NCAA Basketball Report News

Date: Monday, March 23, 2026

Tipoff Time: 5:00PM ET

Location: Hope Coliseum — Morgantown, West Virginia

Broadcast Information

Channel: ESPN2

Streaming:ESPN (with TV provider login)

Announcers: Brenda VanLengen and Anne O’Neil

Radio: Mountaineer Sports Network (Radio Affiliates) | SiriusXM Channel 202 and Streaming Channel 964 | WVU Gameday App (Apple | Android)

Radio Announcers: Andrew Caridi

Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.

Betting Odds

Get in on the action with our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook.

• Spread: WVU -3.5 (-110) / Kentucky +3.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: WVU -184 / Kentucky +148
• Total: O/U 129.5 (-110)

(As of 11:00AM ET/March 23, 2026)

Game Preview

West Virginia is 28-6 and one win away from something this program hasn’t done in 34 years. The last time WVU women’s basketball reached the Sweet Sixteen was 1992 — also as a No. 4 seed. Tonight, against a Kentucky team that handled James Madison comfortably on Saturday, 71-56, they’ll get their shot.

Hope Coliseum is sold out again. The atmosphere against Miami was great, but it’s going to be louder tonight.

For the Mountaineers, it starts with Jordan Harrison. The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Tournament Most Outstanding Player leads the team in assists and steals, and there isn’t a point guard in the country who’s had a comfortable night against her this season. Gia Cooke is the leading scorer at 14.8 points per game, Sydney Shaw gives them a second perimeter threat who can get hot from three, and Meme Wheeler and Carter McCray form a physical frontcourt that gives up size to almost everyone but doesn’t back down from anybody. This is a complete team, and they’ve been playing their best basketball over the last five games.

Kentucky comes in at 24-10 as the five seed. Kenny Brooks is the reigning Sporting News National Coach of the Year, has 564 head coaching wins, and took Virginia Tech to the Final Four in 2023 before moving to Lexington. The Wildcats are 47-18 since he arrived. Their calling card is length — three of their five starters stand 6-4 or taller, and they lead the nation with 6.6 blocks per game. Clara Strack is the player WVU has to account for every possession. The 6-5 junior averages 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds, shoots 48.1% from the field, and is a Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Top 5 finalist. Point guard Tonie Morgan runs the offense at 8.1 assists per game and is a Nancy Lieberman Award Top 5 finalist. Teonni Key, Amelia Hassett, and Asia Boone all score in double figures. Kentucky has five double-digit scorers and when you watch them on film there aren’t a lot of holes.

The other side of that is Kentucky hasn’t seen anything like what WVU does defensively. Brooks has prepared his team for pressing defenses — they’ve faced Tennessee and Marshall this season — but WVU’s pressure is a different animal. Against Marshall, Kentucky turned it over 18 times. Against Tennessee, 21. WVU’s turnover margin is plus-6.62 on the season, top 20 nationally. Kentucky’s is plus-0.77, 11th in the SEC. That gap is where this game gets won or lost.

The Game Within The Game

It comes down to Kentucky’s length against WVU’s speed. That size advantage affects everything — shot blocking at the rim, rebounding, contesting passing lanes, defending the press. WVU’s answer is quickness and ball movement. Whoever imposes their identity is probably the team that advances.

The turnover battle is the other thread to watch. WVU doesn’t just force turnovers — they turn them into points immediately, in transition, before defenses can recover. Kentucky’s struggled with that against pressing teams all season. If the Mountaineers can force a few early turnovers and get the crowd into it, the Wildcats are going to be playing catch-up in a building they’ve never visited before.

Kentucky came out and posted 32 points in the first quarter against James Madison on Saturday. WVU has to be ready from the opening tip — a slow start against a team this long and this well-coached is a hole that’s very hard to climb out of.

Series History

Kentucky leads the all-time series 3-1, and these teams have never played at Hope Coliseum. Their most recent meeting was an 83-60 Kentucky win in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on December 1, 2021. WVU’s only series win came in the 2005 WNIT Final Four — an 80-75 double-overtime victory at Kentucky. Tonight is the first time these programs have met in the NCAA Tournament.

By the Numbers

Category	West Virginia	Kentucky
Record	28-6 (14-4 Big 12)	24-10 (8-8 SEC)
Points Per Game	76.4	75.5
Points Allowed Per Game	58.0	60.1
Field Goal %	45.8%	44.5%
3PT FG %	35.0%	33.1%
Free Throw %	70.8%	69.5%
Rebounds Per Game	36.7	40.8
Assists Per Game	15.0	17.1
Turnovers Forced Per Game	21.9	13.6
Turnovers Committed Per Game	15.3	12.8
Leading Scorer	Gia Cooke – 14.8 ppg	Clara Strack – 16.9 ppg
Leading Rebounder	Kierra Wheeler – 7.6 rpg	Clara Strack — 10.1 rpg

Probable Starters

No.	Player	Position	Height	Class	Stats
3	Gia Cooke	G	5-8	R-Jr.	14.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg
5	Sydney Shaw	G	5-9	Sr.	12.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg
10	Jordan Harrison	G	5-6	Sr.	13.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg
22	Kierra Wheeler	F	6-1	Gr.	13.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg
1	Carter McCray	F	6-1	Jr.	6.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg

Prediction

Kentucky’s length is a real problem and Strack is going to get her points. But WVU doesn’t need to stop her completely, they need to make everyone else’s night miserable. If Harrison disrupts Morgan early and the Mountaineers get out in transition, this building is going to be impossible to play in.

West Virginia 68, Kentucky 63

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