March 25, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
2003 NCAA Tournament
[No. 5] Wisconsin Badgers (24-7, 12-4 Big Ten)
vs.
[No. 1] Kentucky Wildcats (31-3, 16-0 SEC)
Midwest Region Semifinal * March 27, 2003 * 6:10 p.m. CT
Minneapolis, Minn.
H.H.H. Metrodome (38,296)
[5] Wisconsin vs. [1] Kentucky
[3] Marquette vs. [2] Pitt
RADIO
UK Radio Network (80+ stations): Tom Leach, Mike Pratt, Dave Baker.
NCAA Radio Network: Brad Sham and Dave Gavitt.
TELEVISION
CBS Sports: Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery and Brian Galvin.
Tubby Smith File
Tubby Smith (High Point ’73)
Overall: 287-108 (.727) (12th)
At UK: 163-46 (.789) (6th)
In NCAAs: 22-8 (.733) (10th)
Wisconsin Info
Location: Madison, Wisc.
Conference: Big Ten
Enrollment: 40,877
Founded: 1848
Nicknames: Badgers
Website: uwbadgers.com
NCAA Tournaments: Nine
Wildcats Back In Sweet 16
For the eighth time in nine years, Kentucky has advanced to the regional semifinals and, this year, will battle Big Ten Champion Wisconsin in the Midwest Regional. Only Kentucky has claimed such consistency in the NCAA Tournament. During the nine-year stretch, UK has a 5-2 record in Sweet 16 action, appearing in three Final Fours and capturing two NCAA Championships.
This will be the first meeting between the two conference champions since 1976. While Kentucky and Wisconsin have met just three times, the Badgers were the Cats’ first home opponent when the legendary venue Rupp Arena opened during the 1976-77 season. That year, UK christened the new facility with a 72-64 victory over the Badgers. Now, with more than 350 UK victories at Rupp, the two meet again in Minneapolis. Kentucky advanced through the first weekend in Nashville with victories over IUPUI and Utah. Wisconsin advanced with wins in Spokane over Weber State and Tulsa. The winner will face the Pittsburgh/Marquette victor on Saturday.
UK is the nation’s top-ranked team in the final AP poll and has strung together the country’s longest winning streak at 25 games. During the stretch, the Cats have outscored opponents by 17.3 ppg and held each of their five postseason opponents below 40% shooting. It’s the nation’s longest win streak since the Cats ran off 27 straight during the 1996 NCAA Championship season. UK finished 34-2 that season, with losses to Massachusetts in November and Mississippi State in March. UMass also compiled a 25-game win streak to start that ’96 season.
UK owns NCAA records in touranment appearances (44), wins (91) and tournament games played (129). Tubby Smith is 22-8 in NCAA Tournament play, which ranks as the fifth-best winning percentage among active coaches.
Wildcat Probable Starters
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown Cat Scratch44 Chuck Hayes F 6-6 247 So. 9.0 6.8 Modesto, Calif. Last 4 games: 9.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg14 Erik Daniels F 6-8 214 Jr. 9.6 4.8 Cincinnati, Ohio 5.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg in NCAAs50 Marquis Estill C 6-9 236 Sr. 11.2 6.0 Richmond, Ky. 15.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg in NCAAs10 Keith Bogans G 6-5 213 Sr. 16.0 3.9 Alexandria, Va. Now 4th all-time UK scorer 4 Gerald Fitch G 6-3 188 Jr. 12.4 3.1 Macon, Ga. Tied CH with 25 pts vs. IUPUI
Key Reserves40 Jules Camara F-C 6-11 220 Sr. 6.6 3.5 Dakar, Senegal 5.0 rpg in NCAAs 1 Cliff Hawkins G 6-1 187 Jr. 6.3 *3.9 Dumfries, Va. 8.2 ppg, 5.0 apg in postseason33 Antwain Barbour G-F 6-5 195 Jr. 3.4 1.6 Elizabethtown, Ky. Postseason: 2 assists, 8 TOs24 Kelenna Azubuike G-F 6-5 208 Fr. 4.0 1.4 Tulsa, Okla. 8 points, 3 rebs vs. IUPUI* Assists per game
Madness Numbers
As the nation’s winningest team, Kentucky holds many distinctions in NCAA Tournament play, including:
Appearances Kentucky (1942-03) 44 UCLA (1950-02) 36 North Carolina (1941-01) 35Tournament Games Kentucky (1942-03) 129 North Carolina (1941-01) 116 UCLA (1950-02) 109Tournament Wins Kentucky (1942-03) 91 North Carolina (1941-01) 81 UCLA (1950-02) 81Tournament Winning Percentage Duke (1955-03) 77.0 (77-23) UCLA (1950-02) 72.7 (80-30) Kentucky (1942-02) 70.5 (91-38)NCAA Championships UCLA (1964-95) 11 Kentucky (1948-98) 7 Indiana (1940-87) 5NCAA Final Fours North Carolina (1946-00) 15 UCLA (1962-95) 14 Kentucky (1942-98) 13 Duke (1963-01) 13NCAA Final Four Wins UCLA (1962-95) 24 Kentucky (1942-98) 17 Duke (1963-01) 14
NCAA Cat Scratches
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 44
Tourney Record: 91-38 (70.5%)
Current Record vs. ’03 Field: 14-2 (13 teams)
Seed: UK is the No. 1 seed (Midwest) for the eighth time since tournament seeding began in 1979.
Bid: Automatic
Tourney Report
Since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, Kentucky has appeared in the regional semifinal 11 times and owns an 8-3 record. The Cats have fallen in their last two appearances in the Sweet 16, to Southern Cal in 2001 and to eventual national champ Maryland last season.
