By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COLUMBUS - Two things give Florida A & M hope of a historic upset tonight against Kentucky.

First is familiarity. Two players already have faced Kentucky - Terrence Woods transferred from Tennessee and Moses White from Georgia - and two others, Tony Tate (from Pittsburgh) and Michael Ayodele (West Virginia) regularly faced high-level competition in the Big East. The Rattlers also got big-game experience this season in road losses at North Carolina State, Florida, Georgia and Marquette.

The second source of confidence is Woods' shooting. He led the nation in made 3-pointers for the second straight season.

"That's one reason I haven't slept well," UK coach Tubby Smith said.

Woods, who makes 41.3 percent of his 3-pointers, has totaled 134 this season (4.5 per game). His 139 3-pointers last season (5.0) are the fourth-highest single-season total in Division I history. His 347 career 3-pointers are 13th on the all-time list.

"In my opinion, he's the best shooter in college basketball," FAMU coach Mike Gillespie Sr. said. "It's not even close."

UK opponents have made 32.2 percent of their 3-point shots.

RAGS VS. RICHES: Gillespie made light of the fact NCAA officials poured him water Thursday at practice. "At our home games, I have to pour my own," he said.

That just scratches the surface for how different this treatment feels for the Rattlers than for UK.

FAMU has to buy its own sneakers. It has no heat or air conditioning in its home gym. Its recruiting budget is $18,000.

COACHING FAMILY: Gillespie last season led FAMU to its first winning record (17-12) in 11 years and this season has secured the school's third NCAA appearance. He is the first white men's basketball coach at the historically black college.

Coaching is in Gillespie's genes. His 78-year-old father, Gordon, is the baseball coach at Division III Ripon College in Wisconsin, and is college baseball's all-time victories leader with nearly 1,800.

Mike Gillespie has two kids in the business: son Mike Jr. is a FAMU assistant and daughter Kristen is a graduate assistant for North Carolina State's women's team.

COVER BOYS: Good friends Erik Daniels and Chuck Hayes are roommates on this road trip, and Daniels tried to brag about being on the cover of a regional edition of TV Guide. "He pulled (the issue) out of his bag, set it by the TV and said, 'Let's see what's on TV,' " Hayes said.

Hayes got him back by making the cover of Sports Illustrated, in a collage featuring players from all 65 Tournament teams.

UK notebook