The brackets for the NCAA Tournament were released this weekend and every year there are some very intriguing storylines in the first round of March Madness. This year, one of those potential matchups is between No. 6 Kentucky and No. 11 Providence in the East Region. Kentucky head coach John Calipari will square off against former Wildcat player Bryce Hopkins who transferred to Providence this season.
After one underwhelming season at Kentucky, Bryce Hopkins transferred to Providence and averaged 16.1 pts and 8.5 reb per game.
He'll get a chance to go up against Kentucky in the 1st round of March Madness 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ORRcJMwNzB
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) March 12, 2023
Over the past couple of seasons, Kentucky has not been a major force in college basketball and they’ll begin March Madness with a tough opponent and a player who has a little extra motivation. Bryce Hopkins spent last season as a freshman with Kentucky but turned in a bit of an underwhelming season. He saw playing time in 28 games for Kentucky but only played around six to seven minutes per game with averages of 2.1 points per game, 1.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists with shooting splits of 42.9 percent shooting from the field, 31.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 53.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
This season has been a breakout for Hopkins. In his first season at Providence his numbers have jumped across the board. He has averaged 16.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists with shooting splits of 45.7 percent shooting from the field, 37.8 percent shooting from the three-point line and 76.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Both Kentucky and Providence come into the game with 21-11 records. John Calipari has not had much March Madness success recently and is no doubt feeling a little pressure. This should be one of the best first round games of March Madness.
Follow Us
Subscribe