photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Devon Dotson talks with media members during a press conference following the NCAA selection show on Sunday, March 17, 2019 at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks will play the Huskies in the opening round on Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Kansas freshman Devon Dotson has looked forward to a day like Sunday for as long as he can remember.

That was what made it a bit torturous for Dotson and his Kansas teammates on Sunday, when they had to wait through three sets of commercials and all the way to the final region to learn that the Jayhawks had drawn a No. 4 seed in the Midwest region and would play No. 13 Northeastern at 3 p.m. Thursday in Salt Lake City.

“Yeah, it was like 20 minutes I think,” Dotson said Sunday with a smile. “But it was great to see. Just seeing the matchups, who we may potentially play, because this is a great experience.”

Although their entire focus for the next three days will be on Colonial League runner-up Northeastern — the Jayhawks and Huskies have never met — Dotson and his teammates could not help but take in the entire bracket, like many fans do, watching for friends, Big 12 foes and other blue bloods.

Two of those landed right in KU’s region, with North Carolina slated as the No. 1 seed and Kentucky as the No. 2.

In all, the Jayhawks this season already have played four of the 15 other teams in their region, finishing with a combined record of 3-3 against Kentucky, No. 6 Iowa State, No. 7 Wofford and No. 12 New Mexico State during the 2018-19 season.

“That could help us some,” KU coach Bill Self conceded on Sunday night. “But it only helps if you play them. We have a lot of work to do before we can play those folks.”

That’s the fun part, according to Dotson, who added that his biggest concern while waiting for the bracket to come out on Sunday was simple.

“Just seeing what day we would play, Thursday or Friday, and the location,” he said. “Seeing where they were going to send us.”

Now that they know their destination — Salt Lake City to start and Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., for Rounds 3 and 4 if the Jayhawks survive their trip to Utah — the idea for the seven Jayhawks who have never suited up in an NCAA Tournament game is to buy in to the only saying that matters this time of year — survive and advance.

Kansas did that for three days last week, falling in the Big 12 tournament title game, and they hope to use the lessons they learned close to home to get them back there.

“I think it helps us out, prepares us for the (NCAA) tournament,” Dotson said of playing in Kansas City last week. “Just playing on that type of court, in that type of environment. It gets us acclimated to what we’re going to see in the tournament. So it definitely helped out a lot. We’re pretty young, but I feel like we’re prepared for the moment.”

First-time in Utah?

Although KU coach Bill Self’s most recent trip to Utah came just a few weeks ago, when he made the trip to Mount Pleasant, Utah, to watch 4-star small forward Tristan Enaruna, the 105th-ranked player in the Class of 2019, the Jayhawks’ leader said he assumed that most of his players had never visited the Beehive State.

“I didn’t get a chance to ask every individual if they’ve ever passed through there,” Self said. “But I would venture to guess the vast majority have not. I went recruiting up there not too long ago, so I’m a vet when it comes to the city and cultures and all those things.”

So was Self correct?

“I’ve never been there before,” Dotson said. “I heard it’s a great city. It should be fun, playing Northeastern out there, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Added junior forward Dedric Lawson, of a conversation with sophomore guard Marcus Garrett right after the bracket came out: “He was just thinking how far it was. It’ll probably be a good thing, going away from home, just going out there playing in a different state. I know I haven’t been there before.”

Self on the Big 12

After being a 7- and sometimes 8-bid league nearly all season long in the eyes of most Bracketologists, the Big 12 Conference saw just six teams made this year’s field of 68.

Said Self of the conference’s draw, which included TCU, Texas, Oklahoma State and West Virginia being left out: “I wasn’t surprised at all, but I was disappointed. I think that VCU losing and Saint Mary’s and Oregon winning probably hurt Texas and TCU’s chances. I’m disappointed because our league was better than just 60 percent. But in this year I’m not sure we would have gotten 80 percent, but I think we could have gotten one more. I’m disappointed for them because they had good years. But, to me, it’s kind of a strange year because you have all the power leagues, none of them got as many as they were projected to get.”

3 ACC teams snag 1 seeds

Asked if he ever thought he would see a day when one conference received three of the four No. 1 seeds in a single NCAA Tournament, Self expressed surprise and approval that Duke, Virginia and North Carolina all landed on the top line.

“Has it happened before,” he asked. “It may be the first time ever. But if you really study it, I think the committee got it right. If Kentucky had won their tournament I think they could have been a 1 seed, and deservedly so, but it’s hard to put a team that’s a No. 1 overall seed in the tournament (Duke) and have another team (North Carolina) that beat them two out of three and the one they lost was on a last-second tip-in or they could have beat you three times. I think they got it right in terms of the teams that were the best from start to finish. There were some teams that weren’t there, like Michigan State or Tennessee. Anybody on the 2 line can beat anyone. You’re always going to have someone disappointed and I don’t think it’s a slam dunk but I do think they got it right.”