The Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky coach John Calipari wasted no time sharing his displeasure with his team’s No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.

“They did it to us again,” he quipped as he walked into his home with his team, assistant coaches and University of Kentucky President Dr. Lee Todd.

Kentucky defeated Florida 70-54 on Sunday for their second consecutive SEC tournament title. Yet the Gators, beaten by the Wildcats twice in 10 days, earned a No. 2 seed in the tournament.

“I’m a little bit surprised,” Calipari said. “It was a tough road for us; it was a tough road last year. I don’t think it’s personal, but ’wow.’ This team has really worked hard all year … But at the end of the day you’re in the tournament, and you still have to win games.”

Kentucky, in the East regional, will take on 13th-seeded Princeton on Thursday in Tampa, Fla. The Gators, in the Southeast regional, will play No. 15 seed UC-Santa Barbara in Tampa on Thursday.

Calipari said he thought before the SEC championship game that both Kentucky and Florida likely would be No. 3 seeds or that the loser of the SEC tournament title game would be a No. 4 seed.

Senior Josh Harrellson said he was disappointed with the seeding.

“We thought we should have been a three seed. A lot of people probably aren’t happy with where we are right now, but we can’t really complain,” he said. “We’ve just got to come out, compete and play basketball. I don’t think seeds matter; it’s the NCAA tournament.”