After receiving a No. 7 seed for the first time since 1981, the Jayhawks will take on No. 10 Arkansas at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island, on Thursday at 6:10 p.m. Central Time. The game will be televised on CBS.

"This is probably the most inconsistent feelings that I've had going through a season that I can remember," KU coach Bill Self said. "You get excited and then you get kind of not quite as excited and all that stuff. The inconsistency from our play has created maybe inconsistency in an adrenaline and excitement level ... The one thing about the NCAA Tournament, everybody's 0-0. It's a fresh start for everybody."

KU is sorted into the West Region, meaning that if it advances past the first two rounds it will take part in second-weekend action at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

KU previously faced the Razorbacks in a charity exhibition at Bud Walton Arena on Oct. 25 and lost 85-69.

First-year Arkansas head coach John Calipari, formerly of Kentucky, and Self have split a dozen official head-to-head matchups in their careers, including a pair of national title games, a total that does not include October's exhibition.

"To me, he's always great at recruiting great players and terrific athletes," Self said. "I think they do a good job coaching them too, and I think they usually guard, and I'm sure they'll do that, and they're battle-tested obviously going through the grind of the SEC. It'll be a fun, competitive game."

The exhibition was not reflective of the season ahead in a variety of ways, most notably in that KU played without center Hunter Dickinson, wing Rylan Griffen and guard Shakeel Moore and got more points from point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (26) than Harris has scored at any point in his career.

Freshman guard Boogie Fland, who put up 22 points for Arkansas in that game, missed much of the season due to a hand injury but is expected to return for the NCAA Tournament.

"They're very athletic, very strong, physical, fast," KU guard Zeke Mayo said. "They're a great team, they're coached by a great coach. Neither team was really at full strength when we played out there for the exhibition."

Led by its guards Fland and D.J. Wagner, the Razorbacks torched KU in that exhibition and prompted some significant preseason hype, especially given that the Jayhawks entered the year at No. 1 in the nation. But Arkansas opened SEC play with five straight losses and spent much of the season on the tournament bubble, though it solidified its postseason status with a string of late victories over Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.

"It's a hard draw, but you deserve a hard draw," Self said. "You're a 7 seed, you're going to play a team that's similar to you regardless, and then you're going to have to play a team that's had one of the best years in the country in the second game -- regardless if it was Arkansas, regardless if it was St. John's."

The Jayhawks also faced the Razorbacks, albeit a different iteration of the team led by now-USC coach Eric Musselman, in the 2023 Round of 32 and lost 72-71, when Self was unable to coach due to a health scare.

The No. 2/No. 15 matchup in the other half of KU and Arkansas's bracket this time around features No. 2 St. John's, led by another coaching luminary in Rick Pitino, and No. 15 Omaha.

"I feel like the committee kind of knew what they were doing with this one," Dickinson said. "You know, Bill Self and John Calipari, two of the most, I feel like, prestigious coaches in college basketball history, going at it, and then the winner gets to (possibly) play Rick Pitino in Providence, and so I feel like they kind of knew what they were doing with that."

The rest of the region includes No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 4 Maryland, No. 5 Memphis, No. 6 Missouri, No. 8 UConn, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 11 Drake, No. 12 Colorado State, No. 13 Grand Canyon, No. 14 UNCW and No. 16 Norfolk State.

Kansas head coach Bill Self talks about the Jayhawks’ seeding during a press conference following the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday, March 16, 2025 at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas will face Arkansas in the first round in Providence, Rhode Island. Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas guard Zeke Mayo (5) takes a question from reporters along side center Hunter Dickinson during a press conference following the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday, March 16, 2025 at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks will take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in the first round in Providence, Rhode Island. Photo by Nick Krug