The No. 2 seeded Kentucky Wildcats are set take on No. 15 seeded Abilene Christian University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the teams’ first ever meeting with each other. While UK has opened up as a 21-point favorite, the Wildcats of Abilene have several threats to bring to the table in the big dance. 

Head Coach: Joe Golding (8th season)

Record: 27-6 overall, 14-4 Southland Conference

Likely Starters:

#0 Jaylen Franklin: senior guard, 6-2. 10.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 4.9 APG.

#1 Jaren Lewis: senior forward, 6-6. 13.7 PPG and 6.2 RPG.

#4 Damien Daniels: freshman guard, 5-7. 3.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG and 1.8 APG.

#5 Payten Ricks: junior guard, 6-2. 11.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.0 APG

#15 Hayden Farquhar: freshman forward, 6-7. 6.5 PPG and 1.6 RPG.

Abilene Christian Threats

Abilene Christian’s Jaren Lewis, Jaylen Franklin and Payten Ricks all earned league honors in the Southland Conference. Senior Jaylen Franklin played his 50th career game with at least five assists and also recorded his 16th double-double, which also includes his 95th game where he recorded double figures. Ricks has scored 80 three-pointers this season, which is currently tied for the fourth-best single season total in ACU basketball history. 

Head coach John Calipari explained what he sees in the Texas team. 

“I watched their games. I’m impressed with how they play, both inside and outside. They defend. They make it hard for catches. They try to steal balls. They scramble the game up. They’re good. They’re well coached,” Calipari said. 

On Paper:

Kentucky	Category	Abilene Christian
76.7	Scoring Offense	74.5
65.4	Scoring Defense	63.1
47.8	FG Percentage	47.4
30.3	FG % Defense	43.0
36.4	3-Pt. FG Pct.	38.6
35.0	3-Pt. FG % Def.	33.2
74.0	Free Throw %	71.5
38.4	Reb./Game	33.1
+9.0	Reb. Margin	+1.7
-0.1	Turnover Margin	+4.7
13.8	Assists per game	15.6
6.0	Steals per game	8.7
5.1	Blocks per game	2.7

Although they know what’s at stake, the Kentucky Wildcats have prepared for the first round like any other game this season.

“…just play to our training, be as one, stick together as we do on the court, and just go off our training,” freshman Ashton Hagans said. 

UK and Abilene Christian are set to play on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. in the VyStar Veterans Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports.