The #1 overall seed Kentucky Wildcats play the #16 seeded Western Kentucky Hilltoppers today at 6:50pm on TBS.
The announcers for today’s game are Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery. The sideline reporter is Leslie Visser.
Kentucky is favored by 25 points.
[I]Here is the background information on today’s NCAA 2nd round matchup:[/I]
Since 1993 WKU is 7-8 in NCAA Tournament games, and the rest of the Sun Belt Conference
is a combined 0-14.
The Wildcats are 105-46 (.695) in the NCAA Tournament and 3-1 in NCAA Tournament games held in Louisville. The last time UK played in the NCAA Tournament in the Queen City was in 1961.
[B]LAST GAME AGAINST KENTUCKY: NOVEMBER 15, 2001[/B]
WKU upset the fourth-ranked Wildcats 64-52 in front of 21,104 people at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., in the 2001-02 season opener in the NABC Classic.
[B]Cats in Louisville[/B]
The Wildcats are 123-33 all-time in games played in Louisville. The last time UK played a postseason game in Louisville was in the 1961 NCAA Tournament where they went 1-1.
UK has only played once in the KFC Yum! Center, beating Louisville there during the 2011
season.
Kentucky is making its 11th appearance as a No. 1 seed. The Cats were a one-seed in the 2010 tournament, when they advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to No. 2 seed West Virginia, 73-66.
The two have played twice previously in the NCAA Tournament, with Kentucky earning a 71-64 win in the second round of the 1986 tournament in Charlotte most recently. WKU was the eighth seed in the Southeast Region that year and advanced to face top-seeded Kentucky after a 67-59 fi rstround win over Nebraska. Against the Wildcats in the 1986 tournament, Kannard Johnson had 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting, and Billy Gordon had 14. Kenny Walker powered Kentucky with 32 points on a perfect 11-for-11 shooting night.
[B]PROJECTED STARTERS[/B]
[I][B]Kentucky Wildcats[/B][/I]
P # Name Pts. Rebs. Assts Stls Blks Note
G 14 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 11.8 7.6 2.0 1.1 1.0
Six dble-dbls on the season, three vs. Top 10 opp.
F 3 Terrence Jones 12.5 7.0 1.3 1.3 1.8 Avg. 14.0 points and 10.3 rebounds in SEC Tour.
G 20 Doron Lamb 13.2 2.9 1.6 0.5 0.1 Has hit a 3-pointer in 16-straight games
F 23 Anthony Davis 14.3 10.0 0.9 1.4 4.6 Has 17 double-doubles on the season
F 25 Marquis Teague 9.4 2.5 4.8 1.0 0.3 Has six blocks in last two game
2011-12 WKU NUMERICAL ROSTER
NO NAME POS HT WT YR EXP HOMETOWN MPG PPG RPG FG% 3FG% FT%
0 Kene Anyigbo F 6-5 250 So. 1L Bellaire, Texas 8.4 2.1 1.7 39.0 0.0 50.0
1 Kevin Kaspar G 6-0 173 Fr. HS Istanbul, Turkey 18.6 5.5 1.9 37.2 36.2 79.2
3 Kahlil McDonald G 6-3 200 Sr. 1L Brooklyn, N.Y. 23.7 8.2 2.2 32.1 29.7 84.5
5 Derrick Gordon G 6-2 185 Fr. HS Plainfi eld, N.J. 33.2 11.8 6.8 36.1 26.9 68.9
10 Caden Dickerson G 6-4 200 Jr. 2L Argyle, Texas 23.8 2.8 2.3 11.8 15.4 71.4
11 Spence Sheldon G 5-11 165 Fr. HS Bowling Green, Ky. 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
14 Jamal Crook G 6-3 175 Jr. 2L Louisville, Ky. 25.3 8.6 2.7 42.1 24.1 62.2
15 O’Karo Akamune F 6-6 205 So. TR Miami, Fla. 9.6 2.4 2.8 53.1 0.0 42.9
21 Nigel Snipes F 6-5 205 Fr. HS Marietta, Ga. 16.3 3.8 2.4 38.2 23.1 83.9
22 Teeng Akol F/C 6-11 217 R-Jr. 1L Wian, Sudan 16.9 6.4 3.5 46.3 26.3 66.7
24 Stephon Drane F 6-7 228 So. 1L Raleigh, N.C. 4.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
25 Jay Starks G 6-3 187 Jr. TR Scottsville, Ky. 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
41 Vinny Zollo F 6-8 240 Fr. HS Winchester, Ky. 15.4 3.8 2.9 40.3 34.5 70.0
44 George Fant F 6-5 245 Fr. HS Bowling Green, Ky. 26.2 10.3 6.1 47.9 0.0 66.2
52 T.J. Price G 6-3 220 Fr. HS Slidell, La. 27.7 8.6 2.7 42.1 24.1 62.
