10 Things To Know About The Troy Trojans

Kentucky is headed to Milwaukee as a No. 3 seed, set to play Troy in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The selection committee paired the Cats and Trojans together in the Midwest Region, playing in the 7:10 game on Friday night.

Before the Big Blue Nation takes over the Beer Capital of the World, let’s take an early Selection Sunday look at the Troy Trojans. Here are 10 quick hitters on UK’s first opponent in the Big Dance.

Troy by the numbers

Record: 23-10

Scoring: 72.5 ppg (180th)

Defense: 66.0 ppg (27th)

NET Ranking: 99th

KenPom: 98th

Offensive Efficiency: 153rd

Defensive Efficiency: 71st

Sun Belt champs

Troy punched its ticket by winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The No. 3 seed on the bracket, the Trojans beat No. 10 Old Dominion, No. 2 James Madison, and No. 4 Arkansas State to win the Sun Belt’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Troy won each conference tournament game by an average of 16 points.

Troy also won a share of the Sun Belt’s regular season championship, part of a four-way tie at 13-5.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐁

Episode 20: All or Nothing.#TakeTheStairs | #OneTROY pic.twitter.com/w55wtv2kzK

— Troy Trojans MBB (@TroyTrojansMBB) March 13, 2025

Good away from home

Troy plays some of its basketball away from Trojan Arena. The Trojans have an impressive 12-6 record away from their homecourt, including the last seven games played outside of Troy.

Power 4 losses to Arkansas, Oregon, and Houston

Troy played one of the hardest non-conference schedules in the country, with games against Arkansas, Oregon, and Houston. Troy lost all three by an average of 19 points, although the Trojans led the Razorbacks at halftime in Fayetteville.

Nov. 13: #18 Arkansas 65, Troy 49

Nov. 17: Oregon 82, Troy 61

Dec. 10: #15 Houston 62, Troy 42

Top 20 in two-point defense

Troy is 20th in the country in two-point defense, holding its opponents to 46.2% on twos. Myron Medcalf noted that it has been especially good lately, ranking fifth in college basketball at 42.3% over the last month. Troy lost one game in that span.

Dec 10, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Troy Trojans forward Thomas Dowd (1) is substituted for a player against the Houston Cougars in the first half at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

339th in 3-point shooting

Troy is among the worst 3-point shooting teams in the country. At 30.3% as a team, the Trojans average only 7.7 made 3s per game (156th) on 25.5 attempts (71st).

Thomas Dowd, a 6-foot-8 forward who leads the team in rebounding, has attempted the most 3s, but Dowd only makes 30.3% of his tries.

Tayton Conerway is Troy’s star player

Dec 10, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Troy Trojans center Randarius Jones (24) and guard Tayton Conerway (12) reach for a defensive rebound against Houston Cougars guard Mylik Wilson (8) in the first half at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Point guard Tayton Conerway is Troy’s best player. Conerway leads the team in scoring (14.3 ppg), assists (4.8 apg), and steals (2.9 spg), earning him Sun Belt Player of the Year honors. Conerway was the Sun Belt’s Sixth Man of the Year last season after transferring to Troy from Ranger College, where he was recruited and signed by former Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie but never played for him.

Team of experience

Conerway is one of Troy’s four seniors on a cohesive and experienced roster. Somehow, Troy didn’t lose a single player to the transfer portal last season, only the four 2024 graduates. Troy returned 12 players in total, and 11 different players have started at least one game this season.

Coach Scott Cross

Dec 5, 2022; San Diego, California, USA; Troy Trojans head coach Scott Cross looks on during the first half against the San Diego State Aztecs at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Scott Cross is coaching his sixth season at Troy after winning 225 games at UT Arlington, including the first-ever win over Texas and the first win over a Top 25 team, No. 12 Saint Mary’s. Cross also took UT Arlington to its first NCAA Tournament, has the most wins in UT Arlington history, and is the only UT Arlington coach with a winning record. Still, he was fired by his alma mater in 2018. Former UK assistant KT Turner coaches the Mavs now.

At Troy, Cross has four straight 20-win seasons, two Sun Belt regular-season championships, and a conference tournament trophy.

If the name’s familiar, it’s because Kentucky faced Cross in 2013 and 2014, beating his UT Arlington Mavericks by 29 and 48 points.

Troy is dancing for the third time

The Trojans are in the NCAA Tournament for only the third time in school history. Troy last danced as a No. 15 seed in 2017, losing to Duke in the first round before South Carolina knocked Duke out two days later. Troy’s first NCAA appearance came in 2003, when “Troy State” couldn’t play Cinderella against No. 3 seed Xavier in the first round.

2003 NCAA First Round: #2 Duke 87, #15 Troy 65

2017 NCAA First Round: #3 Xavier 71, #14 Troy 59

2025 NCAA First Round: #3 Kentucky vs. #14 Troy

On Friday, Kentucky will play Troy for only the second time. The first meeting was in Lexington in 2017, a 70-62 win for the Cats.

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