The Kansas State Wildcats are a fifth seed and will play No. 12 Utah State in the first round while the winner of fourth seed Wisconsin and No. 13 seed Belmont awaits. The Missouri Tigers are the 11th seed and will play Cincinnati in round one and, if they win, await the winner of third seed UConn and 14th seed Bucknell.
Who was the harder first and second round matchup? SB Nation's Rock M Nation says that would be K-State.
When you struggle as much as Mizzou did down the stretch, you can't expect a favorable draw. That said ... stylistically, I'll take my chance with Mizzou's draw (Cincinnati-UConn) rather than Kansas State's (Utah State-Wisconsin). Mizzou might not escape the first round, but I think they have a better chance of making the Sweet 16 here than they would have playing back-to-back Nebraska-only-better teams.
Everyone it seems had trouble with Nebraska at some point this year so I see what they're saying. K-State is a slight, two-point favorite over Utah State while Mizzou is, according to some, a one-point favorite over Cincy.
We'll see if both of them can win and, if they do, we'll be able to answer who had the harder seed.