When the NCAA Tournament field was announced on Sunday, Kansas forward KJ Adams, Jr., was shocked by KU's path back to the Final Four.

On Sunday afternoon, Kansas was named the No. 1 seed in the West Region. The Jayhawks finished the season with an overall record of 27-7 and 13-5 in Big 12 play. Kansas won the Big 12 regular season championship outright and advanced to the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament this past weekend.

Kansas, despite its resume and 17 quad-1 wins, was sent out West instead of being placed in the Midwest Region.

A No. 1 seed for the 16th time, Kansas will face Howard, winners of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament with a 65-64 win on Saturday. Howard will enter the tournament with an overall record of 22-12, including 12-3 in the MEAC.

Earning a No. 1 seed didn’t come as a surprise to KJ Adams, Jr., but the fact that Kansas was slotted in the West Region was something Adams, Jr., didn’t expect.

“I’m just shocked that we didn’t get the second overall No. 1 seed, but that happens sometimes and I’m just excited that we get to play again. We had a tough loss last night (Texas), but we’re getting ready to bounce back and have a good game.”

Considering KU’s resume and number of quad-1 wins, it appeared that the Jayhawks would be awarded the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region when the brackets were announced on Sunday. However, it was Houston, not Kansas, that was awarded the opportunity to play in Kansas City the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament should they advance past the first weekend.

Now that the brackets have been announced and the field is set, Jalen Wilson, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward from Denton, Texas is looking forward to facing Howard in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

“We’re super excited,” said Wilson. “It’s a lot of good competition on our side and there will be some fun games. That’s the beauty of March Madness, having fun and being able to play for the highest of stakes.”

Should Kansas take care of business against Howard on Thursday, the Jayhawks will face either Arkansas, the No. 8 seed in the West Region, or Illinois, the No. 9 seed.

That business begins against Howard, in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday afternoon. Should Kansas advance past this weekend, the Jayhawks will travel to Las Vegas, Nev., and not Kansas City, Mo.

Not surprisingly, Norm Roberts is very much looking forward to the start of KU’s journey.

“Oh, excited,” said Norm Roberts. “It's always an exciting time of the year. Our guys were really happy being the number one seed. That's an unbelievable accomplishment. Coach talked to our guys earlier today and said, "If that happens for us, that means that you're one of the teams that have a chance to cut down nets." And that's such a great accomplishment from what they did and he was... How proud he was of them and what we've accomplished.

“But this a new season,” said Roberts. “We got three seasons. You got non-conference season, you got conference season, then you got postseason and it's one-and-done time and you got to lock in. Everybody's got to give five to 10% more in their focus, their energy, and just understanding what we need to do to win.”