TULSA, Okla. \u2014 Entering the first weekend of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, you may have heard that a No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed.<\/p>\n
The Kansas Jayhawks are looking to make sure that trend doesn\u2019t change on Friday when they take on the UC Davis Aggies.<\/p>\n
After more than a week without playing meaningful basketball, the Jayhawks have ascended upon Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the first two rounds of the tournament. Despite just learning who Kansas\u2019 opponent will be after UC Davis\u2019 Wednesday night First Four win over N.C. Central<\/a>, senior guard Frank Mason III said he thinks his team is prepared for the matchup. He said the Jayhawks watched Wednesday\u2019s game in order to prepare.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the guys did a good job of focusing in on their actions that they run,\u201d Mason said.<\/p>\n Despite constantly increasing attention in terms of National Player of the Year hype, Mason is still focusing on his play above any accolades.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great accomplishment for me just to be mentioned as one of the top candidates for Player of the Year,\u201d Mason said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not something I focus on or really think about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just think about ways we can get better as a team and things I can do to make sure my team is successful, and that\u2019s really what I focus on,\u201d Mason said.<\/p>\n When asked about reestablishing momentum after the loss to TCU, Kansas coach Bill Self said it\u2019s important for the Jayhawks to return to the way they were playing at the end of the regular season.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like for us to get back to playing with a free and easy mind, which I think we\u2019ve done for the most part offensively, but with a sense of urgency defensively that we have to make others play poorly,\u201d Self said.<\/p>\n UC Davis arrived in Tulsa shortly after its victory over N.C. Central in Dayton, Ohio. Although the Aggies were forced to play in one of this year\u2019s de facto play-in games, they\u2019re looking to continue a hot stretch of their own. Coach Jim Les\u2019 squad has won seven of its last eight contests, including wining the Big West Tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re really excited to be in this position, but at the same time we know that we want to keep this team together,\u201d UC Davis senior guard Brynton Lemar said. \u201cSo we\u2019re just trying to embrace the moment and stay with it.\u201d<\/p>\n