March 13, 2011

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The 15th-ranked University of Kentucky men’s basketball team will kick off its 51st NCAA Tournament vs. Princeton on Thursday, March 17 at approximately 2:45 p.m. ET at the St. Pete Times Forum the NCAA has announced.

The game will be televised live on CBS.

Kentucky (25-8) is seeded No. 4 in the East Regional and will face 13th-seeded Princeton (24-9) in the second round. The Cats have an all-time record of 2-1 against Princeton and a 1-0 advantage over the Tigers in the NCAA Tournament. The only meeting between the two teams in the NCAA Tournament took place in 1977 with UK winning 72-58. If Kentucky advances, it will take on the winner of West Virginia and UAB/Clemson on Saturday. All NCAA tournament games can be seen on either CBS, TBS, TNT or truTV.

UK and Princeton will be the second game of the afternoon session on Thursday, 30 minutes after the conclusion of the West Virginia and UAB/Clemson game which is scheduled for a 12:15 p.m. ET tip. Third round game times have not been released.

The Wildcats hold an all-time opening round NCAA Tournament record of 40-10, after defeating East Tennessee State, 100-71, last season. Kentucky has not lost its first game in the tournament since falling to Marquette in 2008. Prior to the Marquette loss, Kentucky had advanced to the second game of the NCAA Tournament for 16 consecutive seasons. UK head coach John Calipari has only lost his first game in the NCAA Tournament once.