WVU Advances and Draws a Tough Second Round Matchup in NCAA Tournament

The West Virginia Mountaineers women’s basketball team officially has its opponent for the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

After an 82-54 win over the Miami of Ohio RedHawks on Saturday, the team has a date with the Kentucky Wildcats in the second round at Hope Coliseum on Monday, March 23rd, at a time to be determined.

The Wildcats soundly defeated the James Madison Dukes on Saturday in Morgantown, 71-56. After a bit of a slow start, the Wildcats were able to distance themselves through their defense.

Much like West Virginia, Kentucky relies on playing good defense, but also has options offensively. Clara Strack made her mark in the game with her 15th double-double of the season for the Wildcats.

Kentucky plays a bit of a slower-paced offense with a lot of passing involved. This type of offense is something that could give the Mountaineers an aggressive style of trouble. The Mountaineers got off to a bit of a slow start themselves in their contest against Miami of Ohio.

Both Kentucky and West Virginia are well-coached defensive teams that have four starters who average double digits. This game will be one of the toughest that WVU has played this season. Kentucky may not quite have the record WVU does, but it plays in the incredibly tough SEC conference that is responsible for producing two of this tournament’s number one seeds in a potential Sweet 16 matchup, Texas and South Carolina.

This meeting will mark the fifth time that West Virginia and Kentucky have met in women’s basketball. The last time the two met, the Wildcats blew out the Mountaineers 83-60 on December 1st, 2021. WVU is hoping that this time things will go differently as the team once again plays in front of its home crowd with a Sweet 16 appearance on the line. The Mountaineers have lost the last 11 times they have played in the round of 32, while Kentucky has lost its last four such games. Both teams have a chance to break a streak of tough luck in the NCAA Tournament’s second round.

West Virginia is one win away from program history

Should the Mountaineers win, it would be the first time they have reached the Sweet 16 since the 1992 season. Interestingly, the 1992 season also marks the last time the Mountaineers hosted their first and second-round games in the NCAA Tournament. With the home crowd in their favor again, the Mountaineers have a shot to send a statement to their fans and the rest of the college basketball world that something special is happening in Morgantown.