NCAAB

Troy Trojans at Kentucky Wildcats

· Men's Basketball Championship - Midwest Region - 1st Round
23-11, 9-6 Away
Final
57 - 76
23-11, 15-3 Home

Oweh scores 20 points as third-seeded Kentucky beats Troy 76-57 in the NCAA Tournament

Collin Chandler shot-fakes into 2nd triple off the bench

Oweh added eight assists and six rebounds, and Amari Williams grabbed 13 boards for Kentucky.

Next up for the Wildcats (23-11) in the Midwest Region is the winner of Illinois versus Xavier.

“It's a big relief, winning that first game. The first game's always tough,” Kentucky guard Lamont Butler said. “Now we're moving on to the next game. We have to win that one and move on to the Sweet 16.”

Kentucky also was a No. 3 seed last year when it lost 80-76 to 14th-seeded Oakland in the first round. But it has turned over its roster since that Oakland game, and it had no major issues against Troy this time around.

“For me, also, I’m fighting so hard to keep bringing myself back to not taking on the magnitude of the history of all the things that are just too big and all turn out to be distractions," said Kentucky coach Mark Pope, who was hired last April.

“I was really proud of our guys just being able to lose themselves in this moment. I thought they did a wonderful job of being fully present and understanding that this is everything we want.”

Myles Rigsby scored 14 points for the Trojans (23-11), champions of the Sun Belt Conference. Tayton Conerway had 12.

“We didn’t play our best basketball tonight but what they did the last three or four weeks is absolutely amazing,” Troy coach Scott Cross said. "We thought that we could do it. We believed we could do it. This is one of the best teams I’ve ever been a part of.”

Despite the loss, Conerway said playing in the NCAA tourney fulfilled a dream.

“This is the type of stuff you dream about in the driveway, now your actually under the big lights,” he said.

The Sun Belt player of the year also praised Cross for recruiting him from the junior college ranks.

“Not a lot of coaches gave me a chance," Conerway said. "Coach Cross gave me a chance to let me come out here and show what I can do and I’ll always appreciate him for that.”

Takeaways Troy: The Trojans made just their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2017, when they were a 15 seed and lost to Duke 87-65. Troy first appeared in the tourney in 2003.

Kentucky: The Wildcats have made more appearances (63) and played more games (186) in the NCAA Tournament than any other program, with eight national titles, their last in 2012.

Key moment Kentucky had a 25-24 lead with 3:03 left in the first half when it started to pull away, scoring eight consecutive points in a little more than a minute. Trent Noah and Carr made back-to-back 3-pointers, and Williams drove the length of the court for a dunk.

Playing with pain Butler logged 25 minutes while continuing to deal with a shoulder injury. Butler, who failed to score, originally missed six games with the injury in mid-January. He suffered a separate injury in the same shoulder during Kentucky’s win over Oklahoma in the second round of the SEC tournament.

“I got through the whole game. I'm grateful for that," he said. "I was a little frustrated on the offensive side. I didn't have my best game but I tried to impact the game in different ways.”

How can I watch Troy vs. Kentucky?

  • TV Channel: Troy at Kentucky 2021 College Basketball, week 1, is broadcasted on CBS.
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Recent Plays

2nd 0:00 End of Game 57 - 76
2nd 0:00 End of 2nd half 57 - 76
2nd 0:28 Jerrell Bellamy made Dunk. Assisted by Braydon Whitaker. 57 - 76
2nd 0:42 Brandon Garrison made Free Throw. 55 - 76
2nd 0:42 Jackson Porch subbing in for Troy 55 - 75

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2653.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTROY https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/96.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originUK
22-63 FG 28-59
34.9 Field Goal % 47.5
8-32 3PT 10-26
25.0 Three Point % 38.5
5-9 FT 10-16
55.6 Free Throw % 62.5
38 Rebounds 39
11 Offensive Rebounds 7
27 Defensive Rebounds 32
14 Assists 23
10 Steals 5
1 Blocks 6
11 Turnovers 10
1 Team Turnovers 0
11 Total Turnovers 10
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
12 Points Off Turnovers 19
11 Fast Break Points 14
26 Points in Paint 34
12 Fouls 12
3 Largest Lead 25

Game Information

Venue: Fiserv Forum

Location: Milwaukee, WI
Capacity:

2024-25 Sun Belt Conference Standings

TEAM CONF GB OVER
Arkansas State 13-5 - 25-11
Troy 13-5 - 23-11
South Alabama 13-5 - 21-11
James Madison 13-5 - 20-12
Marshall 12-6 1 20-13
App State 10-8 3 17-14
Texas State 9-9 4 16-16
Georgia Southern 8-10 5 17-16
Old Dominion 8-10 5 15-20
Georgia State 8-10 5 14-19
Louisiana 8-10 5 12-21
Southern Miss 5-13 8 11-22
Coastal Carolina 3-15 10 10-22
UL Monroe 3-15 10 7-25

2024-25 Southeastern Conference Standings

TEAM CONF GB OVER
Auburn 15-3 - 32-5
Florida 14-4 1 34-4
Alabama 13-5 2 28-9
Tennessee 12-6 3 30-8
Texas A&M 11-7 4 23-11
Ole Miss 10-8 5 24-12
Kentucky 10-8 5 24-12
Missouri 10-8 5 22-12
Mississippi State 8-10 7 21-13
Arkansas 8-10 7 22-14
Georgia 8-10 7 20-13
Vanderbilt 8-10 7 20-13
Oklahoma 6-12 9 20-14
Texas 6-12 9 19-16
LSU 3-15 12 14-18
South Carolina 2-16 13 12-20
Full Standings