Box-Score From Kentucky's First Round Win Over Abilene Christian

Kentucky Earns Record 58th NCAA Tournament appearance With 2 Seed in the Mid-West

The University of Kentucky men's basketball team extended its national record for most NCAA Tournament appearances to 58 on Sunday, as the team was selected as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region. The Wildcats will play Abilene Christian, the region’s No. 15 seed, on Thursday, in Jacksonville, Florida.
 
This is the seventh time in program history Kentucky has earned a No. 2 seed in the annual event. Most recently, the Cats participated as the No. 2 seed in the South Region of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, falling 75-73 to eventual national champion No. 1 North Carolina in the regional final after defeating the Tar Heels 103-100 in the regular season.
 
The Wildcats finished the 2018-19 regular season winning six of seven to cap off a 15-3 Southeastern Conference slate and a share of second place in the league standings. UK’s 27-6 overall record entering the NCAA Tournament includes winning streaks of 10, seven and four games.
 
Kentucky is 47-10 in NCAA Tournament openers and has won 24 of its last 25 opening-round games. The Cats own a 126-51 all-time record in NCAA action, with their .712 winning percentage the fifth-best in NCAA history. UK is making its sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Kentucky is set for its first all-time matchup with Abilene Christian. ACU is coming off a 77-60 win over New Orleans in the championship of the Southland Conference Tournament on Saturday. Abilene Christian will be making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament after making the jump to Division I in 2013-14. ACU is 27-6 on the year and has won eight of its last nine games. Abilene Christian is averaging 74.4 points per game this season and is paced by senior forward Jaren Lewis, who is averaging 13.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
 
With a win over Abilene Christian, Kentucky would face the winner of the No. 7 Wofford (29-4) and No. 10 Seton Hall (20-13). UK has never faced Wofford, while the Wildcats and Pirates met in December at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Seton Hall claimed an 84-83 decision in overtime for a 2-1 lead in the all-time head-to-head series. 
 
Tickets for the first and second round games in Jacksonville can be purchased by visiting NCAA.com/MBBTickets. Fans will find complete ticket information for all NCAA sites, including information on the NCAA Ticket Exchange (NCAA.com/Exchange), the official secondary marketplace for authentic NCAA Tournament tickets. Preliminary student ticket information is posted online at UKStudentTix.com and will be updated with specifics later this evening.

Calipari's Thought's On Selection Sunday

UK Head Coach John Calipari

On how the NCAA Tournament draw turned out…

“It’s fine. I mean I thought that there was a chance we play in Louisville. I thought it was slim, but it was none. None! Not happening, but that’s fine. I mean this thing has a lot of good teams. The teams in our little corner of the bracket, one beat us, the other team is the team you knew. Then, Abilene Christian I don’t know much about, but if they are in my guess is that they shoot 3s. Which means if they make 20, we lose in the first round. I mean at this time of the year it’s one and done. Look, we’ve used the year to prepare these kids for this tournament and the stuff that we just went through where you have your chances, a couple of things happen out of your control, a couple of things happen in your control. Then all of the sudden, you drop a game. What a great lesson going in. I remember 2012, we were up with four to five minutes to go, and then we let go of the rope and lost. That was the best thing that happened in 2012. So, we’ll see.”

On if Kentucky was the No. 1 seed playing the No. 2 seed Duke in Charlotte…

“Well, when I was at Memphis, we played Texas A&M in Houston and then we played Texas in San Antonio and we were the higher seed. It happens against me.”

On the thought of playing Kansas in Kansas City…

“I haven’t even looked so I don’t know, you’re telling me stuff. Look, every team right now, it’s who’s hot, who’s fresh. You have some teams that are beat up a little bit. You are just trying to survive game after game. These kids are so young, I told them to stop watching games because you don’t need anything other than what you have at hand. You have to have that free mind and any anxiety you have watching games is stupid and wasted. Teams that you may think you will play end up getting beat. Stay in the moment. Last year we had a heck of a run, the year before we had a heck of a run. Both games we had a chance of winning and advancing. It came down to the last play or two. The way Nick (Richards) and EJ (Montgomery) played in the first half, first half! Immanuel (Quickley) has gotten better. Jamarl (Baker Jr.) didn’t have a chance, but I told him you’re going to have a chance in this tournament. The main reason is; I know I can put him in because he can defend. He’s engaged with our team defensively. I said you get in the game and do something. It’s crazy, all of the sudden people will be talking about you. But, you need to be ready.”

