert Hills Golf Course, players said seeing their faces and the K-State name on national TV was something they will never forget.
It was enough to cheer them up 24 hours after dropping the Big 12 Tournament championship game to Kansas.
"It was a lot better feeling than yesterday," Jacob Pullen said.
K-State's highest previous seed was No. 4 in 1988, when it reached the Elite Eight under former coach Lon Kruger.
To advance that far in this year's bracket, K-State will need to defeat the Mean Green in Oklahoma City and then the winner of Florida-BYU. Advance past the first two rounds, and a game with No. 6 Xavier or No. 3 Pittsburgh could loom in Salt Lake City. So could a showdown with No. 1 Syracuse.
Martin said he wasn't thinking anywhere near that far ahead yet. Right now, his main concern is digging up video on North Texas.
"There's not an easy game in this tournament," Martin said. "If you start getting picky about who you play, then you forget where we were at this time a year ago."
A season ago, the Wildcats narrowly missed out on the NCAA and instead played in the NIT. Two seasons ago, they were an 11 seed.
Throughout the Jim Wooldridge and Bob Huggins eras, K-State didn't make the field.
Last year's news was painful to K-State players, and Martin thought his team deserved more respect the past two seasons. But this time around, K-State was comfortable watching, knowing its name was coming with a high seed.
That comfort turned into a thrill as the day went on.
"Getting a No. 2 seed is a blessing for us," Samuels said. "We're extremely excited about playing North Texas and starting over with new life."
