RCW: NCAA Preview

KU Unions Ad Kansas (27-7, 13-5 Big 12) enters the 2018 NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed for third-consecutive season and the 14th time since seeding began in 1979. It is the eighth time in head coach Bill Self’s 15 seasons at Kansas that the Jayhawks are a No. 1 seed. KU will open the event at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita on Thursday, March 15 at 1 p.m., on TBS. KU will play No. 16 seed Pennsylvania (24-8, 12-2 Ivy League). The Quakers tied Harvard for the Ivy League regular-season title and won the conference tournament to receive their automatic bid. Kansas is appearing in its NCAA-record 29th-consecutive NCAA Tournament, a run which began in 1990.
 
The winner of the Kansas-Penn contest will face the winner of No. 8 seed Seton Hall-No. 9 seed N.C. State on Saturday, March 17. The team which advances out of Saturday’s matchup will play in the Midwest Region’s Sweet 16 in Omaha, March 23 and 25.

The 2018 Final Four will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on March 31 and April 2. Kansas won the 2008 NCAA National Championship in the Alamodome.
 
PENNSYLVANIA (24-8, 12-2 Ivy League)
Location: Philadelphia, Pa.
Colors: Red & Blue
Mascot: Quakers
Website: www.pennathletics.com
Head Coach: Steve Donahue (Ursinus, 1984)

  • Like Kansas, Penn (24-8, 12-2 Ivy) won both its conference’s regular-season and league tournament championships in 2017-18. The Quakers tied Harvard for the regular-season title with a 12-2 league record. It was the school’s 26th all-time Ivy League title. Penn then defeated Harvard, 68-65, in the Ivy League Tournament championship game to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
  • Penn is playing in its 24th NCAA Tournament and its first since the 2006-07 season. The Quakers have 13 tournament victories with their most recent in the 1994 event, a win against Nebraska (90-80).
  • Penn is coached by Steve Donahue, who is 48-40 in his third season as the Quakers’ head coach. Overall, Donahue is 248-254 in his 17th season. Donahue was the 2018 Ivy League Coach of the Year.
  • Winners of seven of its last eight games, Penn features three All-Ivy League performers. Sophomore F A.J. Brodeur, an All-Ivy League First Team selection and the Ivy League Tournament MVP, is the team’s top rebounder at 7.1 per game and adds 13.1 ppg. Sophomore G Ryan Betley, a second-team all-league selection, leads Penn in scoring at 14.5 ppg and averages 2.5 3-pointers made per game. Senior G Darnell Foreman (10.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg) was an honorable mention All-Ivy selection and joined Brodeur on the Ivy League All-Tournament Team.