No. 24 Kansas State received its 15th NCAA Tournament invitation and second straight under coach Jeff Mittie as the seventh-seeded Wildcats will host No. 10 seed Drake on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.
It's the 14th appearance in the last 16 years for the Wildcats, and the first since 2007 and 11th overall for the Bulldogs.
Manhattan was selected as the host site for this pod because Maples Pavilion, the home arena for Stanford, is the site of the Pac-12 gymnastics championship.
It is the first time that Kansas State has hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament since 2003. Kansas State is 5-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament in Manhattan.
"You felt strongly that you were going to get in, but obviously until you see your name come up you never know," K-State coach Jeff Mittie said. "You could start to see the chance to host. That was the exciting part, and quite honestly, the nervous part."
It won't be an easy road for the Wildcats as Drake comes in hot. The Bulldogs have won 22 straight games, including going 18-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference and winning the conference tournament.
"Drake has an outstanding team," Mittie said. "That will be a great first-round match-up. You're only guaranteed one (game). That's this time of the year. I feel good about our senior group. The leadership has been great.
"(Drake is a) good, balanced team, a team that really passes the ball very well. (They) score it very well. (They are) a very talented team."
Kansas State is led by seniors Kindred Wesemann and Brenna Lewis with 14.0 and 13.7 points per game respectively. Lewis leads the Wildcats with 8.3 rebounds per game.
Drake is averaging almost 20 more points per game (83.1 to 64.3) than their opponents. The Bulldogs are shooting a full 10 percent better (.488 to .382) from the field, and almost six percent better (.365 to .307) from 3-point range.
The fact that the first-round game is just three hours from their Des Moines, Iowa, campus has the Bulldogs excited.
"These players love playing together, and even more important than any of that is how much our fans love being a part of this," Drake coach Jennie Baranczyk said. "We're just so thrilled that it's drivable and our fans can get there.
"We're just excited to play. That's what we've been talking about the entire season -- just to have the opportunity to keep playing."
Drake has five players averaging in double-figures, led by Lizzy Windell at 21.1 points per game. Five different players average between 4.5 and 6.1 rebounds per game.
While being the host team has its advantages, Mittie knows that there are additional obstacles to playing at home.
"Make sure they understood to control the things they can control," he said about what he told his team about preparation. "Being at home is different. On the road you control (everything). At home, it's great to play in front of your fans, but there are more distractions (with) tickets, classes, friends, all those things. Let's enjoy this but control what you can control and enjoy it the best you can."
