No. 7/5 Kentucky Wildcats (25-5, 14-2 SEC)
vs.
Eastern Kentucky Colonels (22-8, 11-5 OVC)
2005 NCAA Tournament – First Round
March 17, 2005 – 12:20 p.m.
Indianapolis, Ind. ? RCA Dome (37,565)
TV: CBS
Kentucky Earns a No. 2 Seed in 46th NCAA Tournament Appearance
The SEC Champion Kentucky Wildcats were given a No. 2 seed in the 2005 NCAA Tournament and faces in-state rival Eastern Kentucky in opening-round action in Indianapolis Thursday afternoon. The Cats, which came up short in the SEC Tournament final against Florida, are a part of the Austin Region, which features Duke as the No. 1 seed, Oklahoma as the No. 3 seed and Syracuse as the No. 4 seed. Should the Wildcats defeat EKU Thursday, they would face the winner of the Cincinnati/Iowa game on Saturday night. Kentucky owns NCAA records for tournament appearances (46), wins (93), and games played (133). Since the NCAA began tourney play in 1939, Kentucky has appearnd in nearly 70 percent of the 64 events, winning seven NCAA championships in a 50-year span. Tubby Smith is 24-10 in NCAA Tournament play, owning the sixth-best winning percentage (.706) among active coaches. Smith?s 12-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances rank fourth among active coaches. He is one of only seven coaches to take three teams to the NCAA Sweet 16 (Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky). The only other active coaches to do so are Eddie Sutton (Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State) and Bill Self (Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas).
NCAA Cat Scratches
Kentucky earned an at-large bid to the 2005 NCAA Tournament … The Cats are appearing in their 46th NCAA Tournament and own a 93-40 (.699) record … Kentucky is 6-4 against the 2005 tournament field … The Wildcats earned a No. 2 seed for the sixth time since seeding began in 1979. UK was also a No. 2 in 1981, 1988, 1992, 1998 and 2001 … UK is 13-4 as a No. 2 seed, winning the title from that spot in 1998 … Kentucky has been a No. 1 seed nine times, including 2003 and 2004 … This is UK?s 14th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, which is the third-longest current streak (Arizona, 21, and Kansas, 16) … Kentucky has appeared in 13 Final Fours, 27 Elite Eights and 40 Sweet 16s … UK has advanced to eight of the last 10 Sweet 16s.
Probable Starters
KENTUCKY Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. Cl. PPG RPG Notes F 44 Chuck Hayes 6-6 242 Sr. 10.6 7.9 Avg 6.6 ppg and 6.9 rpg in NCAA F 24 Kelenna Azubuike 6-5 208 Jr. 14.9 4.7 SEC All-Tournament Team C 33 Randolph Morris 6-10 266 Fr. 8.6 4.1 6 pts, 10 rebs vs. Florida G 4 Rajon Rondo 6-1 171 Fr. 7.6 *3.4 21 assts, 15 to?s in SEC tourney G 22 Patrick Sparks 6-0 180 Jr. 11.5 *3.8 0-for-6 from 3FG in SEC final *assists per game
Scouting Eastern Kentucky ….
The Eastern Kentucky Colonels earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after capturing the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title last week. EKU is 22-8 overall and was 11-5 in OVC play this year.
Junior Matt Witt averages 14.1 points and 6.4 assists, while senior leader Michael Haney adds 13.5 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Colonels.
Travis Ford is enjoying his best season in five years at Eastern Kentucky. He holds a 61-79 record while in Richmond.
