Kentucky has received a 3 seed in the Midwest Region for next week's NCAA Tournament and will face 14 seed Troy in the opening round, the committee announced Sunday night.
The Wildcats (22-11) will face the Trojans (23-10) on Friday at 7 p.m. ET on CBS in Milwaukee, Wisc.
If Kentucky defeats Troy, the Cats play Sunday against the winner of 6 seed Illinois (21-12) and the play-in game between Texas (19-15) and Xavier (21-11) for the 11 seed.
Troy, who won the Sun Belt Conference, ranks 98th in the KenPom ratings. The Trojans (23-10) are 153rd in offensive efficiency and 71st in defensive efficiency. They are near the bottom of the NCAA in turnover rate (333rd) and 3-point shooting (339th) and own an unusual rebounding split at sixth in offensive rebounding and 292nd in defensive rebounding.
Senior guard Tayton Conerway leads Troy at 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.9 steals per game. Six-foot-8 sophomore forward Thomas Dowd chips in 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Dowd is also their top 3-point shooter with 46 made on the season but at a 30.3% shooting clip.
The remainder of the Midwest Region includes No. 1 seed Houston, Tennessee, Purdue, Clemson, Illinois, UCLA, Gonzaga, Georgia, Utah State, the play-in winner between Texas and Xavier, McNeese, High Point, Wofford, and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
A record 14 SEC teams made the tournament field. Two of them, No. 1 overall seed Auburn and 2 seed Tennessee will join 8 seed Louisville in the opening-round games at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
This extends Kentucky's record of 62 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Wildcats are 6-4 all-time as a No. 3 seed, including 2-1 in the first round.
In addition to the most appearances, UK holds the NCAA Tournament record for most games played (185), while it ranks second all-time in NCAA Tournament wins with 130. The Cats own a 130-55 record in NCAA action, winning eight championships and reaching 17 Final Fours.
Looking ahead to Thursday’s matchup, Kentucky is 49-12 in NCAA Tournament openers and has won 26 of its last 29 opening-round games.
Kentucky is set to play Troy for the second time in program history. UK owns a 1-0 record in the series all-time, the lone meeting coming in 2018.
