Kentucky Makes 52nd Appearance in NCAA Tournament
Second-Ranked Wildcats Seeded No. 1 in East Region; 10th No. 1 Seed in School History
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
Kentucky has received the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed and will
serve as the top seed in the South Region. UK will play the winner of
the first-round game of Mississippi Valley State (21-12) and Western
Kentucky (15-18) on Thursday, March 15 in Louisville, Ky., with a 6:50
p.m. ET tip. The game will air live on TBS with Verne Lundquist and
Bill Raftery on the call. The No. 1 seed is the 11th in
school history for the Wildcats, who will play their second and third
round games in Louisville. This is just the third time in school
history UK will play in the Derby City during the NCAA Tournament. In
its last appearance in Louisville, Kentucky defeated Morehead State
before losing to Ohio State during the 1961 tournament. Kentucky
has played in its home state on seven previous occasions. UK was last
in the Bluegrass State during the 1984 tournament when the Wildcats
appeared on their home floor, defeating Louisville and Illinois. Western
Kentucky won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship this year,
claiming an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship. UK is 3-2
all-time versus Western Kentucky with the last meeting coming in 2001
when WKU defeated the Wildcats 64-52. Kentucky and the
Hilltoppers have met twice before in the NCAA Tournament with the
squads splitting the two meetings. WKU captured a win over the Wildcats
during the 1971 tournament, with UK prevailing 71-64 in 1986. The
Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils won the 2012 SWAC Tournament
Championship, claiming an automatic bid into the 2012 NCAA
Championship. The Wildcats are 3-0 all-time vs. the Delta Devils
including an 85-60 win a season ago. A matchup with the Delta Devils
during the post-season would be a program first. If UK
prevails over Mississippi Valley State or Western Kentucky, it will
face the winner of eighth-seeded Iowa State (22-10) and ninth-seeded
UConn (20-13) on Saturday, March 17. Kentucky is 1-0
during the NCAA Tournament against the Cyclones with the lone victory
coming during the 1992 season. UK owns an all-time mark of 2-0 against
Iowa State. In addition to the 1992 Tournament game, Kentucky earned a
home victory in 1965. UK has faced the Huskies twice
before, dropping both matchups including last season’s 65-55 loss in
the Final Four. Connecticut owns an all-time record of 4-1 against
Kentucky. UK’s lone victory came during the 2009 season. Also
joining Kentucky in Louisville will be four teams from the West Region
including Murray State, Colorado State, Marquette and the winner of the
BYU/Iona play-in. Should the Wildcats advance past the
second and third rounds, they will play in Atlanta, in the South
Regional Semifinals on March 22-23. If UK continues to win, it will
play in the South Regional Finals on March 24-25 with a victory moving
the Wildcats to the National Semifinals on March 31. The National
Championship game is scheduled for April 2 in New Orleans. Tickets
for the first and second round games in Louisville are sold out with
the exception of All-Session packages. However, tickets for Regional
Semifinal and Regional Final in Atlanta are available online at
ticketmaster.com or available through the host site. UK
will hold a student lottery on Monday, March 12 at 5:00 pm at Memorial
Coliseum for the second and third round games in Louisville. Students
should refer to the student basketball website
(http://www.ukathletics.com/tickets/student-tickets-basketball.html)
for complete details. Tickets for first and second round
games in New Orleans are still available online at ticketmaster.com.
Those wishing to purchase tickets that are not season-ticket holders or
donors need to call the host site for ticket information. Game times and the ensuing schedule of events will not be available from the NCAA until Monday.
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