In other words, after a four-year drought, there are NCAA Tournament expectations. SC earned an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the conference tournament, and is a No. 1 seed in the Sioux Falls Regional. House missed two three-point attempts, including one just before the buzzer that Isaiah Briscoe rebounded and then celebrated the win by tossing the ball high up in the air near the top of the video board.
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Kentucky: Faces Texas A&M in SEC championship today.
Beating Texas A&M 82-77 in overtime for the Southeastern Conference Tournament title on Sunday apparently didn’t make a big difference for the Wildcats, who drew the No. 4 seed in the East Region.
Texas A&M hadn’t played for a tournament title since 1994 or won one since 1987.
Being seeded lower than expected didn’t hurt the Wildcats two years ago when they entered the NCAA Tournament unranked as a No. 8 seed. Texas A&M won the regular season matchup 79-77 in overtime on February 20 in College Station, Texas….
“The only thing we talk about is playing our best, and if we do that, we like our chances against anybody”, said Kentucky sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis, who has been lights out for the Wildcats. The Wildcats were last a No. 3 seed in 2014 when they defeated Wright State and Syracuse in the first two rounds before falling to second-seeded Baylor in the regional semifinals.
In Saturday’s 93-80 win over Georgia, Ulis scored 25 points and was 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
Ulis has the United Kingdom single-season school record for most 20-point, five-assist games with 14, and according to the SEC Network, his three 20-point, 10-assist games this season are the most of any SEC player in the last 20 seasons.
Green Bay is 1-0 all-time against the Aggies, defeating Texas A&M in the only other meeting in program history on December 1, 1995, 60-49 – a game that was played in Milwaukee as part of the First Bank Classic.
“I am just really proud of our team for making the tournament this year”, United Kingdom coach Matthew Mitchell said. It was the largest lead by either team up to that point. A controversial technical foul was called on Kentucky’s Isaac Humphries late to help the Aggies’ cause. Head coach Billy Kennedy guaranteed his team would be in the field after A&M was eliminated in the second round of the NIT last season. The Wildcats, the SEC Tournament champions, will play Stony Brook in the first round on Thursday. “We’ve never had it easy, and I don’t want it easy”. Somebody told me they’re going to put Louisville back in the tournament in our path. That’s how it is.
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A&M’s Danuel House hit a career-high 32 points.
