Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats should be very happy about their draw in the NCAA Tournament

Kentucky will take on Troy in the NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope yells to his team as they face Alabama during the first half of a Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, March 14, 2025. / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sunday night was the most highly anticipated evening in college basketball as the bracket for the NCAA Tournament was announced.

Kentucky ended up being the third seed in the Midwest Region, and they will get things started with a matchup against the Troy Trojans on Friday. Troy heads into the tournament with a 23-10 record and recently won the Sun Belt Championship.

Troy is ranked 98th in KenPom, with an offensive rating of 153 and a defensive rating of 71. Tayton Conerway is the leading scorer for the Trojans and also won Sun Belt Player of the Year.

If Kentucky is to take down Troy, the Wildcats will take on the winner between the six-seed Illinois and which team between Texas and Xavier will win and become the 11-seed.

If Kentucky were to make it to the Sweet 16, they would likely take on two-seed Tennessee Volunteers, who they beat twice during the regular season. Houston is the one seed in the Wildcats bracket.

Based on the draw of the other number three seeds, it feels like Kentucky has an opportunity to make a run. If the Wildcats are going to go on a run, they need Lamont Butler on the court, and it sounds like he will be good to go for the Wildcats Friday matchup with Troy.

The Kentucky Wildcats are coming into the tournament banged up, but they have won big games all season long, and they will look to do this again in the Big Dance.

Mark Pope is still looking for his first NCAA Tournament win as a head coach, and he will have a shot to do that on Friday in Milwaukee vs. Troy.