Kenny Brooks told everyone he believes this Kentucky women's basketball team has a lot of basketball ahead of them in March. They will start their journey Saturday against a team Kenny Brooks knows very well, James Madison. Tip currently set for 2:30 pm. The Cats drew a 5-seed in the Morgantown pod, where 4-seed West Virginia is hosting.
Now, as oddsmakers begin releasing their odds of a Final Four run, Kenny Brooks may be proven to be prophetic.
Vegas has a good opinion of Kentucky women's basketball
The Cats come into the tournament 23-10 and have the 16th-best odds to reach the Final Four. That is huge news for a Kentucky squad that began playing basketball in the 1980's and has never made a Final Four.
Kentucky has been to 4 Elite 8's in program history, losing all 4 times in 1982, 2010, 2012, and most recently in 2013.
If Kenny Brooks is going to make history, he is going to have to do it on the road and against elite competition.
Being a 6-seed is better than a 4-seed in the women's game
Being that there are usually 4-5 top teams in women's college basketball, being a 4 or 5-seed means you get one of those teams in the Sweet 16. If you drop down a line to the number 6-seed, you often get a matchup that is much more favorable. In Kentucky's region, it means the difference in playing Texas or Michigan.
Both are very good teams, but Texas is a lot better. The matchup with the Longhorns, who have been in the top 3 most of the year, is different than a Michigan team that has fluctuated inside the top 10.
The fact is, if you plan on getting to the Final Four, you have to go through the best teams anyway. But it does help push those matchups off another round.
Kentucky played Texas tough down in Austin before turnovers doomed them late. But first things first, Kenny Brooks has to beat his former team and then knock off the home-court advantaged West Virginia Mountaineers.
Do that, and we can worry about the rest next week.