UK basketball’s NCAA Tournament path is set. Here’s who and where the Wildcats will play.

The NCAA Tournament path is set for the Kentucky men’s basketball team.

UK was given a No. 6 seed in the East Region (New York City) in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, as revealed on the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday evening.

Kentucky (21-11) will open tournament play against No. 11 seed Providence (21-11) in the first round of March Madness on Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The game will be played at 7 p.m. Friday and is set to be broadcast on CBS.

The winner of that game will play the winner of No. 3 seed Kansas State (23-9) and No. 14 seed Montana State (25-9).

Providence reached the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection and features former Wildcat Bryce Hopkins, who is averaging more than 16 points and eight rebounds per game this season for the Friars.

Also joining the Cats and Friars in the East Region are No. 1 seed Purdue, No. 2 seed Marquette, No. 4 seed Tennessee, No. 5 seed Duke, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 8 seed Memphis, No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic, No. 10 seed USC, No. 12 seed Oral Roberts, No. 13 seed Louisiana, No. 15 seed Vermont and the winner of a play-in game between No. 16 seeds Texas Southern and Fairleigh Dickinson.

UK will enter the NCAA Tournament having won five of its last seven games, but the Cats lost in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday night to Vanderbilt.

During the NCAA Selection Show on CBS, former Villanova head coach Jay Wright said that he could see the winner of the first-round game between Kentucky and Providence reaching the Sweet 16, which would come with a trip to Madison Square Garden.

The Cats have already played in Madison Square Garden this season. UK lost to UCLA at that venue in December in the CBS Sports Classic.

Kentucky will be making its 60th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the most of any school.

This will be the first time that UK will be a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The Cats got a No. 6 seed for the 1982 NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round to Middle Tennessee State.

The Cats own a 129-53 all-time record in NCAA action.

Friday will mark the fourth time in history that UK and Providence will square off on the hardwood, and the first time in the NCAA Tournament.

Northern Kentucky, Rick Pitino also in NCAA Tournament field

The Wildcats are one of two teams from the commonwealth that qualified for the 68-team NCAA Tournament field, along with Northern Kentucky (22-12).

The Norse won the Horizon League Tournament for the fourth time in seven seasons last week, and NKU will be making its third NCAA Tournament appearance, and first since 2019.

NKU was given a No. 16 seed for the tournament in the Midwest Region (Kansas City).

The Norse will begin tournament play against No. 1 seed Houston (31-3) in the first round of March Madness on Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama. The game tips off at around 9:15 p.m. on TNT.

Additionally, former Kentucky and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino will lead Iona (27-7) into the NCAA Tournament as the champions of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.

Iona will be a No. 13 seed in the West Region (Las Vegas) and will play No. 4 seed Connecticut in the first round of March Madness on Friday (about 4:20 p.m., TBS) in Albany, New York.

Alabama named top overall seed for 2023 NCAA Tournament

Alabama (29-5) is the No. 1 overall seed for this year’s NCAA Tournament and will play in the South Region (Louisville). The Crimson Tide won the SEC Tournament earlier Sunday.

The other three 1 seeds are Houston (31-3) in the Midwest Region (Kansas City), Kansas (27-7) in the West Region (Las Vegas) and Purdue in the East Region (New York City).

A total of eight SEC schools made the tournament field of 68:

▪ No. 1 seed Alabama (South Region)

▪ No. 7 seed Missouri (South Region)

▪ No. 9 seed Auburn (Midwest Region)

▪ No. 11 seed Mississippi State (Midwest Region, but will play in a play-in game)

▪ No. 7 seed Texas A&M (Midwest Region)

▪ No. 8 seed Arkansas (West Region)

▪ No. 4 seed Tennessee (East Region)

▪ No. 6 seed Kentucky (East Region)

Next game

No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 11 Providence

What: NCAA Tournament first round

When: 7:10 p.m. Friday

TV: CBS

Where: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

This story was originally published March 12, 2023 at 6:36 PM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription