No.16 Prairie View (13-16) at No.1 Kansas (34-3)    10:15 pm EST

Midwest Region                                 Oklahoma City, OK
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Number one seed Kansas begins the road to college basketball
immortality against ultimate Cinderella and 16th-seeded Prairie
View in a Midwest Region first-round battle at Oklahoma City. 

With four victories and a trip to San Antonio for the Final
Four, Kansas (34-3) would set the all-time record for victories
in a season.  The current record of 37 wins is shared by the
1986 Duke squad, which lost to Louisville in the NCAA title
game, and the 1987 Nevada Las-Vegas team that fell to Indiana in
the NCAA semifinals. 

The Jayhawks, who will be making their 27th NCAA Tournament
appearance, have suffered heartache in recent years.  Kansas has
been a first or second seed the past three years but only was
able to reach the round of eight once, losing to Syracuse in
1996.  Last season, Kansas fell to Arizona in the regional
semifinals and in 1995 was defeated by Virginia at the same
juncture. 

Kansas has as much talent as any team in the nation with nine
players that contribute significant minutes.  The two stars who
stand out are forwards Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce.  Despite
missing nine games with a broken hand, LaFrentz averaged 19.7
points and led the team with 11.2 rebounds to rank third in the
nation. 

Pierce, a junior who is expected to depart early for the NBA
draft, contributed 20.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and is coming off
an MVP performance at the Big 12 Conference tournament.  He
scored 69 points in the three games at Kansas City, including a
26-point effort in the championship game win over Oklahoma. 

Although the frontcourt -- which also includes junior T.J. Pugh
-- gets most of the publicity, the backcourt is just as solid. A
problem could be senior Billy Thomas, who missed the Big 12
Tournament with a left quadriceps strain and has yet to return
to practice. 

Thomas, who averages 13.8 points and connected on 101-of-145
three-pointers, is joined by point guard Ryan Robertson, who was
second in the Big 12 with 6.2 assists per game. 

Prairie View (13-16) will enter the Tournament as one of the
longest shots in history after claiming the Southwestern
Athletic Conference Tournament title as the seventh seed.  The
Panthers are in the "Big Dance" for the first time in school
history. 

Prairie View, which has won nine of its last 12 games, is led by
guard Tamarron Sharpe, who averages 17.1 points, third in the
SWAC, and takes twoce as many shots as any of his teammates.
Forward Julius Marble is the top rebounder, pulling down 6.9 per
contest. 

Prairie View, the only team in the field of 64 with a losing
record, has an RPI ranking of 263rd because three of its wins
came against non-Division I opponents. 

Although Kansas has never faced Prairie View, this is the second
straight season the Jayhawks will play the SWAC champion in the
NCAA Tournament.  Last season they defeated Jackson State,
78-64, in the first round.  No team from the SWAC has ever won a
Tournament game. 

The winner of this game will face the winner of the Rhode
Island-Murray State game in Sunday's second round.