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Cats No. 2 seed in Midwest

Kentucky will open the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla., against No. 15 seed Abilene Christian out of the Southland Conference.

John Calipari's team will be the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region.
John Calipari's team will be the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
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The road to the Final Four will feature some potential matchups with familiar faces for Kentucky.

The Wildcats received the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region on Sunday when the NCAA Tournament selection committee revealed its brackets.

Kentucky (27-6) will open the event on Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla., against No. 15 seed Abilene Christian (27-6), who finished second in the Southland Conference but won the league's tournament. The Lone Star Wildcats have won eight of their last 10 games.

From there, a potential rematch with No. 10 seed Seton Hall looms in the second round. The Pirates, who face seventh-seeded Wofford in the opening round, defeated Kentucky 84-83 in overtime on Dec. 8 in New York City.

The Sweet 16 would include one of the following teams: Iowa State (6), Ohio State (11), Houston (3) or Georgia State (14). The third-seeded Cougars would be a particularly challenging matchup. Kelvin Sampson's 31-3 squad is ranked No. 4 in the NCAA's new NET ratings, two spots ahead of UK.

In the top half of the bracket, Kentucky could see three teams it has already faced and defeated this season: No. 1 seed North Carolina, No. 4 seed Kansas and No. 5 seed Auburn, which won the SEC Tournament on Sunday with an eye-opening 84-64 rout of Tennessee.

The upper bracket also features Utah State (8), Washington (9), New Mexico State (12), Northeastern (13) and Iona (16).

The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games will be played in Kansas City.

Duke was named the top overall seed for the tournament and slotted No. 1 in the East. Michigan State will be the Blue Devils' No. 2 seed with the finals to be held in Washington, D.C.

Virginia is the No. 1 seed in the South with Tennessee as the No. 2 seed. The winner of that region will come through the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.

Gonzaga earned the No. 1 seed in the West with Michigan as the No. 2 seed. The finals will be played in Los Angeles.

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