Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky not thrilled with matchup

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Posted 7:39PM on Monday, March 14, 2005

RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) Eastern Kentucky basketball coach Travis Ford still wore a brave face the day after learning his team's first-round NCAA tournament foe would be second-seeded Kentucky. The previous week, Ford, a former Kentucky point guard, had said several times he'd rather the Colonels not have to face his alma mater. But when the 15th-seeded Colonels (22-8) make their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1979 on Thursday in Indianapolis, their opponent in the Austin Regional will be the team from the school about 30 miles away, in whose shadow they long have toiled. ``I don't think it's either good or bad,'' Ford said. ``We knew we were going to have to play somebody very, very good. We're going to be an underdog. We're going to have to play extremely well. It's going to be an incredible challenge for us.'' Such a pairing seemed somewhat unlikely last week, when Kentucky (25-5) was in the running for a No. 1 seed. But the Wildcats' 70-53 loss to Florida in the Southeastern Conference tournament final on Sunday dropped them to a No. 2 seed. Ford thought a Kentucky-Eastern Kentucky matchup would be ``too obvious'' for the tournament committee to consider. Kentucky coach Tubby Smith shared that sentiment. ``We would prefer that we be able to cheer for them,'' Smith said. ``We're sure our fans would love to cheer for Eastern Kentucky as well. But I guess the selection committee saw this as a good opportunity to match us up.'' The decision by the committee to pair the Colonels and Wildcats isn't a particularly popular one in central Kentucky, where the schools share a number of fans, although Kentucky loyalists are far more prevalent. One Eastern Kentucky player even acknowledges growing up as a Kentucky supporter. ``I was born in Missouri, but I moved to Kentucky in the fourth grade,'' senior forward Michael Haney said. ``I followed them. I was a pretty big UK fan.'' Conversely, many Kentucky fans have become followers of the Colonels during the five seasons that Ford has been their coach. Ford played one season at Missouri before transferring to Kentucky, where he played until 1994 under coach Rick Pitino and helped the Wildcats reach the 1993 Final Four. Ford ranks second in Kentucky's record book in career free-throw shooting (88.2 percent) and ninth in career assists. He holds the single-game record for assists with 15, ironically set against Eastern Kentucky in 1993. Kentucky-Eastern Kentucky is one of only two first-round matchups between in-state foes. Charlotte and North Carolina State were paired in the Syracuse Regional. ``I think there was a reason they did it,'' Ford said of the committee's rationale. ``I think they had to look at it and think, let's do this. I don't know any other reason they'd put two teams 30 miles apart from each other together. ``I think the NCAA got a little bit of a chuckle out of it at the end.'' Smith, who worked with Ford when Smith was Pitino's assistant at Kentucky, is one of Ford's biggest fans. Smith and Ford have remained close Ford and his staff even sat in on a Kentucky practice earlier this season. ``We're excited for Eastern that they're in,'' Smith said. ``They're very deserving. We watched (Ford) build that program the right way.'' During his eight seasons at Kentucky, Smith has scheduled in-state schools when possible. The Wildcats have played Eastern Kentucky three times during his tenure, most recently last season, when Kentucky won 101-72 in Lexington. ``It's not like we don't play (each other),'' Smith said. ``You hate to play (in the postseason) against friends and peers that you have so much respect for. That's always tough, because somebody has to win and somebody has to lose.'' Eastern Kentucky is 0-5 in NCAA tournament play, while Kentucky has won seven national titles and reached the Final Four 13 times. Only four 15th-seeded teams have ever won a tournament game. But Haney said the Colonels won't be intimidated. ``Once the ball is thrown up,'' he said, ``anything can happen. It's happened four times for a reason because it's possible.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)