LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The University of Kentucky basketball team, back home in Lexington after an SEC Tournament semifinal loss to Tennessee, was hoping that if it couldn’t be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, it could at least be the No. 2 seed in the KFC Yum! Center.
Those hopes were dashed when the NCAA announced its South Region pairings, which gave Tennessee the No. 2 spot in the South, instead of Kentucky. The Wildcats were named the No. 2 seed in the Midwest, where they will face No. 15 seed Abilene Christian in Jacksonville, Fla, on Thursday. The winner will face the winner of a matchup between Wofford and Seton Hall on Saturday.
A quick look at the Wildcats as they enter the NCAA Tournament:
THE SEASON: Kentucky started the season with a 118-84 loss to Duke, which was more a foreshadowing of what Duke’s fantastic freshmen, particularly Zion Williamson, were capable of. The Wildcats bounced back from that loss to win seven straight games against badly overmatched opponents, before losing in overtime at Seton Hall.
Kentucky followed that up with a home win over Utah, then two of its most impressive wins of the year – over North Carolina by eight on a neutral court, and over a Louisville team that was on its way into the national rankings by 13 in the KFC Yum! Center.
After dropping their SEC opener at Alabama, Kentucky reeled off 14 of 15, with the only loss on a disputed buzzer-beating tip-in loss to LSU. During that stretch, the Wildcats reeled off three straight wins over ranked opponents – Auburn, Mississippi State and Kansas.
The Wildcats come into the NCAA Tournament with a pair of losses to Tennessee in their past five games, a 19-point rout in Knoxville and a four-point loss in the SEC Tournament after leading by eight with three minutes to play.
Kentucky is led by sophomore forward P.J. Washington at 14.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. A pair of freshman, Tyler Herro (14.2 ppg) and Keldon Johnson (13.5 ppg) follow him, with graduate transfer Reid Travis adding 11.1 points per game.
The Wildcats have a record of 27-6.
THE OPPONENT: Abilene Christian. The Wildcats won the Southland Conference with a 27-6 record.
QUICK SCOUT: ACU and coach Joe Golding made the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I just six years ago. To make their first NCAA Tournament in that short amount of time is impressive.
They posted just their first winning season in D-1 last year. This season, earned a runner-up regular season finish in the conference, and punched their ticket with a tourney championship -- all of that despite dismissing two starters from the team in late February. The Wildcats are led by Jaren Lewis, who averages 13.5 points per game.
THE PATH: The Midwest Region goes into Kansas City, where North Carolina is the No. 1 seed and Kansas, as the No. 4 seed, are the favored teams on the other side of the bracket. If Kentucky wins its opening round game, as expected, it will face either Wofford, a trendy upset pick in the tournament and the nation's No. 20 in the final Associated Press poll. Wofford, though, will have to get past Seton Hall, which beat Kentucky during the regular season.
KENTUCKY IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: The Wildcats are making their record 58th NCAA Tournament appearance, and have won a record 126 tournament games. Only UCLA (11) has won more than Kentucky’s eight NCAA titles, and Kentucky’s 17 Final Fours rank second only to North Carolina 20.
Kentucky lost to Kansas State 61-58 in a Sweet 16 matchup last season, after early-round wins over Davidson and Buffalo. The Wildcats reached the Elite Eight a year earlier, but lost to North Carolina 65-62 in the South Region Final. Kentucky’s last Final Four came in 2014-15, its last title game appearance was in 2014, a 60-54 loss to Connecticut.
Related:
Copyright 2019 WDRB Media. All Rights reserved.