It’s the eighth time in nine years that the Cats have appeared in the regional semifinals, the only team in the nation to achieve the feat. Tubby Smith has coached three different teams to the Sweet 16 in eight of the last 10 years.
UK is 35-9 in tournament openers and has won its last 12 first-round games. Kentucky reached the second round for the 12th straight year. UK has earned a 10-2 record since 1992 in the second round.
Since 1992, UK owns a 67-12 record (84.8%) in postseason play (SEC and NCAA).
Kentucky has played in the Midwest Region five times — 1957, 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2003. UK has a 12-3 record in the region, including a 6-0 mark in its Dallas-Minneapolis-East Rutherford march to the 1996 NCAA Championship.
The SEC escaped the first weekend of NCAA Tournament play with a 5-4 record. Kentucky and Auburn advanced to the Sweet 16, while Florida lost in the second round to Michigan State.
Tubby Smith is 22-8 in NCAA Tournament play, 16-4 at Kentucky. As the higher-seeded coach in the tourney, he’s 16-2.
Minneapolis Madness
The Cats appeared in Minneapolis en route to the 1996 National Championship. In the Metrodome, UK beat Utah, 101-70, before earning the Final Four trip by defeating Tim Duncan-led Wake Forest, 83-63.
In two prior NCAA appearances in Minneapolis, the Cats experience mixed success. In 1951, Billy Spivey scored 22 points and Cliff Hagan added 10 as UK won the national championship, defeating Kansas State, 68-58, on March 27, exactly 52 years ago. It was the Cats’ third national title in four years. In 1964, UK played in the Mideast Region in Minneapolis, losing in the first round to Ohio, 85-69. UK also lost the consolation game there to Loyola-Chicago, 100-91.
Dome Homes
Since 1995, Kentucky has faired well in games played in domes. Including its two wins in the Metrodome in 1996, UK has compiled a 30-6 record in domes. Seven of those victories and one of those defeats occurred in the Louisiana Superdome, site of this year’s Final Four.
The Wisconsin Series
Kentucky and Wisconsin have met three previous times with the Wildcats owning a 2-1 advantage in the series. UK defeated the Badgers in the Cats’ UKIT in 1963 before losing to UW in 1968 in Chicago. Wisconsin, however, is more remembered as the first opponent to play the Wildcats in the “new” Rupp Arena, losing 72-64 in the 1976-77 season opener.
1-20-63 H W, 108-8512-31-68 N L, 69-6511-27-76 H W, 72-64
The Wisconsin Skinny
The Badgers advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinals after Freddie Owens nailed a three pointer with one second remaining to give Wisconsin a 61-60 win over Tulsa in Saturday’s second round. UW defeated Weber State, 81-74, in opening-round action.
Wisconsin claimed its first outright Big Ten title this season since 1947 after edging out Illinois. Coach Bo Ryan, in his second season in Madison, was one of only three coaches in conference history to claim a league title in his first two years at a member school.
Senior guard Kirk Penney leads five players averaging double figures with 16.1 ppg.
Common Opponents
The Cats and Badgers have faced three common opponents this season — Indiana, Michigan State and Ohio. UK is 2-1 in those meetings, while UW is 3-0.
UK UWIndiana W, 70-64 W, 71-59Mich. St. L, 67-71 W, 64-53Ohio W, 83-75 W, 75-51
UK is 1-1 this season against Big Ten opponents while holding an 87-52 all-time record against the conference. Wisconsin has not played an SEC school this year.
Should the Cats Advance…
If Kentucky advances past the regional semifinal, it will play the Marquette-Pittsburgh winner on Saturday. It would mark Kentucky’s first regional final appearance since 1999. UK is 4-4 in the regional final since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 and 12-15 in regional finals since the Cats’ first NCAA appearance in 1942. Here’s the skinny on the Golden Eagles and Panthers…
Marquette
Series Record: UK leads 7-5
In Lexington: UK leads 2-0
In Milwaukee: UK leads 1-0
In NCAA Tournament Play: 4-4
While the teams have met eight times in NCAA Tournament play, they’ve only met once since 1975, a 75-63 Marquette victory in the second round of the 1994 NCAA Tourney in St. Petersburg. Between 1968 and 1975, they met five times in NCAA Tournament play. UK won three of the five meetings, including a first-round victory over the Golden Eagles, 76-54, en route to a national runner-up finish in 1975. UK is 130-44 all-time against Conference USA opponents, including a 1-1 record this year.
Pittsburgh
Series Record: UK leads 4-2
In Lexington: UK leads 2-1
In Pittsburgh: 0-0
In NCAA Tournament Play: UK leads 1-0
While Kentucky owns the edge in the series, Pittsburgh has won the last two games. The two teams last met in the 1998 Puerto Rico Shootout with the Panthers winning 68-56 in the semifinals. Previously, they shocked the Cats in Rupp Arena in the 1991 Preseason NIT, 86-67. The lone NCAA Tournament meeting took place in the Midwest Regional in UK’s Memorial Coliseum in 1957, with UK scoring the 98-92 victory. Lexingtonian Jaron Brown is a redshirt junior starter for the Panthers. The 6-4 guard attended Bryan Station High School. UK is 1-0 against the Big East this year, 87-35 overall against the league.
Sharing the Wealth
While Keith Bogans has been a model of consistency this season — 16.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 2.9 apg — The Sporting News’ third-team All-American has had an outstanding supporting cast.
Bogans has led the Cats in scoring in Maui, throughout SEC play and in the SEC Tournament.
Fitch has led the Cats in scoring in NCAA Tournament play after finishing as UK’s fifth-leading scorer in SEC Tournament play.
Jules Camara led the Cats in rebounding in the Maui Invitational, but Hayes led for the season and Estill now paces UK on the glass in NCAA play.
