Big Blue Preview: 4-Seed Kentucky Women’s Basketball Will Play Host to 5-Seed Kansas State in the NCAA Championship Second Round
LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 13/12 and 4-seed University of Kentucky women’s basketball will play host to No. 19/18 and 5-seed Kansas State in the NCAA Championship Second Round on Sunday, March 23 at 2 p.m. ET in Historic Memorial Coliseum.
Big Blue Nation can purchase tickets to the Second Round in the $82 million renovated arena here. The Wildcats have played host to the NCAA Championship seven seasons in program history, while this is the first time since 2017.
Darren Headrick will have the radio call of the game for UK Sports Network, which will be carried on 98.5 FM ICONS. Fans also can watch the game on ESPN, with Sam Gore and Tamika Catchings on the call.
The Wildcats-Wildcats head-to-head will be UK’s 11th ranked game this season, while UK is 5-5 in its previous contests. UK’s five wins against AP Top 25 teams tie as the school’s second most in program history. The school record is six AP Top 25 teams, which has only been done in 2015-16.
This is Kentucky’s 18th appearance in the NCAA Championship, and its first since 2022. The Wildcats have a 23-17 all-time record in the championship, including Friday’s First Round nailbiter over the 13-seeded Liberty Flames, 79-78, in Historic Memorial Coliseum.
UK has a 6-7 mark in the Second Round in program history, while the program hopes to keep its season alive with its seventh regional semifinal appearance.
The 4-seed for UK is its fifth in program history, while it has been a four seed or better 12 times in program history. UK was last a 4-seed in 2021, when it defeated Idaho State in the First Round and fell to Iowa in the Second Round in San Antonio, Texas.
Kentucky and Kansas State have met just once in program history, with UK rolling K-State, 60-49, on the road on Dec. 3, 2020.
This is Kenny Brooks’ 11th appearance – and his fifth straight – in the NCAA Championship. With UK’s selection this season, he has taken three programs to the NCAA Championship, including JMU (6x), Virginia Tech (4x) and now Kentucky (1x). He has reached at least the Second Round five times, including this season, while his best run ended at the 2023 Final Four with Virginia Tech. Current All-American point guard Georgia Amoore also was on that team.
That dynamic duo of Brooks and Amoore have hauled in numerous honors this week.
Brooks was named The Sporting News’ National Coach of the Year on Wednesday, while Amoore has hauled in three All-America second team nods this week, including from The Sporting News, Associated Press and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Brooks’ revamped roster has met several benchmarks this season, including finishing fourth in the league standings – after being picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll – and also breaking 10 school records thus far.
UK is close to producing two more school records, too, as Amoore needs just three more assists before breaking the single-season assists record, which was set by Patty Jo Hedges in 1981-82 (209). Moreover, the team needs just 10 more 3s to break the single-season 3-pointers school record, which was set at 252 in 2019-20.
On that note, several school records broke or were tied in Kentucky’s win over Liberty in the NCAA Championship First Round on Friday, including the single-season, 3-point attempts record (758). Additionally, Amoore’s 34 points and six 3s also tied the program’s NCAA Championship single-game school records.
The Wildcats enter the game 23-7 this season, including 11-5 in the Southeastern Conference and 15-2 in Historic Memorial Coliseum. In home games this season, UK is averaging 78.2 points per game on 45.5 percent from the field, while it is holding opponents to 60.3 ppg and 25.1 percent shooting. The Cats continue to lead the nation in blocks per game (7.0), while they also rank in the top 10 in the nation in free-throw percentage (10th, 78.5) and three-point percentage defense (6th, 26.3).
This season marks the fourth time the NCAA Championship includes 68 teams. The championship will again be utilizing a two-site regional format, with eight competing teams playing at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, and eight teams playing at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington. Regional action in Birmingham and Spokane will take place March 28-31, with each site hosting two regional semifinal games March 28 and two March 29. In addition, each site will host a regional championship game March 30 and one March 31.
The 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four will be played April 4 and 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
