SACRAMENTO -- Troy Caupain drove inside against his defender, absorbed the contact and finished at the rim as the referee whistled for a foul that sent Cincinnati's senior guard to the free-throw line for a three-point play.

Caupain pounded his chest, turned to the crowd and roared at a group of shrieking Kansas State fans before calmly sinking the free throw, sending the Bearcats on their way to a 75-61 victory over Kansas State in a first-round South Regional game Friday at the Golden 1 Center.

Caupain posted 23 points and seven rebounds for sixth-seeded Cincinnati (30-5), which will face No. 3 UCLA in a second-round game Sunday. Kyle Washington scored 16 points. Gary Clark had 15 points and seven rebounds.

Wesley Iwundu scored 19 points for 11th-seeded Kansas State (21-14), which played for the second time in 72 hours after beating Wake Forest in a play-in game Tuesday.

Cincinnati outscored Kansas State 11-5 over the first five minutes and extended its lead to eight on a 3-pointer by Clark. Caupain made a jumper to put the Bearcats up 22-12 midway through the opening period and later converted a three-point play to stretch the lead to 13.

"I thought Troy played his best game of the year," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "For a couple of years, he has carried us offensively. We got him some help this year and he sacrificed a lot for his team, but today he made the coach look good. Every time we needed a big play, he put the ball in the basket."

The Wildcats cut the deficit to seven on a 3-pointer by Kamau Stokes with just under five minutes remaining in the half, but the Bearcats quickly re-established a double-digit lead. They went up 31-21 on a 3-pointer by Jacob Evans and carried a 39-28 advantage into the locker room at the break.

Iwundu had some success offensively against the Bearcats, but he got into foul trouble on the defensive end, picking up three fouls in the first half.

"In a game like this, I want to be in the game," Iwundu said. "I definitely feel like those three fouls affected the game. I could have helped the team out so much more in the first half when they went on that little run."

Cincinnati went up by 13 early in the second half before Kansas State began to battle back. The Wildcats got within seven on a 3-pointer by Iwundu and cut the deficit to six on a 3-pointer by Barry Brown, but they couldn't get any closer.

The Bearcats went up 57-45 on a layup by Evans and pushed the lead to 14 on another basket by Evans. They led by as many as 17 late in the game.

"We had a sense of calm," Washington said. "I was looking at Gary and I told Troy before the game, 'I'm following your lead,' and obviously he did a great job of setting the tone and facilitating and putting the ball in the basket when we needed it."

NOTES: Cincinnati and Kansas State have met three others times in the NCAA Tournament. Kansas State beat Cincinnati in double overtime in 1958. The Bearcats beat the Wildcats in 1959 and again in 1961. ... Cincinnati is making its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. ... Kansas State traveled more than 700 miles to face Wake Forest in a play-in game Tuesday and then traveled 2,300 miles to take on Cincinnati.