NCAA: Kansas coach Bill Self picks rival Kansas State to beat No. 5 seed Butler

NCAA: Kansas coach picks K-State for win

Frank Martin is earning quite the reputation for his pregame and halftime pep talks, and before Kansas State’s regional final against Butler, the fiery coach with the often-furrowed brow toned it down a bit while giving the CBS cameras a little glimpse of his locker room:

“We’ve talked about it for 3 years: You never know when opportunities are going to come across in your life,” Martin said told his Wildcats, “but when you’ve earned the right, you are prepared for when they come across.”

That’s some deep stuff.

Maybe that’s why Kansas coach Bill Self, who offered his expert insight on the pregame show, picked Kansas State to win. He should know something about it, having beaten the Wildcats three times this season.

The Final Four is just minutes away for the teams tipping off Saturday in regional finals: second-seeded Kansas State and fifth-seeded Butler from Salt Lake City, and top-seeded Kentucky and second-seeded West Virginia from Syracuse, N.Y.

A tournament that has been big on upsets has ended up with no team in the round of eight that was seeded outside of the top six. Tennessee and Michigan State, which will play Sunday, are perhaps the most unlikely teams left standing after surviving a brutal bracket in which overall No. 1 seed Kansas and second-seeded Ohio State went home early.

The other game Sunday will feature No. 1 seed Duke and third-seeded Baylor.

But first up is a battle between ‘Cats and ‘Dogs: Kansas State and emerging superstar Jacob Pullen against a Butler team that would love nothing more than to head back home to Indianapolis for the Final Four, rather than simply heading home for class.

The Bulldogs are playing in a regional final for the first time, while Kansas State is in the round of eight for the 12th time — but first since 1988. The Wildcats haven’t advanced to the Final Four since 1964.