DAYTON, Ohio — Whenever John Collins mentions that he plays for Wake Forest, he usually gets a question about his famous coach. Everybody wants to know about Danny and The Miracles.

Danny Manning led Kansas to the 1988 national title, knocking off Kansas State along the way. He’s got Wake Forest (19-13) back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years, facing K-State again.

“It’s always brought up when I talk to anybody,” Collins said. “People find out I play for coach Manning, and that’s the first thing that pops up.”

It’s a hot topic again as Manning’s current team gets ready to play Kansas State (20-13) in the First Four on Tuesday night. The winner will play Cincinnati in Sacramento.

“We had a lot of fun when I was at Kansas, and we’re looking forward to hopefully having a long run in this tournament,” said Manning, in his third season as the Demon Deacons’ coach.

Manning is 30-5 against K-State as a player and coach.

Manning has talked to his young team about his experiences in the NCAA Tournament. His players joke that it was so long ago that they can’t find any tape of their coach’s glory moments.

Mount St. Mary’s (19-15) and New Orleans (20-11) open the tournament on Tuesday night, with the winner facing No. 1 Villanova on Thursday in Buffalo.

In the other First Four games on Wednesday night, N.C. Central (25-8) plays UC Davis (22-12), followed by Providence (20-12) facing Southern Cal (24-9).