Get excited, college basketball fans. We’re just days away from the Big Dance. Yesterday’s NCAA Men’s and Women’s Selection Shows revealed the 2026 NCAA Tournament brackets, and the action tips off with the First Four as soon as tomorrow night.
But first, we have details on Kentucky’s path and brackets to fill out.
Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament draw
Kentucky Basketball landed as the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region and will open the NCAA Tournament against No. 10 Santa Clara in St. Louis on Friday. The Wildcats and Broncos drew the first game of the day, tipping off at 12:15 p.m. ET on the TV schedule and even earlier for the teams, starting at 11:15 a.m. local time at the Enterprise Center. The game will air on CBS, with Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, and Jon Rothstein.
If Kentucky advances, No. 2 seed Iowa State is the likely second-round opponent, with No. 6 Tennessee potentially waiting in the Sweet 16 for a familiar postseason matchup. According to the committee’s seed list, Kentucky checked in at No. 25 overall in the field, just one spot away from moving up to the No. 6 seed line.
10 things to know about Santa Clara
What’s there to know about Santa Clara? A lot, actually. Here are 10 things to get you up to speed for the March Madness talk at work today. We’ll have many more Santa Clara previews.
- Santa Clara went 26-8 this season, finishing third in the West Coast Conference, behind Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s.
- They reached the WCC Tournament championship game, losing to Gonzaga for a third straight time this year.
- The Broncos’ two biggest wins were both against Saint Mary’s, a top-25 team.
- Santa Clara is an offense-first team, averaging more than 83 points per game.
- The Broncos rely heavily on three-point shooting, attempting nearly 30 threes per game.
- Santa Clara has made 10 or more threes in 21 games this season.
- The Broncos are ranked No. 35 in KenPom (No. 23 ORtg, No. 82 DRtg)
- Santa Clara also crashes the offensive glass, posting a 36.7% offensive rebounding rate.
- Three Santa Clara players were named First Team All-WCC: guard Christian Hammond (15.6 ppg), guard Elijah Mahi (14.1 ppg), and freshman forward Allen Graves (13.4 ppg), who was named WCC Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year.
- The Broncos are coached by former UK assistant Herb Sendek (1989-93), the 2026 WCC Coach of the Year.
Kentucky WBB’s NCAA Tournament draw
Kentucky Women’s Basketball also learned its place in the Big Dance yesterday, earning a No. 5 seed in the Fort Worth 3 Region. The Wildcats will open the NCAA Tournament against No. 12 James Madison in Morgantown, West Virginia. Kentucky was on the 4/5 bubble entering Selection Sunday and ultimately missed out on a top-four seed, which would have allowed the Wildcats to host first- and second-round games in Lexington.
If Kentucky beats the Dukes, the Wildcats would face the winner of the No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 13 Miami (OH) game. The opening-round matchup also comes with a connection for head coach Kenny Brooks, who played at James Madison from 1987–1991 and later coached there as an assistant from 1998–2002 before serving as the Dukes’ head coach from 2002 through 2016.
Kentucky opened as a 14.5-point favorite against James Madison. The game tips off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPNU.
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Kentucky Baseball swept its first SEC opponent
No. 21 Kentucky Baseball swept its first SEC series on the 2026 schedule, beating Alabama three times in Lexington. Sunday’s win began with six scoreless innings pitched by Nate Harris (3-1), who already had a five-run cushion before he gave up two in the seventh. The bullpen would allow two more in the seventh, but Kentucky still held on to win, 6-4, to complete the sweep of the Crimson Tide.
With Sunday’s win, Kentucky moved to 18-2 on the season and 3-0 in league play. The Wildcats host Marshall on Tuesday before a trip to Ole Miss.
Kentucky Softball on the wrong end of a sweep
Kentucky Softball was part of an SEC sweep, but on the wrong side of it. The Wildcats lost three straight to No. 5 Florida, capped off by a 9-0 Florida win in six innings on Sunday afternoon. Kentucky allowed 28 runs to the Gators in the first SEC series at John Cropp Stadium.
The Wildcats have a big road swing in Texas ahead, beginning with a game at Houston on Wednesday, followed by a three-game series at Texas A&M. Kentucky is 19-9 on the year and 1-5 in the SEC.
Spring football takes spring break
Kentucky Football has the week off, as does the rest of Kentucky’s campus for spring break. The school calendar has spring football paused until next week.
Tee off with CKSMGA
CKSMGA (Central Kentucky Senior Men’s Golf Association) is a Senior Men’s Golf Organization that provides a great golf experience featuring tournaments throughout the Central Ky area. Our Tournaments are hosted at Kearney, Lakeside, Juniper Hills, Weissinger Hills, Gibson Bay, Cherry Blossom, Longview, and The Woodford Club.
Our tournaments are flighted so golfers are competing with other golfers of similar skill level. Importantly, we also offer our members the opportunity to meet and develop friendships with other Senior golfers in our community. We’re looking for new members to join us today (ages 50 and up).
We will be waiting for you on the tee! See you soon!
Tune in to KSR at 10 a.m.
Coming up at 10 a.m., Matt Jones hosts KSR from Bristol, Connecticut, where he spent part of his Sunday as host of ESPN Radio’s NCAA bracket reveal. Ryan Lemond and I will join him from the Lexington studio with takeaways from the SEC Tournament and Selection Sunday, produced out of Louisville by Shannon The Dude. It’s a packed show from 10 a.m. to noon. Find it on WLAP.com.