- Associated Press - Sunday, March 16, 2014

Undefeated Wichita State’s magical run will continue as the top seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament.

The Shockers (34-0) will face the winner of Wednesday’s first-round game in Dayton, Ohio, between Cal Poly (13-19) and Texas Southern (19-14). The game will be played Friday in St. Louis.

Wichita State reached the Final Four last season as a No. 9 seed before losing to eventual national champion Louisville in the national semifinals.

The Shockers matched the NCAA record for victories to start the season by UNLV in 1990-91 after going 18-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference in the regular season. They won their first conference tournament since 1987 with a win over Indiana State in the championship game.

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Michigan has earned the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament and will face 15th-seeded Wofford on Thursday in Milwaukee.

The Wolverines (25-8) won the Big Ten’s regular season title but fell to rival Michigan State 69-55 on Sunday in the finals of the conference tournament. Michigan reached the national title game a year ago, where it fell to Louisville.

Wofford (20-12) finished tied for third in the Southern Conference. But the Terriers beat Western Carolina to win the league tournament.

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Atlantic Coast Conference tournament runner-up Duke will remain close to home to open the NCAA tournament, earning the third seed in the Midwest Region.

The Blue Devils (26-8), who lost to Virginia in Sunday’s ACC championship game to Virginia, will face No. 14 seed Mercer (26-8) on Friday in Raleigh, N.C. Mercer earned its first berth in the NCAA tournament since 1985 with a win over Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun tournament championship game.

Duke, led by standout Jabari Parker, was third in the ACC during the regular season. The Blue Devils were a No. 2 seed in last year’s NCAA tournament, losing to eventual national champion Louisville in the regional final.

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Defending national champion Louisville is seeded fourth in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament and will face 13th-seeded Manhattan on Thursday in Orlando, Fla.

The Cardinals will enter the NCAA tournament on a roll. Louisville (29-5) has won five straight, including a 71-61 win over Connecticut in the American Athletic Conference tournament final on Saturday.

Manhattan (25-7), out of the Metro Atlantic, finished second to Iona in the regular season. But the Jaspers beat the Gaels 71-68 on March 10 to earn the league’s automatic bid.

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Saint Louis is returning to the NCAA tournament for the third straight season, earning a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Regional.

The Billikens (26-6), winners of the Atlantic 10 regular season title, will face the winner of Tuesday’s first-round game in Dayton, Ohio, between No. 12 seeds North Carolina State (21-13) and Xavier (21-12). The second-round matchup will take place Thursday in Orlando, Fla.

St. Louis lost its opening game of the Atlantic 10 tournament on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by St. Bonaventure. However, it won 19 games in a row during the season before losing four of five games.

The Billikens have won their opening game in the NCAA tournament in each of the last two years, including over New Mexico State as a No. 4 seed last year.

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UMass will be a No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament and play either Iowa or Tennessee in Raleigh, N.C. on Friday.

The Hawkeyes and Volunteers, both seeded 11th, will meet in Dayton in a First Four matchup on Wednesday.

The Minutemen (24-8) will be making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1998. They finished fifth in the Atlantic-10 and lost to George Washington in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. UMass has lost three of its last five games.

Iowa (20-12) was a Big Ten title contender a month ago, but it lost six of its last seven games and fell to Northwestern in the league tournament.

Tennessee (21-12) won five in a row before falling to Florida on Saturday.

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Texas will make its return to the NCAA tournament after a one-year absence, earning the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region.

The Longhorns (23-10), who lost to Baylor in the Big 12 tournament semifinals, will face No. 10 seed Arizona State in the second round of the tournament in Milwaukee on Thursday.

The NCAA berth is the first since 2009 for the Sun Devils (21-11), who finished fifth in the Pac 12 this season despite losing five of their last seven games.

Texas was fourth in the Big 12 during the regular season, and it had top wins at North Carolina as well as over Iowa State and Kansas. The Longhorns lost in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational to Houston last year.

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Preseason No. 1 Kentucky is seeded eighth in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament and will face Kansas State in St. Louis on Friday.

The Wildcats (24-10) fell out of the Top 25 but bounced back with wins over LSU and Georgia in the SEC tournament. Kentucky also pushed top-seeded Florida in Sunday’s tourney final before falling 61-60.

Kansas State (20-12) is one of seven teams from the Big 12 to make the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats have lost their last three, including a 91-85 defeat to league tournament champion Iowa State.

The Kentucky-Kansas State winner faces a likely matchup against top-seeded Wichita State on Sunday.

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