Kentucky women’s basketball (23-10, 8-8 SEC) is set to take on head coach Kenny Brooks’ alma mater, James Madison (26-8, 14-4 SBC), in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. 

The Cats, who landed a No. 5 seed in the Big Dance, are hitting the road to Morgantown, West Virginia, hoping to make a run in their 19th tournament appearance. Kentucky has a 23-18 all-time record in the tournament, and a 14-4 record in the first round. 

The Dukes landed themselves a No. 12 seed to make their 14th appearance in the tournament, where they boast an 8-13 record. 

Brooks holds a lot of connections to James Madison, not only graduating from there in 1992 and playing men’s basketball, but also coaching its women’s basketball program. 

The now-Wildcat boasts himself as the all-time winningest coach at James Madison (337-122) between the 2002-03 and 2015-16 seasons. 

Brooks began his coaching career as a part-time assistant for the JMU men’s basketball team. He eventually moved to Virginia Military Institute’s men’s program, yet returned to the Dukes in 1998 as a men’s assistant. 

On Dec. 6, 2002, Brooks was named interim women’s head coach, eventually taking on the full-time head coach position in 2003. In 2022, he was inducted into the JMU Hall of Fame. 

James Madison’s head coach, Sean O’Regan, spent nine years on Brook’s coaching staff at JMU. 

This will only be the second meeting between the two head coaches, where O’Regan and his team defeated Brooks’ Hokies in their only matchup in the 2019 WNIT. 

This is also just the fourth all-time meeting between Kentucky and JMU, where the Wildcats lead the Dukes 2-1. Kentucky’s only loss to James Madison was in the first round of the 1991 NCAA Tournament. 

What to watch – 

Although Kentucky is the No. 5 seed, which is a very strong seed in all regards, no one should count the Cats out. Kentucky’s seeding is lower than most people believe reflects its strength, however, its seeding is a seemingly direct result of its four losses while Teonni Key was sidelined due to her elbow injury. 

Kentucky enters the matchup off of a loss to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks were in their first game of the tournament, while the Cats had played two games in the two days prior. 

In the regular season, Kentucky only fell to South Carolina 60-56 – in the tournament, it fell 87-64. 

Conversely, JMU is currently on a 12-game winning streak, which is tied for the seventh-longest streak in Division I. The streak also includes the Duke’s most recent win, a 69-52 victory over Troy in the Sun Belt Conference Championship. 

Moreover, James Madison has held opponents to 57 points or fewer in nine consecutive games. 

For Kentucky, Clara Strack and Amelia Hassett are players to watch out for against the Dukes, and for the tournament as a whole. 

Strack, an All-SEC First Team pick, is leading the team with 17.2 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, 2.6 blocks per game and 1.2 steals per game. Strack is also coming off of a recent career-high game, where against Georgia in the second round of the SEC Tournament, she boasted 33 points, five 3-pointers and three blocks. 

She is the first player this century to hit those marks in a women’s regulation conference tournament game. 

She also became the only Division I women’s player since at least 2002-03 to have at least 64 points, 26 rebounds, eight blocks, six 3-pointers made and shoot 57.0% from the field in a single conference tournament. 

Strack’s contributions defensively and offensively should give the Cats the extra edge to triumph over JMU, which levels out to be relatively even with Kentucky on most fronts, including PPG, RPG and field goal percentage. 

Hassett has been huge for the Cats since joining Big Blue Nation last season, yet has really hit her stride at the tail end of this regular season and in the SEC Tournament. 

The forward is averaging 10.6 PPG and 5.4 RPG, her 37.1% 3-point percentage is also a team high.

Hassett, alongside Boone, both broke Rhyne Howard’s single-season school record for 3-pointers made in the first round of the conference tournament against Arkansas. 

Hassett currently holds the record with 92 3-pointers made after going 5 for 5 from behind the arc in her most recent showing against South Carolina. 

Whenever Hassett is hitting her stride from beyond the arc, she has more than shown that she is integral to Kentucky’s offensive success. If she continues her recent streak, she will surely be one to lead the Cats in scoring and game success. 

For JMU, guard Peyton McDaniel and forward Ashanti Barnes are the players to follow. 

McDaniel is currently leading the team in PPG (18.9), and most recently put up 28 points, 10 rebounds and shot 5 for 13 from 3-point range against Troy. She came away from conference play as the 2026 Sun Belt Tournament Most Outstanding Player. 

Barnes came away from the same matchup against Troy with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and was named to the 2025-26 All-Sun Belt Second Team and Sun Belt All-Defensive team. 

Both players are consistent in JMU’s offensive success, and will need to keep their averages going against a top defensive team in Kentucky to keep the Dukes’ hopes alive in March.

Kentucky women’s basketball will take on James Madison on Saturday, March 21, at 2:30 p.m. EST at Hope Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia. Game action can be streamed on ESPNU.