Texas women’s basketball to face Kentucky at Dickies Arena in NCAA Sweet 16

March 29, 2026

Texas clinched a higher NCAA seed after winning the Southeastern Conference tournament, moving from a projected No. 1 seed placement to the actual No. 3 overall seed. That bump changed the Longhorns' regional site to Fort Worth instead of Sacramento, putting the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games within driving distance for many fans.

The Longhorns have already played twice in the NCAA tournament and will travel roughly three hours up Interstate 35 to Dickies Arena for Saturday’s game. Texas beat Baylor at the same Fort Worth arena on Dec. 14, a matchup staff scheduled partly to give the team familiarity with the court later in the season, sophomore guard Jordan Lee said, and the squad welcomes representing the state on a big stage.

This Sweet 16 pairing is a rematch of a Feb. 9 meeting at Moody Center, where Texas won by 11 points. Kentucky arrives as the No. 5 seed and, Texas coach Vic Schaefer noted, looks like a stronger team now than it did seven weeks ago; he said he has reviewed the earlier game film but expects a noticeably different opponent.

Kentucky, guided on the court by Clara Strack and Tonie Morgan, carries a 25-10 record into the matchup. The Wildcats split close games with Vanderbilt this season, beat high-caliber programs such as LSU, Oklahoma and Ole Miss, and knocked off No. 4 seed West Virginia on the road to reach this round, evidence of their ability to stretch leads and mount late runs.

Schaefer emphasized the depth of the SEC, pointing out that so many conference teams in the tournament makes these intra-league postseason matchups inevitable and competitive. Texas also drew an SEC opponent in last season’s Sweet 16, when the Longhorns eliminated Tennessee en route to deeper tournament play.

Tipoff at Dickies Arena is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, and the winner will move on to face either No. 2-seeded Michigan or No. 3-seeded Louisville on Monday night for a trip to the Final Four. With a large contingent of Longhorn supporters expected in Fort Worth, home-court familiarity and heavy fan presence may play a role in the outcome.