How worried should the BBN be about Troy? We asked two coaches who know the Trojans well
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Men’s NCAA Tournament preview: Kentucky vs. Troy
Click below to read more coverage from the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com ahead of Kentucky’s men’s NCAA Tournament opener against Troy University in Milwaukee on Friday night.
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As you will recall, Kentucky’s 2022 NCAA Tournament ended at the hands of No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s. The Wildcats’ 2024 March Madness was done in by No. 14 seed Oakland.
So one understands why the Big Blue Nation could have trepidation about the Wildcats’ 2025 NCAA tourney opener vs. No. 14 seed Troy.
Just how worried should Wildcats backers be?
“They’re a good team. They are really good,” James Madison coach Preston Spradlin says of Troy. “They play a lot of different, changing defenses that just keep the opponent on your toes and (don’t) really allow you to get into a rhythm.”
Adds Eastern Kentucky head man A.W. Hamilton: “Anytime you look at a team like Troy, they’ve got some older guys. They stuck around, didn’t go into the transfer portal. I’m sure their goal was stay together, get to the NCAA Tournament. They are a hungry group — and that’s always a formula for a really scary team in March.”
Spradlin, the former Morehead State head man, and Hamilton know Troy well.
James Madison and Troy are Sun Belt Conference rivals and split two games this year. Spradlin’s Dukes won the regular season matchup 64-61 in Harrisonburg, Virginia, on Feb. 5. However, coach Scott Cross’s Trojans turned the tables in the Sun Belt tourney with a 79-60 semifinals victory.
Hamilton and EKU have faced Troy three times over the past two seasons. Last year, the Colonels and Trojans split two games. This year, Eastern lost at Troy 84-74 on Dec. 1.
Spradlin says the big difference in Troy from its first game with JMU to its second was the 3-point shooting of starting center Jackson Fields.
Fields produced one of the most dramatic midseason alterations of any player in NCAA Division men’s basketball.
The 6-foot-8, 210-pound junior missed his first 12 3-pointers of the season. He started the season 3-for-28 from behind the arc.
However, beginning with a 5-for-7 performance on 3-pointers in Troy’s 71-70 win at Arkansas State on Feb. 15, Fields closed out the year on a 16-for-29 stretch of 3-point shooting. He hit 5 of 7 treys and scored 21 points in the SBC Tournament win over James Madison.
“After we played them the first time, they almost became a different team with their 5 man, Fields, stepping out and shooting an incredible percentage,” Spradlin says. “... He really started stepping out and shooting, kind of changed the whole complexion of their team.”
Troy guard Tayton Conerway, a 6-3, 186-pound senior, is the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. Hamilton says the Troy guard — who is third in NCAA Division I men’s hoops with 97 steals (2.6 per game) — is a defensive menace.
“He deflects a bunch of balls,” Hamilton said. “He’s gritty. He’s tough. He’s a physical defender.”
Conerway is not a one-dimensional player. In addition to his ability as a ball thief, he is averaging 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
“He’s a really gifted ball-screen player,” Spradlin says. “He can score. He’s athletic enough to get into the paint and finish. And he can certainly get other players involved.”
Conerway may feel extra motivation against UK. In Troy’s three prior games this season against power conference foes — road losses at Arkansas, Oregon and Houston — he shot a combined 7-for-33.
At 6-6, 190, sophomore wing Myles Rigsby (12 ppg, 4 rpg) is another key cog in Troy’s offensive attack.
Rigsby is a “big-time driver, scorer, finisher,” Spradlin says. “Can step out and shoot it a little bit. Really good offensive rebounder. He has the ability to take some smaller guards inside and post them.”
After the Saint Peter’s and Oakland outcomes, it would be eminently understandable if the Kentucky fan base is suffering from “PTUD” — post-traumatic upset disorder.
So just how anxious should Cats fans be about Friday night’s 7:10 p.m. (EDT) tip off vs. Troy?
Hamilton says Troy “is physical enough, they could do a good job guarding Kentucky. However, they don’t shoot, I don’t think their percentages are great from the 3-point line (as a team, Troy shoots 29.9 percent from behind the arc). They could struggle to score vs. Kentucky.”
Spradlin thinks UK’s regular season game against Missouri and its changing defenses should have the Wildcats prepared for Troy’s shifting ‘D’s.’ He believes Kentucky’s contests against Mississippi State and Mississippi, with their intense ball pressure, should have the Cats ready for Troy’s defensive approach.
The JMU coach notes that Troy’s strengths are forcing turnovers (No. 54 in NCAA Division I at 13.7 a game) and offensive rebounding (11th in the country at 13.94 a game).
Kentucky has “gotta win the turnover margin and the rebound margin,” Spradlin said. “Make sure you are not giving (Troy) extra possessions, whether that is turning the ball over or getting the ball off the offensive glass.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 11:24 AM.
