Go SEC Sports

 

        Your SEC Sports News

                 Apple iTunes

 



       

 

 

 


    Kentucky

Go SEC Sports

   









 

 


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.



   

 

  facebook
Become a Fan    

 

 

Go Big 10 Sports


 

 

 

 

Copyright  2011 GOSECSPORTS.COM  All rights reserved.
GOSECSPORTS.com is not affiliated in any way with the SEC Conference®.
Team logos are the property of the respective members of the SEC.

This website is an unofficial source of sports news and information, and is not affiliated with any school, team or league.