🏀 Kansas to Face Top-Seed Stanford in NCAA Second Round

STANFORD, Calif. – Kansas has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament, where the No. 8-seeded Jayhawks will face defending National Champion Stanford, the No. 1-seed in the Spokane Regional and the No. 2-ranked team in the country.

Tipoff between the Jayhawks and the Cardinal is set for 8 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 20, and the game will be televised on ESPN with Tiffany Greene and Steffi Sorensen on the call.

The Jayhawks opened the program’s 14th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance with a 77-58 victory over Georgia Tech on March 18, marking KU’s largest victory ever in the tournament. Kansas has now won three straight first-round games in the NCAA Tournament to improve to 14-13 all-time in the event.

Next up for Kansas is top-seeded Stanford, who is 29-3 on the year and the undefeated champions of the Pac-12. The Cardinal won the National Championship in 2021 and have become a consistent NCAA Tournament presence under Tara VanDerveer, reaching 21 Elite Eights and 14 Final Fours while winning natinoal titles in 1990, 1992 and 2021.

Kansas is now 14-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with the first trip to the Big Dance coming in 1987. The Jayhawks would make a return trip in 1988 before qualifying in nine consecutive years from 1992-2000. KU is making its third NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000, with previous trips in 2012 and 2013.

Sunday’s NCAA Tournament second round matchup will be the first-ever meeting between Kansas and Stanford in women’s basketball.

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With a win, Kansas would advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the Spokane Regional, where it would face the winner of a second-round matchup between No. 4-seed Maryland and No. 12-seed Florida Gulf Coast. The regional semifinal will be played in Spokane, Washington, on Friday, March 25th.