Two No. 13 seeds upset a No. 4 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament – Buffalo over Arizona and Marshall over Wichita State – and while it’s rare that two No. 13 seeds advance in the same year, it’s perhaps more common than you might think that teams on that seed line make the second round. Teams that receive a No. 13 seed win roughly 21 percent of their first-round matchups, which is slightly less than one per year, on average.

Keep that in mind when you pick between No. 4 seed Kanas and No. 13 seed Northeastern in the Midwest Region.

Overview

Date/Time: Thursday, March 21; After conclusion of Auburn-New Mexico State (1:30 p.m. ET tip-off)

kenpom.com prediction: Kansas def. Northeastern 76-68

Point spread: Kansas -8.5 (Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook)

No. 4 seed Kansas

Coach: Bill Self

Record: 25-9 (12-6)

Conference tournament finish: Runner-up

Player to watch: Dedric Lawson

What a weird season it’s been for the Jayhawks, ranging from their No. 1 preseason AP Top 25 ranking, 10-0 start to the season, losses of center Udoka Azubuike and guard Lagerald Vick, and The Streak finally coming to an end.

Kansas lost to Iowa State in the Big 12 conference tournament championship and it hasn’t won more than three games in a row since its 10-0 start. Its two three-game winning streaks this calendar year featured just one win against an NCAA Tournament team.

So think very carefully before picking the Jayhawks to advance past the Sweet 16.

Kansas is still talented, led by redshirt junior forward Dedric Lawson, who’s averaging a team-high 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Without Vick and Azubuike, who were the team’s second and third-leading scorers, the pressure is on freshman guards Devon Dotson, Ochai Agbaji and Quentin Grimes. Agbaji was supposed to redshirt this season but he was thrust into action after the team’s roster suffered personnel losses.

If Grimes can shoot the way he did against West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament (5-of-8 from three) and not the way he did against Iowa State (0-of-6 from three), then perhaps the Jayhawks’ ceiling can be higher than it’s appeared to be the last two months. Kansas has a top-35 offense and top-15 defense, according to kenpom.com, but those stats are influenced by players who are no longer available.

[RELATED: Print Your 2019 NCAA Tournament Bracket Here]

No. 13 seed Northeastern

Coach: Bill Coen

Record: 23-10 (14-4)

Conference tournament finish: Won CAA

Player to watch: Vasa Pusica

Northeastern is one of the best shooting teams in the country and it will need a good day from the field to make up for its No. 145-ranked defense. The Huskies shoot 38.8 percent from three (14th nationally), 56.4 percent inside the arc (11th) and 75.1 percent from the free throw line (35th). They’re led by G Vasa Pusica, who averages a team-high 17.8 points and 4.2 assists per game.

More than 46 percent of Northeastern’s shot attempts are from behind the arc and five players shoot at least 39 percent from three, so the Huskies should be treated as a serious candidate to pull off a potential first-round upset. They’re coming off of a 14-of-31 (46.2%) 3-point shooting performance against Hofstra in the CAA conference title. That’s the type of high-level outside shooting that could send a blue blood home early.

The Huskies have a pair of 6-10 seniors, Anthony Green and Jeremy Miller, and one of the two typically plays alongside four guards. Even with a thinner frontcourt rotation than desired, Kansas has been playing two bigs together frequently – usually Lawson alongside David McCormack or Mitch Lightfoot – so it’ll be interesting to see if Kansas Coach Bill Self’s desired two-big lineups create an advantage for the Jayhawks or if the Huskies can force them to play small.

MORE: 2019 NCAA Tournament Schedule, Dates, Times, Locations