Little was expected of Kansas State the last time it reached the Sweet 16.

In fact, the Wildcats received so little attention heading into the regional semifinals back in 2018 that one K-State player suggested they might as well rename that round of the NCAA Tournament as the Sweet 15 because it felt like no one thought they belonged.

That made things even sweeter for K-State when it beat Kentucky as a No. 9 seed and reached the Elite Eight.

Things are different this time around. No. 3 seed K-State will wear white uniforms in all of its games inside Madison Square Garden this week. It is the highest remaining seed in the East Region along with No. 4 Tennessee, No. 7 Michigan State and No. 9 Florida Atlantic.

The favorites to win the East Region, No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Marquette, have already been eliminated.

After starting off March Madness with wins over Montana State and Kentucky, it won’t come as a major surprise if the Wildcats survive and advance their way past that group of teams and they reach their first Final Four since 1964.

“We shocked the world,” K-State guard Desi Sills said following a 75-69 win over Kentucky. “But we aren’t done yet. We came into this tournament expecting to make a deep run and that’s exactly what we intend to do once we get to New York.”

First up is a 5:30 p.m. game against Michigan State, which has won 21 games this season.

Are the Spartans a good matchup for the Wildcats? Or will they pose many problems for Jerome Tang’s team?

Here’s a breakdown of the game, and the remainder of the East Region:

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