On if the team learned a lesson from the loss to Tennessee…

“Hopefully Reid (Travis) doesn’t get three tough foul calls. All three of them were really tough foul calls which took him out of the game. He would’ve been in that game and I imagine he would’ve got that ball. But it’s the other guys, like you’ve got to fight. It’s a dog fight and you have to give them credit. They kept giving him foul shots, but guess what? They kept making them. Then that kid makes the corner three, (Grant) Williams, it shows how mentally tough he is, not just physically. Throwing his body, flopping all over the place, getting fouls called, charges were blocks but it didn’t matter because he made foul shots and he made that three in the corner. We had a couple of turnovers that were, you know. I even told them when I look at the stats, I can’t believe we lost that game. I’ll watch the tape but if you look at the stat line, how in the world did we lose that? And until you had a charge called, a walk called, a step out of bounds… who stepped out? Did our guys step out, did their guy step out? Those three turnovers put us at 11, we had eight turnovers against that team? Come on.  That’s why I said I feel good going in, let’s go let’s play the games. Not even unhappy we’re playing on Thursday because we didn’t play this afternoon so let’s play on Thursday. “

On playing a team “on edge”… 

“Everybody’s going to have an edge. Everybody’s playing for their life and survival. Can a team go back to their training? You can’t play up to the tournament. You know why? Because you can do that in 15 minutes. You can’t play up to the opponent because you can do that for 15 minutes. You have to play to your training, you play to your conditioning. And that you can do for 40 minutes and if you can play for 40 minutes, you’ll have a chance to win every game you play. You may not win them all because there’s so many other factors that are involved in it, but you put yourself in the best position to win if you can play if your team can play 40 the way they are capable of playing it. “

On your reaction to North Carolina being the third No. 1 seed from the ACC….

“I mean, it is what it is. That’s how they felt. It is what it is.”

On Tennessee getting the spot in Louisville…

“I’ll call him and say I’ve had to do that a few times and as a matter of fact, against you when he was at Texas.”

On if you have watched any North Carolina games this year…

“I haven’t watched them since we played. Guys look, I watch The Last Frontier, Life Below Zero, anybody watch those? The whole time I’m telling my wife I can do that. She’s like, psshh you can’t do that. Building Off The Grid, anybody watch that? I’m giving you stuff to help your culture. No, I didn’t watch the Top Chef, even that episode I haven’t. I don’t have time for that. So, I’m not watching other teams. I get to watch my own team and I get to watch the opponents we’re playing. I’d like to have a life so I may turn on a game for five minutes and I watch it. I think I watched the Duke vs. North Carolina game for about three minutes in the first half. North Carolina, I think I was like wow and then they told me what the score was, and I said how in the world did that happen. North Carolina’s playing good. The point guard’s playing good. They’re good. I’m not worried about them, we have to get through Abilene Christian. That’s all I’m worried about right now.”

On being excited about Belmont getting a bid…

“Yeah Rick Byrd and I are good friends. Coach Byrd, they let us use their gym again and we talked about it. I told him with what you’ve done, you deserve to be in this thing, you should be at large and then what happens is all of a sudden, all these bubble teams start popping up and if you’re Belmont, you’re like what did this do. They deserve to be in it, and who wants to play them? I mean go ahead, they’re going to take 30 3’s and run their stuff and execute. I don’t want to play them either. That’s not a good one to play.”

On how do you get freshman to play to their training…

“It’s hard, but you just talk about it. I was in huddles just saying play to the training, how do we make that play? What kind of play are we making there? We’ve done it a thousand times, play to the training, don’t do what you want to do, don’t do what you did in high school, it does not work here. And, that is where your coaching comes in. You take a guy out and coach him immediately. Is that the training, is that what you know? You ask, well why would you do that? You can’t be in on that. Then you put them back in and they understand that. It’s a process when you have young guys. “

On is it easy to spot when players aren’t playing to their training… 

“No. A lot of times it’s as the game goes on and they get a little tired. I even said we kind of rode Ashton (Hagans) and now he gets tired that last minute-and-a-half or two minutes. So, we rode him and went high, pick and roll so it was like uh oh they can’t guard, well that was him. “

Notes From Kentucky's Win Over Alabama

UK MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME NOTES

KENTUCKY vs. ALABAMA

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT | BRIDGESTONE ARENA | NASHVILLE, TENN.

MARCH 15, 2019
ATTENDANCE: TBA

Final Score: No. 4 Kentucky 73, Alabama 55

Team Records and Series Notes

• Kentucky is 27-5 overall and has won three in a row. Alabama is 18-15. 
• Kentucky leads the series 113-38.  In the regular season, Alabama won 77-75 in Tuscaloosa.
• Kentucky advances to the SEC Tournament semifinals vs. Tennessee or Mississippi State. Saturday’s semi is at approximately 3:30 p.m. EDT (2:30 p.m. CDT in Nashville). The game will be televised on ESPN.

In the First Half

• Kentucky started the combination of Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington and EJ Montgomery for the fourth time. UK is 4-0 with this lineup.
• Tied at 9, Kentucky stormed an 11-0 run over five straight possessions – taking only 1:15 off the clock – for a 20-9 lead.  
• Following an Alabama basket, UK surged six more points for a total run of 17-2 and a 26-11 lead.
• Sparked by nine blocked shots – already a season high – and limiting Alabama to 31 percent shooting, Kentucky took a 39-29 lead into halftime

In the Second Half

• Kentucky opened with the second half with Hagans, Herro, Johnson, Washington and Reid Travis.
• Alabama got the first basket of the half, cutting the deficit to eight at 39-31, but the Crimson Tide got no closer. 
• Kentucky largest lead was the final score at 73-55.

Team Notes

• UK held Alabama to 55 points.  UK is a perfect 73-0 under Coach John Calipari when keeping the opponent to 55 points of fewer, including 9-0 this season.
• UK limited Alabama to 30.4 percent shooting.  UK is 179-15 (.923) under Calipari when keeping the opponent at 40 percent or less, including 15-0 this season.
• Kentucky blocked a season-high 11 shots, nine of which came in the first half. 
• Kentucky led the rebounding 42-32, a major difference from the first time these teams met, when Alabama won the rebounding by eight.
• In addition to winning the rebounding, UK also led the points in the paint, 34-18.
• UK led by as many as 18 points tonight.  UK is 257-5 (.981) during the Calipari era when leading by at least 10 points at any time in the contest. 

In the SEC Tournament

• Kentucky has an all-time record of 134-25 in the SEC Tournament, and has won 13 in a row, including the last four championships.
• UK is 45-11 in quarterfinals games.
• UK leads Alabama 17-2 in SEC Tournament games, including 6-1 in quarterfinals games.
• This is the fourth year in a row that the teams met in the SEC Tournament, with UK defeating Alabama in the 2016 quarterfinals, 2017 semifinals and 2018 and ’19 quarters.
• Coach Calipari is 23-3 in the SEC Tournament.

Looking Ahead to Saturday

• UK is 42-2 in SEC Tournament semifinal games. This marks UK’s sixth consecutive appearance in the semifinals.
• UK leads the Tennessee series, 155-72. 
• On February 16, UK won 86-69 in Lexington. 
• On March 2, Tennessee won 71-52 in Knoxville. 
• UK is 12-4 vs. Tennessee in the SEC Tournament, including 5-1 in semifinal games.
• UK leads the Mississippi State series, 97-20, and has won 13 in a row.
• On January 22, UK won 76-55 in Lexington.
• On February 9, UK won 71-67 in Starkville.
• UK is 8-2 vs. Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament, including 1-0 in semifinal games.
  

Player Notes  

• Tyler Herro led all scorers with 20 points, his sixth 20-point game of the season and his third 20-point output in the last five games.  
• UK is 18-0 this season when he scores at least 15.
• He made 2-of-2 free throws and has made 62 of his last 63 at the charity stripe.
• PJ Washington had a stat-stuffer game with 10 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four blocked shots and two steals.
• It is his eighth double-double of the season.   
• The four blocks tied his career high, now accomplished six times.
• Ashton Hagans had two points, adding six rebounds and a game-high six assists. 
• Immanuel Quickley scored 12 points, making all four field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers.
• The three 3s tied his career high.
• UK is 6-0 this season when he scores in double figures.
• Reid Travis returned after a five-game absence because of a sprained knee.  Playing 23 minutes, he totaled eight points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. 

