Kentucky vs Oakland, By the Numbers

The Madness is finally here. The Big Blue Nation has been anxiously awaiting to see what these Kentucky Wildcats will do in the NCAA Tournament. It all starts in Pittsburgh against the Horizon League Champs. While much has been said about the first round matchup, let’s dive into the numbers before the action tips off at PPG Paints Arena.

Kentucky vs. Oakland
Line: UK -13.5
Total: 162.5
Time: 7:10 pm EST
TV: CBS

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2 — Kentucky National Championship campaigns have started in the South Region in five appearances.

4 — NCAA Tournament teams Oakland faced in the non-conference: Dayton, Michigan State, Illinois, and Drake. They lost all four by an average of 15 points per contest.

12 — Predicted margin of victory for Kentucky, according to KenPom. ESPN’s BPI gives Kentucky an 89% chance to advance to the second round.

16.1 — Block rate by Kentucky is the best in college basketball. The Cats rank third nationally, blocking 6.3 shots per game.

16.9 — Points per game by Trey Townsend, the Horizon League Player of the Year. The 6-foot-6 wing is the son of a former Golden Grizzly, Skip Townsend. He also tallied 7.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

24.5 — Points per game Oakland opponents score from behind the three-point line, ranking No. 284 in college basketball. Oakland’s zone defense allows its opponents to knock down 34.4% of their three-point attempts, ranking No. 230 in college basketball.

32 — Times Kentucky has faced a double-digit in the NCAA Tournament since the field was expanded to 64 teams. The Cats have won 31 of those games. 32 is also the number of NCAA Tournament wins John Calipari has at Kentucky.

40 — Years Greg Kampe has coached Oakland. The longest-tenured coach in college basketball has 698 career wins, the 11th-most among active Division I head coaches.

41.2 — Three-point shooting percentage by Kentucky, the best in college basketball. Kentucky has made 318 three-pointers, the second-most in school history.

52.5 — Three-point shooting percentage by Reed Sheppard is the best in college basketball. Five players in the rotation shoot better than 37% from downtown.

121 — Made three-pointers by Oakland’s Jack Gohlke, the second-most in college basketball. He also ranks second nationally in three-point attempts (327).

Interest Kentucky Basketball Stats from Corey Price

The BBN’s favorite statistician shared a few noteworthy numbers ahead of Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament run that you need to know. Kentucky has the second-highest scoring offense in college basketball. Here’s how the previous top five scoring Kentucky teams finished their season.

1948: National Champions
1949: National Champions
1951: National Champions
1952: Elite Eight
1969: Sweet Sixteen
1970: Elite Eight
1971: Sweet Sixteen
1975: National Runner-Up
1996: National Champions

It tells a similar story when you look at Kentucky’s proficiency from behind the three-point line. Here’s what happened in the past when the Cats shot better than 37.5% from three.

1993: Final Four
1995: Elite Eight
1996: National Champions
2011: Final Four
2012: National Champions