March 16, 2003
NCAA Bracket (viewable) | NCAA Bracket (PDF)
Tubby Smith Quotes Regarding the 2003 NCAA Tournament
On the No. 1 seed:
“I’m very happy that we secured a No. 1 seed in the Midwest and have a chance to compete for a national championship with the other 64 teams. I just want to congratulate all the teams who were selected this season and I look forward to seeing our team play against the best in college basketball.”
On opening in Nashville:
“We’re getting the chance to compete in Nashville at the Gaylord Center where we have a strong fan base. We’ve played in that venue before and experienced success, so I’m looking forward to returning to Music City.”
On the Midwest Region:
“It has great teams in the region, very balanced. With the top four seeds including Pittsburgh, Marquette and Dayton, it stacks up against any of the other regions. But we’ll turn our attention to IUPUI and maintain our same focus that we have all season: one game at a time.”
On IUPUI:
“We played a member of the Mid-Continent Conference last season when we matched up against Valparaiso, so we know the quality of competition that league produces. I’ve known Coach Ron Hunter for quite some and he’s done a great job there. And there’s an interesting side note to their staff. Their associate head coach is Todd Howard, who is the brother of our former student manager, Aaron Howard of Louisville. So for the previous five seasons, Aaron kept us up to date on the Jaguars.”
On six SEC teams being selected:
“For the strongest conference in the nation, I thought all along that there would be six or seven teams from our league represented in the tournament. And if Georgia had been eligible, the SEC would have had an unprecedented seven teams. So again, I’d like to congratulate all those teams that were selected because there are a number of teams out there that could have very easily been picked to participate.”
NCAA Cat Scratches
This is Kentucky’s 44th NCAA Tournament appearance, an NCAA record. This is the Cats’ 12th consecutive appearance in NCAA Tournament play, the fourth-longest active streak.
The Wildcats are 89-38 in NCAA Tournament play. The 89 wins are an NCAA record, as well as the 127 games played in the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky has won seven NCAA Championships – 1948-49-51-58-78-96-98 – which ranks second only to UCLA’s 11 titles.
This is UK’s first No. 1 seed since 1997, the eighth time since the NCAA began seeding the tournament in 1979. It’s the first No. 1 seed by a Tubby Smith coached team.
Coach Smith is 20-8 in NCAA Tournament play in his nine previous tournament appearances (two at Tulsa, two at Georgia and all five at Kentucky). It’s the fifth-best winning percentage among active coaches (71.4%). He led the Cats to the 1998 National Championship, his first season in the Bluegrass.
Kentucky has never played IUPUI. The Cats are 1-0 vs. Mid-Continent Conference teams, having beat Valparaiso in the 2002 NCAA Tournament in St. Louis, 83-68.
The Cats are 3-0 in the Gaylord Center in Nashville, having captured the 2001 Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship there.
Nashville Ticket Sales
The University of Kentucky will not have tickets for the first and second rounds available to the general public. UK was only allotted 550 tickets which will be distributed among athletics, UK administration and the student body. The Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville seats 17,413 fans for the tournament. Those interested in purchasing public tickets may do so through the ticket order phone number: 615-770-2020.
Web site: www.ncaa2003.vucommodores.com
Ticket Order Phone: 615-770-2040
Ticket Prices: $150 (all sessions)
The student lottery will be held on Monday, March 17, at 6 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum. The lottery is open to full time students at UK or LCC. A voucher will be issued in lieu of tickets. Tickets will be issued at the tournament venue. Students must present voucher, UK student ID card and a second photo ID (i.e. driver’s license). Voucher is non-transferable and must be used by the individual to whom it was issued. There is a limit of one ticket per student.
–Go Cats–
