Selection Sunday was more than kind to Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball this year. In fact, after Kentucky’s one-and-done loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament, John Calipari’s team was incredibly fortunate to land the seed and path they did.

The Wildcats are the No. 6 seed in the East Region and will face the No. 11 seed Providence Friars in the first round. Yes, that’s the same Providence that former Wildcat Bryce Hopkins plays for.

After not receiving hardly any opportunity last year, Hopkins transferred and has averaged 16.1 points with 8.5 rebounds for the Friars this season. He’s been the highlight of their season, with both his point and rebound averages leading the team.

Kentucky and Providence will face off during the Friday evening session in Greensboro, NC with tip-off scheduled for 7:10 PM ET. Kentucky opened as 4-point favorites and ESPN’s Basketball Power Index is giving the Wildcats a 62.7% chance of victory.

Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones pointed out that Kentucky received a favorable draw and he’s not wrong. After two losses to Vanderbilt in less than 10 days — a team that did not make the NCAA Tournament — they could have had a much worse seed/path.

After bowing out in the first round of this past weekend’s SEC Tournament, Kentucky will look to avoid another quick exit in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats are just 1-3 in their last four postseason games and their fans are desperate for some sort of postseason run.

Any room for error is gone, as a loss officially ends Kentucky’s season. It’s hard to imagine this Kentucky team making a Final Four run, but they do have the hall of fame coach and veteran roster to make some magic happen.

Whether or not Kentucky has what it takes, fans will find out soon enough.

Tweet of the Day

March Madness arrives.

Bummer.

Headlines

Kentucky Selected for Record 60th NCAA Tournament - Vaught’s Views

But how far will they go?

Houston, Kansas, Purdue join Alabama as No. 1 seeds - ESPN

Are any of these three your choice to win it all?

Kentucky Baseball Throttles Southern Illinois for Series Sweep - KSR

Bat Cats having a nice start to the season.

Scheffler back to No. 1 with Players Championship win - ESPN

What a nice weekend of golf.

Alabama routs Texas A&M to claim 8th SEC Tournament title - KSR

The Tide look pretty unbeatable right now.

Rams trading star CB Jalen Ramsey to Dolphins - ESPN

Miami loading up.

Early SEC Tournament Exit Forecasts Bleak NCAA Tournament Future - KSR

Jt’s hard to argue otherwise.

Commanders DT Daron Payne gets 4-year, $90M deal - ESPN

Mega deal for the former Alabama star.