Second-seeded Kansas, without Embiid, wary of No. 15 seed Eastern Kentucky's outside shooting

Eastern Kentucky's Orlando Williams jokes as he poses for a photo with members of his team at the end of practice for the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 20, 2014, in St. Louis. Eastern Kentucky is scheduled to play against Kansas in a second-round game on Friday. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) (The Associated Press)

Basketball fan Richard Freeman, of Chicago, watches Eastern Kentucky practice for the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 20, 2014, in St. Louis. Eastern Kentucky is scheduled to play against Kansas in a second-round game on Friday. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) (The Associated Press)

ST. LOUIS – About the only thing Kansas and Eastern Kentucky have in common is that they are playing each other in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The Jayhawks are the big, bruising bullies from the Big 12, touting a roster stocked with five-star freshmen, a championship-winning coach and enough March pedigree to stack up with St. Patrick.

The Colonels are the scrappy underdogs from the Ohio Valley Conference, whose senior-laden roster would rather shoot 3-pointers than free throws and that relishes the underdog role.

The No. 2 seed Jayhawks and 15th-seeded Colonels meet Friday in St. Louis, with the winner getting seventh-seeded New Mexico or 10th-seeded Stanford in the third round.

"Being the underdog is always fun," said the Colonels' Glenn Cosey, "especially if you can pull off an upset."