By CHRIS RUSSELL
In the history of the NCAA Tournament, no 16 seed has ever knocked off a 1 seed. Heavy favorite Kentucky was not about to let Hampton make history on Thursday.
After a sloppy start, top-ranked Kentucky moved to 35-0 on its perfect season by routing the Pirates 79-56 in a round of 64 Midwest Region game in Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center before a huge pro-Cats crowd.
Kentucky was led by freshman Karl-Anthony Towns, who posted a double-double of 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.
“I know what Karl is capable of,” said fellow freshman Devin Booker. “Everybody is seeing it now that he is basically unstoppable down there.”
Andrew Harrison continued his strong play for the Wildcats. The sophomore floor general scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds. Freshman Trey Lyles scored 10 points and grabbed 6 boards for the Wildcats.
Kentucky entered the tournament as the fifth youngest team in the nation. The Cats displayed their youth early on and perhaps overlooked the Pirates (17-18), who had knocked off Steve Masiello and Manhattan in the play-in game on Tuesday.
“I feel like perhaps some guys overlooked them,” said Willie Cauley-Stein. “From here on out, dudes aren’t going to overlook people no more.”
Next up for the Wildcats is No. 8 Cincinnati, which held on to defeat Purdue, 66-65 in overtime.
Saturday’s matchup is set for tip-off at 2:45 EST
“We’ll be ready to play Saturday,” said freshman point guard Tyler Ulis, who scored 11 points in the victory. “We will come out with a lot more energy and play how we play.”
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