Kansas players huddle around Kansas guard Darryn Peterson (22) as he answers questions following the Jayhawks’ 78-73 win over TCU, Thursday, March 12, 2026, at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas has received a No. 4 seed in the East region of the NCAA Tournament and will open its March Madness run against No. 13 seed Cal Baptist on Friday in San Diego.

The game will take place at Viejas Arena, the home of San Diego State, at 8:45 p.m. Central time. It will be televised on CBS. The Jayhawks and Lancers are paired with No. 5 seed St. John’s, the Big East tournament champion, and No. 12 seed Northern Iowa, the Missouri Valley Conference tournament champion; the winners of these two matchups will face off on Sunday.

Head coach Bill Self said that he’s never liked any tournament draw. But if KU wasn’t going to be able to play close to home at a site like Oklahoma City or St. Louis, San Diego was his next choice.

“I like where we’re going, and I actually like that it’s on Friday,” Self added. “Just to give us an extra day. We could use some practice time. I like that.”

The Jayhawks finished the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, with an overall record of 23-10 after a semifinal loss to Houston and managed to remain on the No. 4 line as the No. 15 overall team despite significant wins for teams close to them in the hierarchy, such as the Johnnies, as well as Arkansas, which won the SEC tournament.

Self said his team had responded well in its return to practice on Sunday.

“I actually thought we were great today,” he said. “And we watched tape of Kansas City, and then we watched of tape of when we were playing much better against ball-screen coverage, things like that. And we had a very spirited practice today. Yeah, I feel good about that. No matter what, in this sport, whenever you don’t feel well, you always feel better after you practice, and the guys’ attitudes were great, so they’re excited.”

Cal Baptist, only a handful of years removed from its move to Division I, made its first NCAA Tournament in program history by narrowly defeating Utah Valley in the WAC tournament final on Saturday night.

“It’s the first time some of our guys have made it too,” Self said. “Could it be a factor in some ways? Yeah, I guess it could. But I coached Tulsa when it was the first time any of those guys had played in the tournament, and they actually did fairly well, so I don’t know that that’s a huge factor.

“And Riverside’s close to San Diego, obviously, so I’m sure they’ll bring a pretty good contingent of fans, and people out there will cheer for the home team. We certainly have to anticipate that.”

The Lancers got the bulk of their scoring, both on Saturday and throughout the season, from guard Dominique Daniels Jr., who averages 23.2 points per game.

“I know that that’ll be a top priority,” Self said, “but I’m looking forward to studying them tonight and (to) have a better feel and a better book on them.”

St. John’s, meanwhile, features former Jayhawk and Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor, while Northern Iowa, which ran the table in its league tournament by winning four straight games as a No. 6 seed, is led by four-year starting guard Trey Campbell. As Self pointed out, his team has already lost to Northern Iowa in the postseason once (in 2010, in a memorable upset).

“I’ve never played Rick (Pitino, St. John’s head coach) in the tournament,” Self said. “Of course, obviously, I believe he’s as good as our business has. We’ll have to prepare really hard for that, if we’re fortunate enough to get past and beat Cal Baptist, which we’re not going to look ahead past anybody and certainly not them. But I’m happy for Zuby.”

KU was sorted into the East region, which means that if it emerges from the first weekend, it will play in Washington at Capital One Arena. The rest of the region comprises No. 1 seed Duke, No. 2 UConn, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 6 Louisville, No. 7 UCLA, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 9 TCU, No. 10 UCF, No. 11 South Florida, No. 14 North Dakota State, No. 15 Furman and No. 16 Siena.

KU as a program is 2-1 in its history in the city of San Diego, including, during the Self era, a 70-57 victory against San Diego State at Viejas Arena on Dec. 22, 2015.

“Perry Ellis had a big game,” Self recalled; indeed, he scored 20 points to lead the Jayhawks. “… It’s a great venue because if I’m not mistaken, out there the inside of the venue’s terrific, but the outside of the venue is all outdoors, which is kind of cool. You obviously can only do that in certain areas of the country, and that’s one of them.”

The Jayhawks have not played NCAA Tournament games in the Pacific time zone since 2007, when they beat Southern Illinois but lost to UCLA in the Elite Eight in San Jose, California.