Gameday on KSR: NCAA Tournament play begins, presented by Justice Dental

Follow along with the KSR crew throughout the postseason as we bring you behind-the-scenes coverage in the most ridiculous manner possible. Welcome to our Justice Dental March Game Day Central!

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Well, here goes nothing. One year to the day following Kentucky‘s historic upset vs. No. 15 seed St. Peter’s in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats are back on the floor with a chance at redemption. Maybe not against the Peacocks, but an opportunity to get the postseason win monkey off the program’s back in March. And it’ll be against a familiar face and high-profile coach in Bryce Hopkins and Ed Cooley, respectively, with No. 11 seed Providence.

What do you need to know about the Friars? They finished the year 21-11 overall and 13-7 in the Big East, but closed out the regular season with losing eight of their final 15 games, including three straight losses entering the Big Dance. The most notable? An 82-58 loss vs. Seton Hall at home on Senior Day.

Providence ranks No. 16 overall in adjusted offense and No. 108 in adjusted defense on the year, but just No. 26 overall in the former and No. 200 in the latter over its last ten games. The Friars average 78.1 points per contest, shooting 45.9% from the field, 35.1% from three and 74.5% at the line. Their leading scorer, as you know by now, is former Kentucky forward Bryce Hopkins. He’s averaging 16.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest. From there, Ed Croswell (13.2), Devin Carter (13.1), Noah Locke (11.1) and Jared Bynum (10.0) all average double figures for Providence, a balanced scoring attack among starters.

Bench help, though, is limited, with just three other players averaging at least 10 minutes per contest, none scoring over five points per game.

Let’s jump into it.

Vegas, Computers

Kentucky (-190) opened as a 3.5-point favorite against Providence (+158), with the line moving to -4.5 in favor of the Wildcats as of Friday morning. The over/under currently sits at 143.5 after opening at 145.5.

Cooley’s squad is 18-14-0 against the spread overall, 4-6-0 in its last 10 and just 1-4-0 in the last five. Calipari’s Wildcats are 15-17-0 overall, but 6-4-0 in the last 10 and 5-2-0 in the last seven.

The computers also favor the Wildcats, as ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Kentucky a 63.8% chance to pull off the win to open the NCAA Tournament. KenPom is projecting a 75-74 win for UK, giving the No. 6 seed a 57% chance to win in Greensboro. Bart Torvik also likes Cats, predicting a 75-72 win (-3.1) with a 62% chance to get the postseason momentum started.

How to watch, listen

Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
Location: Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, NC)
TV: CBS – Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Jim Spanarkel (analyst), Evan Washburn (sideline)
Stream: CBS, March Madness Live
Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Jack Givens), Varsity App or iHeart Radio
Satellite: SiriusXM 134 and 202

Postseason streaming rights have shifted the radio and streaming affiliates ever-so-slightly, so double check the listings below to make sure you’re covered tonight for Tom and Goose:

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And this year you can stream on the Varsity App;
Apple: https://t.co/WIsiZeagBJ
Google: https://t.co/Me6EV1sHpd pic.twitter.com/G0ZWzoP7gP
— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) March 16, 2023

March Madness has begun

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, where postseason magic has taken over as teams fight for their One Shining Moment. Day one featured a long list of chalk finishes, but a handful of absolutely mind-boggling upsets — No. 15 Princeton over No. 2 Arizona being the big one.

Somehow miss the action yesterday? Check out the final results, with upsets highlighted in bold.

No. 8 Maryland def. No. 9 West Virginia 67-65
No. 13 Furman def. No. 4 Virginia 68-67
No. 7 Missouri def. No. 10 Utah State 76-65
No. 1 Kansas def. No. 16 Howard 96-68
No. 1 Alabama def. No. 16 Texas A&M-CC 96-75
No. 5 San Diego St. def No. 12 College of Charleston 63-57
No. 15 Princeton def. No. 2 Arizona 59-55
No. 8 Arkansas def. No. 9 Illinois 73-63
No. 9 Auburn def. No. 8 Iowa 83-75
No. 5 Duke def. No. 12 Oral Roberts 74-51
No. 2 Texas def. No. 15 Colgate 81-61
No. 7 Northwestern def. No. 10 Boise State 75-67
No. 4 Tennessee def. No. 13 Louisiana 58-55
No. 1 Houston def. Northern Kentucky 63-52
No. 2 UCLA def. No. 15 UNC-Ashville 86-53
No. 10 Penn State def. No. 7 Texas A&M 76-59

Today’s NCAA Tournament schedule

And then there’s today’s schedule, with Kentucky’s matchup smack dab in the middle of it all, game two of the evening session.

No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 USC – 12:15 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 3 Xavier vs. No. 13 Kennesaw State – 12:40 p.m. ET, truTV
No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 UCBS – 1:30 p.m. ET, TNT
No. 5 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 12 VCU – 2 p.m. ET, TBS
No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 15 Vermont – 2:45 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 6 Iowa State vs. No. 11 Pitt – 3:10 p.m. ET, truTV
No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 11 NC State – 4 p.m. ET, TNT
No. 4 UConn vs. No. 13 Iona – 4:30 p.m. ET, TBS
No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 16 FDU – 6:50 p.m. ET, TNT
No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 11 Providence – 7:10 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 5 Miami (FL) vs. No. 12 Drake – 7:25 p.m. ET, TBS
No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 14 Grand Canyon – 7:35 p.m. ET, truTV
No. 8 Memphis vs. No. 9 FAU – 9:20 p.m. ET, TNT
No. 3 Kansas State vs. No. 14 Montana State – 9:40 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 13 Kent State – 9:55 p.m. ET, TBS
No. 6 TCU vs. No. 11 Arizona State – 10:05 p.m. ET, truTV

John Calipari, players preview Providence

How is Coach Cal feeling about the matchup? What is the mood of the locker room ahead of the opening-round game against a familiar face? KSR was on the scene in Greensboro to get all the footage you need.

“Providence is well-coached. They’ve got terrific players,” Calipari said. “Obviously, I know Bryce well and respect him and love him to death. He is a terrific player, but their guards are good. They’re downhill runners.”

Bryce Hopkins breaks down matchup vs. Kentucky

And then there’s the friend-turned-foe, who talked about his nerves and mindset ahead of the matchup. Hopkins made it very clear he’s only focused on basketball and taking care of business with his team. Nothing else.

Chris Livingston mic’d up at open practice

Just how loose are the Wildcats ahead of the matchup? See for yourself with an on-court look from Chris Livingston, who was mic’d up at open practice on Thursday.