(SportsNetwork.com) - Kentucky became the second team in as many years to finish the regular season unbeaten, and it will take its 34-0 record into the NCAA Tournament as the top overall seed.
John Calipari's Wildcats are the first major conference team to enter the big dance unbeaten since Indiana in 1976, and with nine former McDonald's All- Americans on the roster and a number of future NBA lottery picks, they are the heavy favorite to cut down the next in Indianapolis.
Kentucky, which will meet either Manhattan or Hampton in the Round of 64, hopes to fare better than Wichita State did last season. The Shockers also finished the regular season with a 34-0 record before falling to, of all teams, Kentucky, in the Sweet 16.
Wichita State is a No. 7 seed in the region and will have a chance to exact revenge against the Wildcats if both teams win their first three games.
Big-12 regular-season champion Kansas fell in the conference finals to Iowa State but still earned the second seed in the region. WAC champ New Mexico State will oppose them as a No. 15 seed.
No. 3 Notre Dame, which captured its first tournament title in program history by taking down North Carolina in the ACC finals, will take on CAA winner Northeastern, while fourth-seed Maryland, which just completed a successful first season in the Big Ten, will do battle with Horizon League champ and 13th-seed Valparaiso.
Other seeds in the region include: West Virginia (5), Butler (6), Cincinnati (8), Purdue (9), Indiana (10), Texas (11) and Buffalo (12).
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