Kansas State to face Creighton in NCAA Tournament as No. 9 seed

Kansas State will play in one of the most intriguing first-round games of the NCAA Tournament later this week.

The Wildcats are headed to the Big Dance as the No. 9 seed in the South Region, where they will play No. 8 seed Creighton and former K-State guard Marcus Foster on Friday in Charlotte, N.C. The game will tip off at 5:50 p.m. and air on TNT.

Many are already looking forward to the matchup.

"We are all excited," junior K-State forward Dean Wade said. "It is kind of a relief to know where we are at and who we are playing. We don’t have to worry about being in any more. We are in, finally. We can just focus on Creighton and see what we can do there."

As is the case in most NCAA Tournament games involving 8/9 seeds, a close game is expected. The Bluejays opened as two-point favorites Sunday night. Creighton (21-11) is coming off a third-place finish in the Big East. K-State (22-11) is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Big 12.

They appear evenly matched.

The winner will likely play Virginia, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, in the second round Sunday. The Cavaliers play No. 16 seed Maryland-Baltimore County in the first round.

For now, both teams are focused solely on each other. For K-State coach Bruce Weber, that means preparing for Foster, a former player he recruited and tutored for two seasons before dismissing him from the team.

"If you find a way to win," Weber said, "then you have to play against (former K-State guard) Nigel Johnson (and Virginia), probably. So we get all our former guys. It’s reunion week. Once the game starts, it’s fine. If anything, we know his tendencies and we coached him. We helped him grow as a player. We have just got to go play. All we can worry about is our team."

Foster has matured into a more complete player since transferring to Creighton.

He is averaging 20.3 points as a senior, and has been one of the Bluejays' leaders alongside Khyri Thomas. Weber called Foster "a good player."

The game shouldn't be awkward for any of K-State's rotation players. Only senior walk-on Mason Schoen knows Foster personally.

Last year, when Creighton was in the same NCAA Tournament sub-regional as K-State, Foster said he still respected his former coach and team.

“I have no problem with (Weber),” Foster said then. “He had a job to do and I also had a job to do. I wasn’t doing my job. The best thing for him to do was to get rid of the situation we had over there. There are no hard feelings. Everything worked out for the best.”

Weber has also moved on. He seemed more concerned with Creighton's up-tempo style of play, which has allowed them to average 84 points per game, than Foster.

"Defending them is going to be a challenge," Weber said. "They are great in transition."

K-State played without junior guard Barry Brown and junior forward Dean Wade in its last game at the Big 12 Tournament, a semifinal loss to KU, but both players said they will play on Friday.

They learned a lot from their NCAA experiences last year, a victory over Wake Forest in the First Four as a No. 11 seed and loss in the first round to No. 6 seed Cincinnati. They want to build off it.

"It was just a surreal moment. It kind of came and went fast," Brown said. "It just felt good to get in there and win a game. The biggest thing I learned was just to take every game seriously. It’s really survive and advance. You can’t look ahead at all toward your next opponent. If you can’t beat your first opponent there is no next opponent."

This story was originally published March 11, 2018 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Kansas State to face Creighton in NCAA Tournament as No. 9 seed."