Kentucky draws Providence for opening round of NCAA Tourney

WUKY | By UK Athletics,

Published March 12, 2023 at 9:56 PM EDT

The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team extended its national record for most NCAA Tournament appearances to 60 on Sunday, as the Wildcats were selected as the No. 6 seed in the East Region. The Wildcats will play Providence, the region’s No. 11 seed, on Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Cats and the Friars will tip off at 7:10 ET and the game can be seen on CBS.

Big Blue Nation is headed to Greensboro, North Carolina to kick off the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats are given a sixth seed in the east region and will face the eleventh seed Providence Friars on Friday.

The cats come off a tough quarterfinal loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament, Friday night.

Providence reached the NCAA tournament as an at large selection and features former Kentucky forward, Bryce Hopkins, who leads the team in scoring.

Coach John Calipari told LEX 18,“Bryce is such a great kid and he’s a terrific basketball player.”

Coach Calipari also stated he would like a full team going into the tournament.

The winner of the game on Friday will advance to play the winner of three seed Kansas State and fourteen seed Montana State, on Sunday. The East
Region also contains number one seed Purdue and familiar powerhouse, Duke.

The Cats continue to make history as NCAA record sixtieth tournament appearance. Big Blue will strive to win their ninth national championship and second under coach John Calipari in Houston.