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LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky is heading back to the NCAA tournament.
The Wildcats made the field of 65 on Sunday as the 11th seed in the South Region and will take on No. 6-seed Marquette (24-9) in the opening round on Thursday in Anaheim, Calif.
The berth marks the 17th consecutive bid to the Big Dance for the Wildcats, who overcame a rough start and a rash of injuries to finish the season 18-12, including a 12-4 mark in the Southeastern Conference.
North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas and UCLA earned the top seeds in the NCAA tournament Sunday, and the top-ranked Tar Heels got the best deal of all: Their road to the Final Four won’t veer more than
two hours outside their Chapel Hill campus.
The Tar Heels (32-2) are the top seed in the East, with their first- and second-round games scheduled for Raleigh and the next two rounds in Charlotte.
“It’s an advantage if you play well,” said Carolina coach Roy Williams, trying to lead the Tar Heels to their second title in four years. “Just because the crowd’s cheering for you, I’ve never had a crowd win a game. I know it sounds wacko.”
Like North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA and Memphis won their conference tournaments to seal their top spots - Memphis in the South, Kansas in the Midwest and UCLA in the West.

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Tags: nit, selection

ATLANTA (AP) — Florida’s first-round exit from the SEC tournament left the Gators with a four-game losing streak, shaky NCAA tournament credentials and a gloomy prediction from their coach.
Mykal Riley and Alabama built a big first-half lead and beat the Gators 80-69 on Thursday night to end Florida’s three-year run as Southeastern Conference tournament champions.
The fall from the top of the SEC seemed to be the least of Florida coach Billy Donovan’s worries. The two-time defending national champion Gators (21-11) may be left out of this year’s NCAA field, and Donovan says changes must come if his young team can return to prominence.
Florida started two freshmen and two sophomores, and three of the team’s top four reserves are freshmen. Donovan didn’t sound encouraged by what normally would be an encouraging sign for the future.
“It’s hard for me to be excited going forward because I don’t see things getting fixed,” Donovan said.
“It’s in front of our guys, what it takes to win. For whatever reason, I haven’t brought it out in them. They’re not committed to it. … I’m not really excited about seeing this group of guys being sophomores.”
The Crimson Tide (17-15) had a 28-point lead shrink to 6 before recovering to beat Florida.

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Tags: 2008, basketball, nit, tournament