No. 17 Kentucky Earns 15th Appearance in NCAA Tournament
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 17 University of Kentucky ladies’ basketball crew has been selected as an at-massive group inside the 2019 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, earning the Wildcats’ 9th appearance inside the closing ten seasons inside the occasion. Sixth-seeded Kentucky (24-7) will face 11th-seeded Princeton (22-nine) inside the first spherical on Saturday internal Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C. The game will air live on ESPN2 (regionalization carried out) at 11 a.M. ET. NC State will play because of the host of the first- and 2nd- round video games to be held Saturday and Monday. For the first time when you consider that 2013, the Wildcats will travel for the first and 2d rounds after web hosting every of the remaining four appearances. The other first-spherical matchup in Raleigh capabilities third-seeded NC State towards 14th-seeded Maine at 1 p.M. ET on ESPN2. Ticket statistics could be available at gopack.Com.
The Wildcats earned a No. 6 seed inside the occasion, marking the second time the Wildcats had been a No. 6 seed inside the NCAA Tournament. This is the first time because of 2006 that the UK has now not earned a pinnacle-4 seed within the occasion. The UK’s remaining time held a No. 6 seed within the 1999 tournament while it played in Los Angeles, defeating Nebraska 98-92 inside the first round before falling to UCLA within the second round. Kentucky is 20-14 all-time inside the NCAA Tournament, including a 16-8 document beneath Mitchell. The excellent finishes for the UK got here in 2013, 2012, 2010, and 1982 while the Wildcats fell one win shy of the Final Four. This is Kentucky’s 15th all-time look in the NCAA Tournament and primarily because the website was hosting the first and second rounds in 2016-17.
The Wildcats are 11-3 all-time in first-spherical video games and are eight-zero underneath Mitchell in the beginning round games. The Wildcats entered the occasion with a 24-7 record and ranked seventeenth in both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches Top 25. Kentucky went 11-5 in conference play to earn the No. Four seed within the 2019 Southeastern Conference Tournament, the tenth time beneath Mitchell that the UK has finished top 4 inside the league. The UK has been led this season using freshman protect Rhyne Howard, who, remaining week, changed into named espnW National Freshman of the Year. According to recreation, the rookie is averaging 16.3 points with 6.7 rebounds in line with enjoyment and has made a crew-excessive tying 68 3s. Howard has also delivered 70 assists and 64 steals.
Senior shieldMaci Morris averages 14.9 points in step with sport and has it sixty-eight 3s with a three-point percentage of 38.6 percentage, which ranks top-10 nationally. Fellow senior shield Taylor Murray is averaging 12. Five factors keep with the game and lead the UK with a hundred and fifteen assists and ninety-eight steals. Princeton (22-nine) defeated Penn sixty five-fifty four on Sunday to assert the Ivy League Tournament Championship and secure an automatic bid into the occasion. The Tigers input the event on a 12-game winning streak, rolled through Ivy League opposition the final two months. Princeton loses seven of its first eight video games to start the season. The Tigers have been led this season with the aid of Bella Alarie is averaging 23. Zero points per game with 10.4 rebounds consistent with the sport, while Carlie Littlefield averages thirteen.5 factors consistent with recreation with 88 assists.
Gabrielle Rush is averaging 12. Five points in line with entertainment, and he have hit 87 three-pointers this season. Princeton is averaging 70.7 factors according to recreation as a team, hitting 6.8 3s in keeping with enjoyment. Kentucky was one of seven Southeastern Conference groups to be presented a bid to the NCAA Tournament on Monday evening. Mississippi State earned an automatic bid to the match after winning the conference tournament and is a No. 1 seed in the Portland Regional. South Carolina, Missouri, Auburn, Texas A&M, and Tennessee also are going to the Big Dance. Also, income No. 1 seed are Louisville, Notre Dame, and Baylor. Baylor and Notre Dame every won their respective convention match titles to acquire automatic bids. The Final Four may be performed on April 5 and seven at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Fla.