Calipari

• Calipari is now 302-69 at UK.  
• Calipari has a 747-209 all-time on-court record.
• UK is 245-40 vs. unranked competition under Calipari, and has won the last 13 in a row. 

Kentucky vs. Alabama OFFICIAL BOX-SCORE

Tyler Herro Named SEC Freshman of The Week

 After dominating the Southeastern Conference weekly awards this season, the Kentucky men’s basketball team fittingly took home one of the last honors of the 2018-19 year with Tyler Herro winning SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday.  

Herro was tabbed the best freshman in the league last week for a team-high-tying third time this season after leading UK to victories at Ole Miss and at home vs. Florida, two teams fighting for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth. Herro averaged a team-high-tying 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

The Milwaukee native, who is one of the leading candidates for the SEC Freshman of the Year award, was both efficient and effective in the two victories. He shot 60.9 percent from the floor, 40.0 percent from 3 and was a perfect 6 for 6 from the free-throw line.

In a dangerous game at Ole Miss on Tuesday, Herro scored 20 points for his fifth 20-point game of the season. He was 8 for 12 from the floor, recorded five rebounds, three steals and knocked down two free throws late in the game to help seal the outcome.

Four days later, in the regular-season home finale, Herro scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with six rebounds and two assists.

Herro finished the regular season with a 14.2 scoring average – second best on the team on 46.5-percent shooting and a team-high 53 3-pointers. He led the team with 25 double-figure scoring games, and UK was 17-0 this season when he scored 15 or more points.

Herro averaged a team-high 15.5 points per game on 50.5-percent shooting in UK’s 10 road games this season, scoring 12 or more in all but one. As a matter of fact, Herro was one of only four players nationally this season to average at least 15 points per game on the road while shooting at least 50 percent from the field, at least 35 percent from 3-point range and at least 90 percent from the free-throw line.

The 6-foot-5 guard has been elite at the foul line. He’s shooting 93.9 percent from the charity stripe, which would be a single-season school record (minimum 50 attempts) if the season ended today. He’s made 60 of his last 61 foul shots. 

With this week’s honor, Herro tied teammate Keldon Johnson for a league-high three SEC Freshman of the Week honors. UK freshman guard Ashton Hagans also won two SEC Freshman of the Week awards to give Kentucky eight for the season, the most in the league. Sophomore forward PJ Washington also won SEC Player of the Week twice this season for 10 total SEC weekly honors in 2018-19.

Kentucky has won more weekly SEC honors (99) than any other school during the John Calipari era, including 79 SEC Freshman of the Week honors and 20 SEC Player of the Week awards.

The Wildcats hope to take home additional hardware when the conference announces its season-long awards Tuesday.

With a 26-5 regular season in the rearview mirror, UK turns its attention to the annual SEC Tournament. The Wildcats have earned the No. 2 seed and will play the winner of the Alabama-Ole Miss game on Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. That game will be televised by the SEC Network.

Should UK win that game, it would play Saturday at approximately 2:25 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Kentucky is seeking its fifth straight SEC Tournament championship and seventh in 10 seasons under Calipari. UK has made the championship game in eight of Calipari’s nine seasons at UK.

P.J. Washington Named 3rd Team All-American By Sporting News

After helping lead the Kentucky men’s basketball team to a No. 2 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament and a 26-win regular season, sophomore forward PJ Washington opened awards season on Monday with selection to the Sporting News All-America Third Team. 

Washington is the first Wildcat to earn All-America distinction by the publication since Malik Monk was a second-team choice in 2017. The Sporting News is one of the four “major” NCAA-recognized All-America teams that the NCAA uses for its consensus All-America teams. The other three are the Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

The Dallas native, was joined on the Sporting News All-America Third Team by Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), Kyle Guy (Virginia) and De’Andre Hunter (Virginia).

Washington is the 11th player under John Calipari to earn All-America honors by one of the four major organizations. He joins John Wall (2010), DeMarcus Cousins (2010), Anthony Davis (2012), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2012), Julius Randle (2014), Willie Cauley-Stein (2015), Karl-Anthony Towns (2015), Tyler Ulis (2016), Jamal Murray (2016) and Malik Monk (2017) in earning All-America distinction by either the Sporting News, AP, USBWA or the NABC.

