The No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region Kentucky Wildcats(22-11) will take take on the No. 14 seed Troy Trojans(23-10) in the 1st Round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. This game will take place Friday evening in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Kentucky is looking to start the Mark Pope era on a high note in the NCAA Tournament. Former Head Coach John Calipari’s tenure with the Wildcats was upended by early tournament exits. Pope will look to put that era behind the team beginning on Friday. Troy is returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. They are seeking their first tourney win in program history. Will Troy win and send Kentucky home prematurely again?
Kentucky Season Summary
The Wildcats finished 10-8 in a historically great SEC. Even though they were mediocre in conference play, they were rewarded by the NCAA Selection Committee for the depth of their conference. They will look to reward the committee for their faith in the program. Kentucky had a great offense. They are fourth in points scored, 25th in field goal percentage, and 30th in three-point percentage.
UK has struggled on defense. They are 324th in points allowed, 178th in opposing field goal percentage, and 34th in opposing three-point percentage. Part of the team’s defensive struggles had to do with the SEC being so strong this year. UK’s leading scorer is Guard Otega Oweh. He scored only 8 points in the team’s SEC Quarterfinal loss to Alabama. If Oweh does not play better, the team’s stay in the tournament will be short.
Troy Season Summary
The Trojans were great in the regular season and dominated the Sun Belt Conference Tournament to punch their ticket to the tournament. The team has a horrendous offense. They are 174th in points scored, 227th in field goal percentage, and 349th in three-point percentage.
Since their offense was so poor, the Trojans had to rely on their defenses to win games. The unit was 25th in points allowed, 27th in opposing field goal percentage, and 96th in opposing three-point percentage. Troy’s leading scorer is Guard Tayton Conerway. He averaged over 20 points per game in the conference tournament.
Final Thoughts
These teams are inverses of one another. This game will come down to which team’s strength wins out. Kentucky’s stellar offense will face Troy’s great defense. While the Wildcats have a poor defense, Troy’s offense should not be able to take advantage of that weakness.
It is difficult to be confident in Kentucky given their checkered tournament past. They should win this game on Friday, but that has been said about them in tournament games in the past. Kentucky’s offense should overcome a solid Troy defense and advance in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
