While the men's team prepares to take on Iowa State (and a Cyclones squad that will likely be without Joshua Jefferson), the Kentucky women's team officially tipped off its own March Madness run. And head coach Kenny Brooks found himself busy getting booed by his alma mater, a place where he is a recognized Hall of Famer, the James Madison Dukes.
Every single year in the NCAA Tournament, the classic 5-seed versus 12-seed matchup is a trendy upset pick. But Kentucky refused to give James Madison any reason to believe a Cinderella story was going to happen on their watch today. The Wildcats opened up with an absolute blitz, allowing them to coast into the second round for a second consecutive year.
James Madison fights back as turnover issues pop up
Kentucky opened the game on a staggering 32-10 run. They were completely dominating the Dukes, who looked entirely shellshocked by the speed and length of the Wildcats, who just came on in waves.
But after that initial onslaught, James Madison dug their heels in and stayed in contact. In fact, the Dukes actually outscored Kentucky 32-27 over the next 23 minutes of game action.
The tightening of the scoreboard was largely due to a familiar issue cropping up for Kentucky: ball security. The Wildcats finished with 16 turnovers, including a frustrating 11 giveaways in the second half alone. That level of sloppiness simply cannot happen against West Virginia or Miami (OH) in the next round when they take the floor in Morgantown. That game will happen later today.
Dominating the glass to survive and advance
What Kenny Brooks will gladly carry over from this performance is his team's relentless rebounding. The Cats were completely dominant on the glass right until the end. It was 41-29 early in the 4th. It ended up 46-37. That kind of effort is what you want from a team that is built for rebounding like Kentucky is.
The lineup consists of 4 power forwards and Tonie Morgan.
The Wildcats certainly did not play a flawless game after that brilliant first quarter. But just like Mark Pope's men's team did against Santa Clara, the entire point of March Madness is to survive and advance. And they did exactly that.
The Cats were led by Tonie Morgan's 17 points and 7 assists. Clara Strack finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds. They were joined in double figures by Amelia Hassett (14) and Jordan Obi (12).