The dynamic sophomore has been the catalyst to UK’s success in 2019. He’s among the candidates for two national player of the year honors as one of 15 candidates for the Wooden Award and one of 10 semifinalists for the Citizen Naismith Trophy. He’s also one of five finalists for the Karl Malone Award, which honors the nation’s best power forward.

Washington has been on a tear since the calendar flipped to 2019. He’s scored 20 or more points in eight of the last 14 games and has been at the center of Kentucky’s national surge. The Wildcats have won 16 of their last 18 and are firmly in the discussion for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Washington is averaging 18.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 blocks over the last 14 games. During that stretch, he’s shooting 52.8 percent from the floor and 45.2 from 3-point range. That span also includes three straight double-doubles vs. then-No. 9/10 Kansas, at Vanderbilt and at Florida. 

Overall, Washington leads the Wildcats in both scoring (14.9 points per game) and rebounding (7.5 rpg). After mulling a decision to turn pro after last season, Washington is enjoying career highs in virtually every statistical category in his return sophomore season, including a team-high seven double-doubles.

For the season, Washington is shooting 52.1 percent from the floor and 42.3 percent from 3-point range. A year after hitting just five 3s in 37 games at a 23.8-percent rate, he's already drained 30 this season.

He’s one of just four players nationally standing 6-foot-8 or taller averaging at least 14.5 points, shooting at least 50 percent from the field, at least 42 percent from 3-point range and with at least 30 made 3-pointers.

Perhaps the truest indicator of Washington’s worth this season is his impressive play vs. Kentucky’s best competition. In UK’s eight games vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams, Washington is averaging 16.1 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 52.9 percent. 

Notable games include a recent 23-point game vs. Auburn that featured a career-high five 3-pointers, 23 points in the home win over then-top-ranked Tennessee, and a 29-point, 12-rebound game vs. Seton Hall.

Washington was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on Feb. 19 and is a two-time SEC Player of the Week pick this season.

Kentucky begins postseason action at the SEC Tournament on Friday. The Wildcats will take on the winner of Ole Miss and Alabama at 7 p.m. ET on Friday inside of Bridgestone Arena in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. The game will air live on the SEC Network. 

Calipari Named Semifinalist For Naismith Coach of The Year

Already one of just two coaches to win the Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year three times, John Calipari is looking to become the first four-time winner of the award with the his inclusion on Monday’s semifinalists list.

Calipari is one of 11 coaches up for the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s top coaching honor. Calipari (1998, 2008, 2015) is tied with Duke’s Mike Kzryzewski (1989, 1992, 1999) for the most Naismith honors.

Four finalists will be announced on March 20, at which point fans can support their favorite coach by visitingNaismithTrophy.com/vote. Voting will take place March 22 through April 3 with the fan vote accounting for five percent of the overall final vote.

The winner will be awarded at the Naismith Awards Brunch during the Final Four in Minneapolis.

The Atlanta Tipoff Club’s national voting academy is comprised of leading journalists from around the country, current and former head coaches, former award winners and conference commissioners. The voting is based solely on the performances of the 2018-19 season.

Calipari’s work in 2018-19 has certainly been one of his finest.

With Calipari at the helm, Kentucky completed a 26-5 regular season Saturday and earned a No. 2 seed in the annual Southeastern Conference Tournament, just a game behind LSU for the SEC regular-season championship.

UK has positioned itself for a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a No. 5 ranking in the NCAA Evaluation Tool, a 5-3 record vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams and a 10-4 mark vs. quadrant one teams, including five of those away from home. 

Calipari has once again proved to be a master of blending talented but young pieces together in a short period of time. With just two significant returners from last season’s Sweet 16 team in PJ Washington and Nick Richards and one of the most inexperienced lineups in the country – KenPom.com rates UK 351st out of 353 teams in its experience rankings – the Wildcats have won 16 of their last 18 games and positioned themselves as national title contenders.

Washington has emerged as an All-American player, Kentucky’s freshman class has proven to be one of the best in the country, and UK overcame early-season adversity and a late-season injury to graduate transfer Reid Travis for Calipari’s sixth straight 25-win season. 

Calipari has strung together 25 straight seasons of 20 or more on-court wins, the longest active streak in the country. Three of UK’s five losses this season have been by a combined five points, and UK’s strength of schedule ranks No. 16 in the country.

