LEXINGTON, Ky. – The NCAA men’s basketball selection committee has chosen Kentucky as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, extending the program’s national record with a 62nd selection to the Big Dance. The Cats will open play on Friday, when they will face Troy in Milwaukee. The game will be shown on CBS, beginning at 7:10 pm ET.
UK heads into March Madness with a 22-11 overall record in the program’s first season under head coach Mark Pope. For Pope, the NCAA bid is the third of his coaching career, having twice competed in the tournament while at the helm at BYU, including as a No. 6 seed last year.
The Wildcats finished sixth in the loaded Southeastern Conference, which earned a record 14 bids to the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky is coming off a quarterfinal appearance in the SEC Tournament this past week, where UK topped Oklahoma before falling to Alabama. For the first time ever, Kentucky earned two victories over No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament this season, defeating both Duke and Florida. UK racked up 11 Quad 1 wins and earned eight victories over Associated Press Top 15 opponents, tying an NCAA record for the most such wins.
In addition to the most appearances, Kentucky 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 all-time record in NCAA action, winning eight NCAA 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. Troy is 23-10 on the year and won the Sun Belt Tournament by defeating Arkansas State in the final.
Troy is averaging 73.9 points per game this season while allowing opponents to score 65.4 points per game. The Trojans are shooting 43.8 percent from the field and 29.9 percent from 3 on the season. Troy has a +5.6 rebounding margin and +0.2 turnover margin. Senior guard Tayton Conerway leads the team this season averaging 14.3 points per game while dishing out 158 assists. Thomas Dowd paces the team with 6.8 rebounds per game.
If Kentucky defeats Troy, the Wildcats play Sunday against the winner of No. 6 seed Illinois (21-12) and the play-in game between Texas (19-15) and Xavier (21-11). UK leads the all-time series with Illinois 11-4 and is 4-0 against the Illini in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats are 2-1 all-time against Texas, including 0-1 this season, and 37-2 vs. Xavier. UK has not faced the Longhorns or the Musketeers in NCAA Tournament action.
UK Women Host First and Second Rounds in Lexington
Printable Bracket (Women)
The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team was selected as a four seed in the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship and will host the First and Second Rounds inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
No. 4 Kentucky (22-7) will play host to No. 13 Liberty (26-6, CUSA Tournament Champions) in the First Round on Friday, March 21. The game will be shown on ESPN, beginning at 12 noon ET. The other First Round game in Lexington features fifth-seeded Kansas State against 12th-seeded Fairfield also on Friday. The winner of each game will square off in the Second Round on Sunday, March 23.
The Wildcats have been selected to host the First and Second Rounds of the championship for the seventh time in program history.
The No. 4 seed for UK is its fifth in program history, while it has been a four seed or better 12 times in program history. UK was last a No. 4 seed in 2021, when it defeated Idaho State in the First Round and fell to Iowa in the Second Round in San Antonio, Texas.
Kentucky’s selection in the NCAA Championship is its first since 2022. Tonight marked UK’s 18th selection in program history, boasting a 22-17 all-time record. UK is 13-4 in First Round games, while its 6-7 in Second Round games.
This season marked the fourth time the NCAA Championship includes 68 teams. The championship will again be utilizing a two-site regional format, with eight competing teams playing at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, and eight teams playing at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington. Regional action in Birmingham and Spokane will take place March 28-31, with each site hosting two regional semifinal games March 28 and two March 29. In addition, each site will host a regional championship game March 30 and one March 31.
The 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four will be played April 4 and 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
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