March 22, 2010

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The NCAA has announced that the Sweet 16 game between the University of Kentucky and Cornell University will tipoff at approximately 9:57 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 25. The Wildcats and Big Red will be the second game in Syracuse, N.Y., and will begin 30-minutes following the conclusion of West Virginia and Washington.

The Wildcats, seeded No. 1 in the East Regional, advanced to the Sweet 16 with a convincing 90-60 victory over ninth-seeded Wake Forest. It marks the first time that UK has advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2005. The win against the Demon Deacons was Kentucky’s 100th career NCAA tournament victory, second most all-time.

Cornell, the 12th-seed in the East Regional, advanced to face the Wildcats with an 87-69 victory over fourth-seeded Wisconsin on Sunday. It marks the first-ever trip to the Sweet 16 by the Big Red, who set the Ivy League record for wins in a single season, earning their 29th victory on Sunday.

Kentucky and Cornell have never met in the NCAA Tournament but have played once in the regular season with the Big Red claiming a 92-77 victory over the Wildcats in Lexington in 1967.

The winner between Kentucky and Cornell will meet the winner of West Virginia and Washington in the Regional Finals on March 27. The time for the Regional Final game has not been released.

UK has only played one game in the NCAA Tournament in Syracuse, falling in the Sweet 16 to No.1-seeded Maryland 78-68 in 2002.