Kansas State women's basketball back in conversation as NCAA Tournament host

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas State women's basketball coach Jeff Mittie made a case for his Wildcats to crack the top 16 and serve as a host for the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Thanks to an unlikely assist from Portland, he may get his wish.

Most bracketology experts had K-State on the outside looking in as a No. 5 seed following its Big 12 Tournament 71-64 semifinal loss to No. 6-ranked Texas, but that was before Portland stunned Gonzaga on Tuesday in the West Coast Conference championship game, possibly opening the door for the Wildcats.

Now CBS Sports and Herhoopstats have the Wildcats replacing Gonzaga on the No. 4 seed line, which means the Wildcats would open the NCAA Tournament at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan. The top four play at home before moving on to regional sites in Albany, New York, and Portland.

ESPN remains a holdout, keeping Gonzaga on the No. 4 line just ahead of K-State.

"I think we have a lot on our resume that a lot of people don't have, and this league has been very good," Mittie said Monday after the Wildcats pushed eventual champion Texas to the brink. "Because of the unbalanced scheduled in the Big 12, we played two games versus Texas, two games versus Oklahoma, two games versus Kansas (and) two games versus Iowa State.

"And those things when you take in the factor of the unbalanced schedule and you play seven of those games with (All-America center) Ayoka Lee, you see how dominant she was."

Indeed, the Wildcats split against top seeds Oklahoma and Texas, plus had a nonconference road victory against Iowa. They have five NET Top 25 wins and no losses outside the NET Top 50.

Here are the latest bracketology projections for Kansas State's women.

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ESPN: 5 seed (Portland)

Projection date: March 14

Charlie Crème was not moved enough by Gonzaga's loss to promote K-State to the No. 4 line. Instead, he has the Wildcats starting out in Spokane, Washington, where they would face No. 12 seed Drake and then the winner between host Gonzaga and No. 13 Cal Baptist. The second-round winner would move on to Portland in the same bracket as No. 3 overall seed Stanford.

CBS Sports: 4 seed

Projection date: Feb. 13

CBS bracketologist Connor Groel only lists his projected seeds without placing them in a bracket, but he did have K-State moving up to the No. 4 line. His other 4 seeds are Virginia Tech, Indiana and Colorado, with Gonzaga dropping to a No. 5. Oklahoma, a one-time No. 4 seed, also is on the 5 line.

Herhoopstats: 4 seed (Albany)

Projection date: Feb. 14

Megan Gauer agreed with Groel that Gonzaga's loss was enough to put K-State back on the 4 line. She has the Wildcats facing No. 13 seed Marshall, with the winner taking on either No. 5 Syracuse or No. 12 South Dakota State. Her second-round winner moves on to the Albany bracket headed by No. 3 overall seed Iowa.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Latest bracketology has Kansas State women's basketball as NCAA host