Ahead of Sweet 16 rematch, Texas, Kentucky not putting much stock in February results
· Yahoo Sports
FORT WORTH – As it began its 2026 NCAA Tournament run last week, Texas women's basketball battled a Missouri State team that it hadn't seen in over 18 years. Then came Oregon, which UT had last played in 2000.
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But in the Sweet 16 round, Texas will face a foe that is more familiar.
With an Elite Eight trip on the line, Texas will meet Kentucky at Fort Worth's Dickies Arena on Saturday afternoon. This Sweet 16 showdown comes nearly seven weeks after the Longhorns recorded a 64-53 win over the Wildcats in Austin on Feb. 9.
Texas Longhorns guard Ashton Judd (21) and Kentucky Wildcats forward Amelia Hassett (32) dive for the ball as Texas takes on Kentucky at The Moody Center in Austin Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman)In that victory, Texas got a combined 30 points from sophomore Justice Carlton and Jordan Lee while stars Madison Booker and Rori Harmon were held to 13 points. Texas led by as many as 14 points but had to hold off a Kentucky rally that made it a 49-48 game with 6:23 left.
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With all that being said, does what happened during the second week of February matter during the final days of March?
"I think some of that gets washed a little bit," Carlton said. "(Iowa State center) Audi Crooks in her interview a little bit ago said that you want to be playing your best basketball in March, and I think that a lot of teams are doing that right now. I mean, obviously they're going to have a completely different game plan than they did the first time that we played them."
Said Lee: "One of the best things about playing a team a second time is the familiarity that you have with personnel and with some of their offensive sets. But other than that, they've improved and have gotten a lot better to this point, and some of their main players are doing things a little bit differently."
Texas Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer speaks at a press conference at Dickies Arena on Friday, March 27, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Texas Longhorns will play Kentucky on Saturday, March 28 in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)What has changed for Texas, Kentucky since February?
Three days after beating Kentucky in February, Texas was embarrassed during an 86-70 loss at Vanderbilt. The Longhorns, though, have not lost since. During that 10-game winning streak, UT beat South Carolina in the SEC Tournament's championship game and then recorded 87-45 and 100-58 wins in the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky, on the other hand, has gone 7-3 with notable wins over Ole Miss, Georgia and West Virginia and two losses to South Carolina since its trip to Austin. Senior guard Tonie Morgan and junior center Clara Strack respectively rank among the country's leaders in assists and blocks.
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While speaking to reporters in Fort Worth on Friday about this rematch, Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks assessed that "we're a different team, but so are they." Texas coach Vic Schaefer later echoed those sentiments.
"It's seven weeks ago when we played them, so I think they're a way different team," Schaefer said. "They're playing way better. I think we're different. You know, we're playing pretty well, too."
This marks the second straight season that Texas has faced a conference foe in the Sweet 16 round. Last year, Texas followed up its 80-76 win over Tennessee in the regular season with a 67-59 victory at the Volunteers' expense in the postseason.
Texas also played South Carolina four times during the 2024-25 season. The Longhorns split their regular-season games with the Gamecocks, but UT was then beaten by South Carolina in the SEC championship game and during a reunion at the Final Four.
"I kind of like playing our SEC teams (in the NCAA Tournament)," Carlton said. "I know a lot of people feel differently about it... but I like playing SEC teams in the tournament. I think it gets us a little bit more prepared. And it's just kind of good, physical games throughout the tournament to just keep you going."