The Kansas men's basketball team will start the postseason where it started the 2024-25 season several months ago.
This time, however, the matchup between the 7th-seeded Jayhawks and 10th-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks will be for big stakes.
KU and Arkansas will square off in the first round of this year's NCAA Tournament at 6:10 p.m. central time on Thursday on CBS.
"Nothing surprised me," KU coach Bill Self said after the bracket was revealed on Sunday. "We I didn't have any anticipation, but I told my staff a week ago, you watch 7 versus 10, we're playing Arkansas. You could ask any of them; I've been saying that for a week."
The two met back in October in an exhibition game in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with the Razorbacks running past the Jayhawks in that one.
Both teams have been through a lot since then. But, at the end of the day, this 7-10, first-round NCAA Tournament battle will still come down to the matchup of Kansas coach Bill Self against first-year Arkansas coach John Calipari.
Talk about adding a chapter to an already incredible history between two Hall of Fame coaches.
"The committee knew what they were doing with this one," KU big man Hunter Dickinson said with a sly smile on Sunday evening. "Bill Self vs. John Calipari and then the winner (could get) Rick Pitino in Round 2 in Providence."
Self and Cal have met for the national title — twice, with each winning one — and in several other high-profile games when KU played Kentucky while Calipari was in Lexington.
Now, they'll meet in a first-round NCAA Tournament game in Providence, Rhode Island on Saturday. Game times will be released later tonight.
"It's a hard draw, but you deserve a hard draw," Self said while meeting with the local media after the bracket was revealed. "I like it. I'm looking forward to it. I think it'll be fun."
"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," Self added. "So, yeah, it's a hard draw; but that's the position that we're in and every other 7 seed is in."
The winner of the KU-Arkansas clash will advance to Round 2 on Saturday to play the winner of the 2-15 first-round game between St. John's and Omaha.
Arkansas enters the postseason at 20-13 overall and as winners of five of their last seven. The Razorbacks finished 8-10 in the SEC, which got a whopping 14 teams into the Big Dance.
The Razorbacks are expected to get high-impact guard Boogie Fland back for the NCAA Tournament, but they also could be without 6-8 forward Adou Theiro because of injury.
Kansas, meanwhile, is as healthy as they have been for most of the season, with Shak Moore's nagging injury being the lone exception.
One other worthy note from that exhibition meeting between these two five months ago: KU big man Hunter Dickinson did not suit up for that one, so the Razorbacks will be seeing a slightly different KU team than the one they saw back then.
Still, the Hogs have KU's attention. KU guard Zeke Mayo noted that he remembers Arkansas being incredibly fast, strong, athletic and talented.
"They're a great team," Mayo said. "They're coached by a great coach. And it's gonna be a great game, for sure."
"It's March Madness, anything can happen," Mayo added. "So I mean, we like where we're at. It's going to be a tough two games to win, but we'll prepare as best as we can and look forward to it."
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