8 Kentucky vs. 9 UAB
NCAA Tournament 1st Rd.
March 17, 2006 – 9:45 p.m. ET
Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, Pa.
Kentucky earned its 15th consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament, earning the No. 8 seed in the Washington, D.C., Regional, with a 21-12 overall record. The bid is Kentucky?s NCAA record 47th. The 15-straight appearance is the third longest active streak in the nation. Arizona has the longest run with 22 consecutive trips and Kansas is second at 17 straight.
The Wildcats face a familiar NCAA Tournament opponent in the first round when they square off with ninth-seeded UAB (24-6), Friday at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa. The two have met twice previously (1981 and 2004) in the tournament with UAB winning both battles.
Kentucky has won seven national championships, been to 13 Final Fours and 28 Elite Eights, including two in the past three years. Last year, the Wildcats fell one step short of the Final Four when it lost in double overtime to Michigan State.
NCAA CAT SCRATCHES
Kentucky earned an at-large bid to the 2006 NCAA Tournament
The Cats are appearing in their 47th NCAA Tournament and own a 96-41 (.701) record
The Wildcats own NCAA records for most tournament appearances (47), most tournament games (137) and most tournament wins (96)
Kentucky played 11 teams in this year?s tournament field, going 5-9 vs. those squads
The Wildcats earned a No. 8 seed for just the second time since seeding began in 1979
The No. 8 seed is the lowest since 1987, which marks the only other time Kentucky has been seeded eighth
UK is 0-1 as a No. 8 seed
This is UK?s 15th-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, which is the third-longest current streak (Arizona, 22, and Kansas, 17)
The Wildcats have won 15-straight NCAA Tournament First Round games
Kentucky has appeared in 13 Final Fours, 28 Elite Eights and 41 Sweet 16s
UK has advanced to nine of the last 11 Sweet 16s and nine of the last 14 Elite Eights.
Tubby Smith has the sixth-best NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.711, 27-11) among active coaches.
UK is 2-2 in Philadelphia during the NCAA Tournament.The Cats beat Princeton in 1977, beat UMass but lost to Duke in 1992, and lost to USC in 2001.
Kentucky is 3-2 against No. 9 seeds since the committee began using seeds in 1979. UAB (2004) was the last No. 9 seed faced by the Wildcats.
Big Blue is 65-10 against current members of Conference USA.
