Where does ESPN’s latest bracketology place Kansas & Mizzou? What about K-State?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- ESPN projects Kansas as a No. 5 NCAA seed facing Liberty in East Regional.
- Missouri slated as No. 7 seed, would open against 10-seed San Diego State.
- Kansas State lands in 'next four out'; eight Big 12 teams make bracket.
Kansas men’s basketball will be awarded a No. 5 seed and Missouri a 7 seed, while Kansas State will not snare a bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament, projects the most recent bracketology of ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
Lunardi’s current bracket, released Tuesday, has placed KU and MU both in the East Regional. KU, according to ESPN, would meet No. 12 seed Liberty in the first round with the winner tangling with either No. 4 Auburn or No. 13 High Point in the Round of 32.
Missouri, according to Lunardi, would play No. 10 seed San Diego State in the first round, with the winner of that game taking on No. 2 Michigan or No. 15 Youngstown State in the Round of 32. The regional feeds into Washington, D.C.
Kansas State is listed behind Washington, Marquette, Indiana and SMU in Lunardi’s “next four out” category. Wichita State and the Kansas City Roos are not mentioned at all in the current ESPN bracket projections. The No. 1 seeds in the current projections: Houston (Midwest), Purdue (West), Duke (East) and defending national champ Florida (South).
Eight Big 12 teams will make the tourney, Lunardi projects. KU and Houston are projected to be joined by Texas Tech (No. 6, Midwest), Baylor (No. 9, South), Arizona (No. 3, South), Iowa State (No. 3, East), BYU (No. 2, West) and Cincinnati (No. 8, West).
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Where does ESPN’s latest bracketology place Kansas & Mizzou? What about K-State?."
