INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Kentucky men’s basketball extended its national record for most NCAA Tournament appearances to 55 on Sunday, March 13, as the team was selected as the No. 4 seed in the East Region. The Wildcats will play Stony Brook, the No. 13 seed in the region, on Thursday, March 17 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Earning a No. 4 seed for the fourth time in program history, Kentucky enters the NCAA Tournament fresh off a thrilling overtime victory over No. 17 Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the championship title, taking down the Aggies 82-77. The title was the 29th time that the Wildcats had claimed the SEC Tournament crown in program history.
The Wildcats are currently 26-8 and claimed a share of their 47th regular season SEC title, going 13-5 in conference play.
UK is 44-10 in tournament openers and has won 22 of its last 23 first round tournament games. UK owns a 120-48 record all-time in NCAA action, with its .714 winning percentage the fourth-best in NCAA history.
Kentucky has met up with the Sea Wolves just one other time in the history of the two programs, with UK securing a 62-52 win on Nov. 27, 2007. Stony Brook will be making its first trip to the Big Dance after a historic season that saw the Sea Wolves record a 26-6 record and claim both the America East regular season and tournament crown, led by three-time America East Player of the Year Jameel Warney. The senior dropped a career-best 43 points in the tournament title game to lead Stony Brook to a 80-74 win over Vermont on March 12.
With a win over Stony Brook, Kentucky would face the winner of the No. 5 Indiana/No. 12 Chattanooga matchup. Indiana holds a 25-7 record on the season and 15-3 in Big Ten action. The Hoosiers most recently were upset by Michigan in the quarterfinals of the B1G Tournament, 72-69, on March 11. Chattanooga won its 11th Southern Conference Tournament Championship on March 8, taking down Eastern Tennessee State, 73-67. Kentucky is 32-24 against Indiana and 4-0 against ETSU in the all-time series.
Tickets for the first and second round games in Des Moines can be purchased by visiting NCAA.com/tickets. Fans will find complete ticket information for all NCAA sites, including information on NCAA Ticket Exchange, the official secondary marketplace for authentic NCAA Tournament tickets. Student ticket information was scheduled to be posted online at UKStudentTix.com Sunday evening (March 13).
Photo by Jamie H. Vaught
