Jayhawks, Wolverines and Wolfpack the big names in Wichita March Madness this week

After more than a year of waiting and preparation, we now know who’ll be visiting Wichita this week as March Madness returns to the city after a 24-year absence.

As expected, the headliner team for Wichita’s NCAA weekend will be the University of Kansas.

The Jayhawks were named as one of four No. 1 seeds in the tournament, third-seeded overall, and assigned to Wichita. They’ll play the 16th-seeded Pennsylvania Quakers in a first-round game Thursday.

The next-highest seed after Kansas is the Michigan Wolverines, winners of the Big Ten Conference Tournament. They’ll play the 14-seed Montana Grizzlies.

Houston, a sixth seed that beat Wichita State in Saturday’s American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals, will match up against San Diego State, seeded 11th.

And the field is rounded out with Seton Hall Pirates, an 8-seed, versus 9-seed North Carolina State.

Wichita State is serving as the host university for the tournament stop, which begins with a free-to-attend open practice day Wednesday at Intrust Bank Arena, where the tournament games will be played on Thursday and Saturday.

Local tournament organizers got no advance warning on who would be coming to Wichita. They gathered at an impromptu war room at WSU’s Koch Arena and found out their assigned teams the same time as the rest of America, by watching TBS’ selection show Sunday evening.

Tournament director Brad Pittman, an associate athletic director at WSU, said he’s happy with the teams Wichita got.

“If you’re a basketball fan, it should be an exciting tournament,” he said.

KU will have the dominant fan presence in Wichita this week, said Pittman and Mike Ross, a WSU professor of sports management who’ll be directing the media operations for the tournament.

“Obviously, KU is going to bring a ton of people,” Ross said.

But Michigan and maybe Houston contingents will also be visible presences.

“Michigan has a large following across the country,” Pittman said.

And it will be a bit of history repeating itself.

Michigan last played in Wichita in 1994, the last time the city hosted an NCAA weekend at the old Kansas Coliseum.

Michigan won both its Wichita games in 1994. The Wolverines were a 3-seed then and are a 3-seed again this year.

Bob Hanson, president of the Wichita Sports Commission, said he thinks Michigan and NC State will probably be the biggest draws, other than KU.

“Michigan, Houston, NC State and Seton Hall’s a good draw, I think," Hanson said.

He said while geography favors KU, Michigan, NC State and Houston’s fan bases will travel pretty well.

Seton Hall, based in New Jersey about 15 miles from New York City, may bring some fans from the Big Apple.. "They were tough this year," he said. "They played tough.”

Hanson said to watch out for Penn, champion of the Ivy League, as a possible Cinderella.

“They won’t have a great following (in Wichita), but they’re well-coached," he said. "They’re a great team.”

This story was originally published March 11, 2018 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Jayhawks, Wolverines and Wolfpack the big names in Wichita March Madness this week."