KSR Today: Celebrating Mark Pope's first NCAA Tournament win and looking ahead to Kentucky vs. Illinois

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Kentucky cheerleaders at the NCAA Tournament - Mont Dawson, Kentucky Sports Radio

Kentucky got a big monkey off its back on Friday night in Milwaukee. The Wildcats pulled away from No. 14 seed Troy thanks to a big 10-0 run at the end of the first half that was sparked by a Trent Noah three.

Now the blue blood program will attempt to get another monkey off its back on Sunday at Fiserv Forum.

No. 6 seed Illinois beat No. 11 seed Xavier by a baker’s dozen in the nightcap as star freshman point guard Kasparas Jakucionis went for 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists. The experts are already calling for the No. 3 vs. No. 6 matchup with UK to be a one-possession game.

KSR Today is setting the table for what should be an eventful Sunday in the NCAA Tournament. But first, we are going to take a look back at Friday’s win over Troy, and then take a quick peek at what is ahead for the Wildcats.

Kentucky took care of business. pic.twitter.com/InNAwxWuL0
— KSR (@KSRonX) March 22, 2025

First a message from our friends at Club Blue.

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KSR recaps Kentucky’s win over Troy

KSR has you covered from every angle as we recap Kentucky’s first-round victory.

Smash those links.

Know Your Foe: Illinois Fighting Illini

Former Bob Huggins assistant Brad Underwood is a former junior college head coach who received his first D-I head coaching job in 2013. Underwood landed the job at Illinois after leading Stephen F. Austin and Oklahoma State to four NCAA Tournament appearances in four seasons.

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The 61-year-old has led the Illini to five NCAA Tournament appearances in eight seasons. Illinois was on pace to make the field in 2020 before the COVID-19 cancellation. Underwood has won a Big Ten regular-season title (2022) and two Big Ten Tournament titles (2021, 2024) at Illinois. The head coach is now 6-4 in the NCAA Tournament at Illinois with an Elite Eight appearance last season.

Underwood has his fourth top-20 KenPom team at Illinois this season. The Illini play with pace and have a top-15 offense despite ranking No. 296 in three-point field goal percentage (31.4%). Underwood’s defense ranks in the top 50 and does a good job of guarding without fouling. This year’s team has some bonafide NBA talent. Point guard Kasparas Jakucionis (15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists) and wing Will Riley (12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 33.3% three-point field goal percentage) are potential first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The Illini is a pace-and-space team who can fill it up on offense. That certainly sounds like Kentucky. The Big Ten team is a small favorite (-1.5) in a game with a big total (169.5).

NCAA Tournament Scoreboard: Friday

I hope you like chalk because this tournament is one where favorites reign supreme.

No. 9 Baylor 75, No. 8 Mississippi State (East)
No. 2 Alabama 90, No. 15 Robert Morris 81 (East)
No. 3 Iowa State 82, No. 14 Lipscomb 55 (South)
No. 12 Colorado State 78, No. 5 Memphis (West)
No. 1 Duke 93, No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s 49 (East)
No. 7 Saint Mary’s 59, No. 10 Vanderbilt 56 (East)
No. 6 Ole Miss 71, No. 11 North Carolina 64 (South)
No. 4 Maryland 81, No. 13 Grand Canyon 49 (West)
No. 1 Florida 95, No. 16 Norfolk State 69 (West)
No. 3 Kentucky 76, No. 14 Troy 57 (Midwest)
No. 10 New Mexico State 75, No. 7 Marquette 66 (South)
No. 4 Arizona 93, No. 13 Akron 65 (East)
No. 8 UConn 67, No. 9 Oklahoma 59 (West)
No. 6 Illinois 86, No. 11 Xavier 73 (Midwest)
No. 2 Michigan State 87, No. 15 Bryant (South)
No. 5 Oregon 81, No. 12 Liberty 52 (East)

NCAA Tournament Schedule: Round of 32 Saturday

We’ve got eight games per day over the weekend with the first action getting started just after noon and the final game ending around midnight. It’s time to get buckled in for two elite days of college basketball.

Luckett’s Locks: Round of 32 Best Bets (KSR+)

Game	Region	Location	Time	Channel
No. 12 McNeese State (+6.5) vs. No. 4 Purdue	Midwest	Providence	12:10	CBS
No. 10 Arkansas (+7.5) vs. No. 7 St. John’s	West	Providence	2:40	CBS
No. 5 Michigan (+2.5) vs. No. 4 Texas A&M	South	Denver	5:15	CBS
No. 11 Drake (+6.5) vs. No. 3 Texas Tech	West	Wichita	6:10	TNT
No. 9 Creighton (+8.5) vs. No. 1 Auburn	South	Lexington	7:10	TBS
No. 6 BYU (+1.5) vs. No. 3 Wisconsin	East	Denver	7:45	CBS
No. 8 Gonzaga (+5.5) vs. No. 1 Houston	Midwest	Wichita	8:40	TNT
No. 7 UCLA (+5.5) vs. No. 2 Tennessee	Midwest	Lexington	9:40	TBS

Kentucky WBB moves to the Round of 32

On Friday, Kentucky women’s basketball played its first NCAA Tournament game since 2022 on Friday afternoon. Despite the victory, it wasn’t smooth sailing. The Cats blew a big second half lead and needed Georgia Amoore to be a star late to bail at the tournament site host in the 79-78 victory.

She’s got something special. ✨ pic.twitter.com/X3cVVVoYUJ
— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) March 21, 2025

Next up is No. 5 seed Kansas State. Tip is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. CT on ESPN. The other Wildcats pummeled Fairfield to move to the Round of 32. KSR will have much more coverage of the Cats today and tomorrow. as Brooks looks to get this program back in the Sweet 16.

This is March.