Southern Mississippi wiill face Kansas State on Thursday in Pittsburgh in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament, it was announced this afternoon.

Game time is 11:40 a.m.

The Golden Eagles, who advanced to the semis of the C-USA Tournament in Memphis, is the No. 9 seed in that regional. It is USM's first appearance in the tournament in 21 years.

Kansas State, the No. 8 seed, finished the season 21-10. Southern Miss enters the tournament at 25-8.

The winner will face top-seeded Syracuse (31-2) or 16th-seeded UNC Ashville (24-9) on Saturday.

Kansas State lost 82-74 to Baylor in the Big 12 tournament, while Southern Miss bowed out of the C-USA Tournament with a 73-62 loss to Marshall on Friday.

Read more about USM's berth in the March Madness Tournament in Monday's Sun Herald.