Mayo predicted the draw during a telephone call Sunday afternoon with Kansas State's Bill Walker prior to the Midwest Region pairing announcement.
"I told him, 'I think we're going to draw you guys,' " said Mayo, according to The Canadian Press. "Omaha seemed like a good place to play. At the same time, it's all about the money."
That the No. 6 seed Southern California (21-11) plays 11th-seeded Kansas State (20-11) in Omaha is added spice. Either one is likely to face Kansas in the second round.
"It's still Kansas State vs. USC - two good teams, two teams that play hard," Mayo continued. "We'll get a crowd there, it should be exciting."
The 6-foot-10 Beasley is the third-leading scorer in the country. He averages 26.5 points and is the No. 1 rebounder in Division I at 12.4. For good measure, Beasley also averages 1.7 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.
Mayo, a 6-foot-5 swing player, is scoring 20.8 points and, like Beasley, also can take over a game. Beasley, though, can do it from the post as well as the outside; he set an NCAA freshman record with 26 double-doubles.
"You're not going to stop him, you just try to make him work a little harder for it," said Missouri coach Mike Anderson recently. "He has a great feel for the game and great hands."
Beasley has always had an eye toward the NBA and has prepared in kind.
"Other coaches still look at me like a high-school playeróthey want me to play center," Beasley told the Kansas State Phenom. "I'm not gonna be a center in the NBA, I'm gonna be a three, so it's like we have two different mind-sets. I wanna do drills and work out the same way NBA players do."
