March 1, 2009

Kentucky Pregame Notes

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 | Victoria Dunlap SEC Tourney Video Blog

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky women’s basketball team will face Georgia in Thursday’s first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Game time is slated for 3:30 p.m. EST at the Alltel Arena in Little Rock, Ark. The game will be carried live on the Big Blue Sports network (radio) and FSN South.

Kentucky (15-14, 5-9 SEC), which is coming off a 70-53 win over South Carolina in its regular-season finale, is the No. 10 seed for the fourth time in school history while Georgia (17-12, 7-7 SEC) earned the seventh seed after defeating Florida in its regular-season finale on Sunday.

The Wildcats should be quite familiar with the Lady Bulldogs as the teams just met last Thursday in Lexington. UK fell by four points (61-57) while shooting an SEC-low 31.3 percent from the floor.

Overall, Georgia owns a 30-11 advantage in the all-time series, including a 5-1 lead in the SEC Tournament. UK has met the Lady Bulldogs in the last two league tournaments, both matchups coming in the quarterfinal round. The Cats fell in 2007, 72-40, but upset the 23rd-ranked Lady Bulldogs last season, 57-50. The teams have never met in the first round.

Kentucky is 20-29 since the tournament’s inception in 1980. UK’s semifinal appearances in 1992, 1999, and 2008 mark the highest finishes for the Cats since winning the tournament in 1982.

The winner of Georgia/UK will face No. 2 seed Vanderbilt on Friday, March 6 at 3:30 p.m. EST.

Public tickets can be purchased through the Alltel Arenavand Ticketmaster or online at SECsports.com. Prices are: reserved tournament book, $90; general admission Dr Pepper Six-Pack tournament book, $60; reserved single-session (six sessions total), $17; and general admission single-session, $12 (can only be purchased day of event at arena box office).