MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia nor Kentucky expects much in the way of surprises when the teams square off in a second-round NCAA Tournament matchup at 5 p.m. Monday inside Hope Coliseum.
Both teams are defensive-minded in different ways.
Fifth-seeded Kentucky (24-10) is third among 16 Southeastern Conference squads in scoring defense at 60.1 points, with that number rising an additional seven points across 16 league games.
The Wildcats are likely to start three players — 6-foot-5 Clara Strack, 6-5 Teonni Key and 6-4 Amelia Hasset — taller than any player on West Virginia.
“Their ability to play with length, how they utilize their length is exceptional,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said. “When you look at all the numbers and analytics and you watch them on film, there’s not a lot of holes.”
No. 4 West Virginia (28-6) is known for its persistent ball pressure. The Mountaineers rank third in the Big 12 surrendering an average of 58 points, with that figure at 60.8 against Big 12 competition.
West Virginia starts three guards and tries to make the most of its quickness.
WVU has a plus-6.62 turnover margin for the season to rank in the top 20 nationally in that statistic, one that hasn’t necessarily been a strength of the Wildcats’.
UK is 11th in the SEC with a plus-0.77 turnover margin.
“Some people will do it occasionally. Some people will try to throw it on you,” UK coach Kenny Brooks said. “They’re very consistent with what they’re going to do throughout the whole basketball game.”
Mountaineer point guard Jordan Harrison was recently named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and her quickness and tenacity are critical components to what makes the pressure successful.
With Harrison surrounded by guards Gia Cooke and Sydney Shaw, along with a defensive standout in reserve guard Sydney Woodley, Brooks says he’s been left pondering how the group is able to maintain energy.
“Their tenacity is unbelievable,” Brooks said. “They just keep going. I wonder sometimes do they have extra battery pack in the back? Because they just keep going. They play very well off of each other and they know how to funnel somebody to a certain area.”
Brooks noted UK has faced other teams that consistently press this season in Tennessee and Marshall.
While the Wildcats won handily against the Herd, they turned it over 18 times. In a two-point los to the Volunteers, UK had 21 turnovers.
“We have to be on guard the whole game and we can’t let one turnover turn into two turnovers that turns into three turnovers that turns into a bad shot, and then they get on a run,” Brooks said.
Forcing turnovers that can help create offense figures to be especially important for West Virginia when factoring in the difficulty that comes with scoring against Kentucky in half court sets.
The Wildcats lead the nation with 6.6 blocks per game and displayed their shot-blocking prowess Saturday in Morgantown by rejecting James Madison eight times in a 71-56 opening-round win.
Key (3), Hassett (2) and Strack (2) accounted for all but one of their team’s blocks.
“If we’re being aggressive and they block a shot, then I’ll accept it and we’ll move on and play the next possession, whether it’s still our ball or maybe they block it and retain possession,” Kellogg said. “We’ll sprint back on defense and get ready. It’s certainly something you have to be prepared for.”
Harrison sees the matchup as a battle of strength against strength.
“They’re definitely a good defensive team. They have a lot of length. They’re going to use their length, we’re going to use our speed and try to get them moving and create some space,” she said.
Whichever style rules out will go a long way in determining which team moves on to the Sweet 16.
“We know their strength,” Brooks said. “They know our strength, and we have to make sure we play our game as I’m sure they want to make sure they are able to play their game.
“It’s going to be a will of ways. We’ve been playing our way for 30-something games. They’ve been playing their way for 30-something games. It’s just going to be a matter of who does it better tomorrow.”
(Press conference video provided by NCAA)