How has Calipari’s team done it? His career staple: defense.

After struggling to defend early in the season with new pieces, the Wildcats are once again one of the best defensive teams in the country. UK ranks No. 8 in the latest KenPom.com defensive efficiency rankings.

UK has been particularly good in the conference season on the defensive end, limiting opponents to just 62.6 points per game and 39.4 percent from the field. The Wildcats have held five league foes to their lowest point total at the time of the game. 

This season has featured a couple of milestones for Calipari.

With an 80-53 victory vs. Auburn on Feb. 23, Calipari moved past Joe B. Hall for the second-most wins in program history. He trails only the legendary Adolph Rupp (876 wins) for the most wins at Kentucky and earned win No. 300 at Ole Miss on Tuesday.

When he reached win No. 300 at UK, he became the fourth-fastest coach in NCAA Division I history to 300 wins at the same school. Only Bill Self (358 games at Kansas), Claire Bee (359 games at Long Island) and Rupp (366 at UK) got there faster.

A “players-first” coach with a penchant for helping players reach their dreams, Calipari has guided six teams to the Final Four, led one to a national championship and helped 42 players earn selection in the NBA Draft during his now-27-year college coaching career.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer guided Kentucky to its eighth national championship and his first national title in 2012. In becoming only the second coach in NCAA history to lead three different schools to the Final Four, he has racked up more than 700 on-court victories, 19 NCAA Tournament appearances, six Final Fours and numerous national coach of the year honors.

Among the other major coach of the year honors Calipari has won during his career:

·         Three-time NABC National Coach of the Year

·         Three-time Naismith National Coach of the Year

·         Three-time Sporting News National Coach of the Year

·         Two-time Adolph Rupp National Coach of the Year

·         Nine-time conference coach of the year (league or media in Atlantic 10, Conference USA or Southeastern Conference)

·         2018 NABC Metropolitan Award

·         2015 Associated Press National Coach of the Year

·         2012 Nell & John Wooden Coach of the Year Leadership Award

·         2009 Sports Illustrated National Coach of the Year

Kentucky Earns The #2 Seed For the SEC Tournament With Win Over Florida

The Kentucky men’s basketball team will be the No. 2 seed in the annual Southeastern Conference Tournament when action begins Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee. The Wildcats, who earned the coveted double bye (automatically advancing to the quarterfinals), will play the winner of No. 7 seed Ole Miss vs. No. 10 seed Alabama on Friday in St. Louis at approximately 7 p.m. ET in the quarterfinals.

Kentucky completed its 2018-19 regular season on Saturday with a 66-57 victory over Florida to finish at 26-5 and 15-3 in the SEC. UK finished in a tie for second place with Tennessee, just a game behind LSU for the regular-season championship.  

The Wildcats are seeking their fifth straight SEC Tournament championship and seventh in John Calipari’s 10 seasons at Kentucky.

  

UK will need two wins to advance to their ninth SEC Tournament title game in the last 10 seasons. The Wildcats have earned a double bye in every season since it went into effect in 2013.

The tournament could be wide open after a highly competitive and tightly bunched regular season among the league’s teams. As many as eight teams are projected to get into the NCAA Tournament with several schools looking to strengthen their postseason profile for an at-large berth.

UK’s quarterfinal SEC Tournament game will be televised by the SEC Network. If Kentucky wins Friday, it would play Saturday at approximately 3:25 p.m. ET. Sunday’s championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. Both the semifinals and championship game will be televised on ESPN.

Kentucky leads the league with 31 SEC Tournament titles. The Wildcats are 133-25 all-time in the SEC Tournament, including 44-11 in the quarterfinals.

UK defeated Ole Miss on Tuesday, 80-76, in Oxford, Mississippi, in the lone meeting this season between the two schools. The Wildcats are 15-0 all-time vs. Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament, including 6-0 in the quarterfinals.

If Kentucky faces Alabama, it would be the fourth straight season the Wildcats have faced the Crimson Tide in the SEC Tournament. UK has won all three of the previous matchups and is 16-2 vs. Alabama in the league tournament and is 5-1 in the quarterfinals. But, Alabama won the lone regular-season meeting back on Jan. 5 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 77-75.

