NEWS: Tickets allotted to the eight teams in Columbus that are returned will go on sale Friday morning at 10 a.m. at the Nationwide Arena box office. You must be present to purchase tickets.

St. Louis Regional tickets are

|

On the strength of a nine-game winning streak and its 25th Southeastern Conference tournament championship, Kentucky earned the No. 1 seed in the St. Louis bracket of the NCAA Tournament Sunday. The Wildcats (26-4, 13-3 SEC) play Friday, March 19, in Columbus, Ohio at 7:10 p.m. ET. Their opponent will be Florida A&M (14-16, 10-8 MEAC).

?We?re very happy and excited about being a No. 1 seed,? Head coach Tubby Smith said. ?I?m proud of this group and what they?ve been able to achieve throughout the season. They?ve shown their competitive grit and moxie all year long ? a never quit, never-say-die attitude. That?s what has pulled us through.?

Eighth-seeded Washington (19-11, 12-6 Pac-10) and ninth-seeded UAB (20-8, 12- 4 C-USA) join Kentucky and Florida A&M to form the Columbus pod of the St. Louis bracket. The Huskies and Blazers play Friday, with the winner taking on the winner of the Kentucky vs. Florida A&M game.

Kentucky has never met Florida A&M nor any other team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Wildcats defeated Washington, 66-58, in the 1985 NCAA tournament in the only hardwood matchup between the two schools. Kentucky and UAB have split their only two matchups, with the Blazers winning a 69-62 decision back in the 1981 NCAA tournament.

This is Kentucky’s ninth No. 1 seed, which is more than any other school. However, only one of Kentucky?s seven national titles, in 1996, came as a top seed. Kentucky is the winningest team in NCAA Tournament history with 92 all- time victories. Its .702 winning percentage ranks third in tournament history. This marks Kentucky?s 45th NCAA Tournament appearance and 13th consecutive trip to the NCAAs.

Tubby Smith quotes regarding NCAA Tournament

Overall thoughts on the UK?s draw…

?Our region looks pretty strong. There are a lot of outstanding teams and players. We?ll concentrate on what?s next and get ready to play our first opponent.?

On being the top No. 1 seed…

?We?re very happy and excited about being a No. 1 seed. I?m proud of this group and what they?ve been able to achieve throughout the season. They?ve shown their competitive grit and moxie all year long ? a never quit, never-say-die attitude. That?s what has pulled us through.

?Coming out of the SEC, which is the toughest league in the country, has hopefully prepared us for the NCAA Tournament.?

What do you know about Lehigh and Florida A&M?

?I haven?t had a chance to learn about them yet. Both have obviously done what they had to do to represent their conferences in the NCAA tournament. And both come from competitive leagues with good teams.?

Your thoughts on playing the Play-In winner…

?We probably got it by virtue of the committee not wanting to send the winner of that game very far. Columbus is close to Dayton, so it only makes sense that they would send the play-in winner there.?

On the relatively close proximity of both Columbus and St. Louis…

?That?s nice. Columbus is only a three-hour drive from Lexington, so we should have a lot of fans. I don?t want to look past Columbus, but we?ve always drawn well in St. Louis, so hopefully we can do what we need to do in order to get to that site.?

Are you pleased with six SEC teams getting in?

?I believe we have the toughest league in the country. It was a very balanced and competitive league. The loss of Jaime Lloreda was a huge blow for LSU, because they had a solid ranking and a good RPI. If they had gotten past South Carolina in our conference tournament then I think they would have been in the NCAA Tournament. It?s unfortunate that it turned out the way it did. Georgia is probably as good as any team we?ve played.?

?I?d like to congratulate all of my SEC colleagues and wish them the best. And to those who didn?t make the NCAA, I wish them the best with their postseason opportunities.?

St. Louis Region Games

March 19 – Columbus, Ohio


Kentucky (1) vs. Florida A&M (16)
Washington (8) vs. Alabama-Birmingham (9)

March 19 – Kansas City, Mo.


Providence (5) vs. Pacific (12)
Kansas (4) vs. Illinois Chicaqo (13)

March 19 – Milwaukee, Wisc.


Boston College (6) vs. Utah (11)
Georgia Tech (3) vs. Northern Iowa (14)

March 18 – Seattle, Wash.


Michigan State (7) vs. Nevada (10)
Gonzaga (2) vs. Valparaiso (15)