Kansas March Madness Hub: Schedule, Seed, Opponent, and Path to Final Four

Kansas learned its fate on Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament, securing a No. 4 seed this March. Although many projections had dropped the Jayhawks to a No. 5 seed, the committee took into account the team's strong strength of schedule during the regular season.

KU is hoping to finally make some noise in the Big Dance. It feels like Bill Self is due for a deep tournament run, given that the program has not made it out of the first weekend since it won a national title in 2022.

The team has not been playing well as of late, but anything is possible in the postseason, especially when you have a player the caliber of Darryn Peterson running the show. The team's first-round matchup is only a few days away, so here is all the necessary information fans should know going into the tourney.

Top Five Seeds in East Region

1. Duke
2. UConn
3. Michigan State
4. Kansas
5. St. John's

The top five seeds in the East region make for an absolutely stacked group of teams. KU has already lost to both Duke and UConn at the beginning of nonconference play.

Not only does the region feature a gauntlet of premier teams, but it also boasts some of the greatest coaches college basketball has to offer. Legendary leaders like Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino, Self, and Dan Hurley are further proof that this region is loaded from top to bottom.

NEW: The March Madness East Region is set🔥https://t.co/OnxHvknwzV pic.twitter.com/5OWaoLr23t
— On3 (@On3) March 15, 2026

NCAA Tournament First Weekend Schedule

First Round - Friday, Mar. 20 (San Diego): No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 Cal Baptist (8:45 p.m. CT tip-off)

Second Round - Sunday, Mar. 22 (San Diego): Winner of No. 4 Kansas and No. 13 Cal Baptist vs. winner of No. 5 St. John's and No. 12 Northern Iowa (TBD tip-off time)

Kansas vs Cal Baptist: Round of 64

Kansas is matched up with No. 13 seed California Baptist in the Round of 64 in a game most fans will expect them to win. The Lancers were 0-1 in Quad 1 games this year and 2-4 in Quad 2, finishing 24-8 and winning the Western Athletic Conference.

Still, Rick Croy's group has shown some bright spots. Led by leading scorer Dominique Daniels Jr. (23.2 PPG on 44.4% shooting), they have the No. 50-ranked defense in the country and a star player who can score in a hurry, making this a potential trap game for a struggling Jayhawk squad.

Kansas gets the No. 4 seed in the East Region.

KU takes on Cal Baptist in San Diego on Friday.
— Michael Swain (@MSwain247) March 15, 2026

Kansas' Potential Path to a Final Four

Upsets can happen at any time in the NCAA Tournament, but if we look strictly at seeding, the projected Round of 32 matchup on Kansas' side of the bracket would come against St. John's. It would make for a historic showdown between two of the greatest coaches in modern college basketball.

The Red Storm have been inconsistent in 2025-26, but they are getting hot at the right time. They recently steamrolled UConn by 20 points in their conference championship game to take home the Big East title.

St. John's isn't a terrible second-round draw for the Jayhawks, given their inefficient offense (44th nationally), but it certainly won't come easy against one of the best coaches college basketball has to offer. The first and only time Pitino and Self have met on the sidelines before was in 2021, when he was at Iona. Fans around the country will be eagerly watching if this matchup comes to fruition.

From there, a meeting with No. 1 seed Duke is possible, but that's too far away to look ahead to. First, the Jayhawks need to focus on stringing together back-to-back wins to avoid another early exit.