Also on Kentucky’s side of the bracket is No. 3 seed Tennessee, No. 6 seed Mississippi State, No. 11 seed Texas A&M and No. 14 seed Vanderbilt.

The tournament returns to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for the fourth time in the last five seasons after a pit stop in St. Louis last season. UK has won the SEC Tournament the last three times it has been in Nashville and four times under Calipari. 

  

Single-session tickets for the SEC Tournament are on sale at SECTicketOffice.com. 

P.J. Washington Added To The John R. Wooden Award's List

 With the way sophomore PJ Washington has led the Kentucky men’s basketball team through the arduous Southeastern Conference slate, it should be no surprise that he’s being mentioned as one of the best players in the country. On Saturday, Washington added another honor to his growing list of recognition with a selection to the John R. Wooden Award’s 2018-19 National Ballot.

Washington is one of 15 players selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, who are candidates for the Wooden Award All American Team and the Wooden Award Trophy, which is given to the season’s most outstanding college basketball player.

Voting for the award will begin on March 18 and conclude on March 25. Voters consist of nearly 1,000 members of the media as well as the fans. Fans may vote at woodenawardvote.com.

All balloted players have been certified by their university to meet or exceed the qualifications for the Wooden Award set forth by Coach Wooden when the award was established. The qualifications include: candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court; candidates must be a full-time student in an accredited NCAA college or university; candidates must be making progress toward graduation and have a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or better; candidates must contribute to team effort; candidates must excel in both offense and defense; and candidates should be considered on their performance over the course of the entire season.

On Wednesday, Washington was tabbed as one of 10 semifinalists for the Citizen Naismith Trophy, awarded annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the national player of the year, and he was selected as one of five finalists for the Karl Malone Award, which honors the nation’s best power forward on Thursday.

This year’s finalists for the Wooden Award are Washington, RJ Barret (Duke), Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga), Jarrett Culver (Texas Tech), Mike Daum (South Dakota State), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga), Ethan Happ (Wisconsin), Markus Howard (Marquette), De’Andre Hunter (Virginia), Dedric Lawson (Kansas), Ja Morant (Murray State), Grant Williams (Tennessee), Zion Williamson (Duke) and Cassius Winston (Michigan State).

Washington is looking to become the second winner in program history. Anthony Davis was tabbed the Wooden Award winner in 2012 after leading Kentucky to its eighth national championship. Other winners include Larry Bird (1979), Michael Jordan (1984), Tim Duncan (1997) and Kevin Durant (2007).

The Dallas native has been on a tear since the calendar flipped to 2019. He’s scored 20 or more points in eight of the last 13 games and has been at the center of Kentucky’s national surge. The Wildcats have won 15 of their last 17 and are firmly in the discussion for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Washington is averaging 18.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 blocks over the last 13 games. During that stretch, he’s shooting 53.7 percent from the floor and 47.5 from 3-point range. That span also includes three straight double-doubles vs. then-No. 9/10 Kansas, at Vanderbilt and at Florida. 

Overall, Washington leads the Wildcats in both scoring (14.9 points per game) and rebounding (7.4 rpg). After mulling a decision to turn pro after last season, Washington is enjoying career highs in virtually every statistical category in his return sophomore season, including a team-high seven double-doubles.

For the season, Washington is shooting 52.5 percent from the floor and 43.5 percent from 3-point range. A year after hitting just five 3s in 37 games at a 23.8-percent rate, he's already drained 30 in 30 games this season.

He’s one of just five players nationally standing 6-foot-8 or taller averaging at least 14.5 points, shooting at least 50 percent from the field, at least 40 percent from 3-point range and with at least 30 made 3-pointers.

Perhaps the truest indicator of Washington’s worth this season is his impressive play vs. Kentucky’s best competition. In UK’s eight games vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams, Washington is averaging 16.1 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 52.9 percent. 

Notable games include a recent 23-point game vs. Auburn that featured a career-high five 3-pointers, 23 points in the home win over then-top-ranked Tennessee, and a 29-point, 12-rebound game vs. Seton Hall.

Washington was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on Feb. 19 and is a two-time SEC Player of the Week pick this season.

The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation’s top-10 players, and the five finalists for the Wooden Award will be announced following the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. The announcement will take place April 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET and air live on ESPNU.

OFFICIAL BOX SCORE: Kentucky 66 Florida 57