For Kenny Rice, this week at Rupp Arena will be the ‘Bittersweet 16’
Fast-break points from the Madness:
21. Kenny Rice. The Lexington-based NBC Sports horse racing reporter attended his first Kentucky Boys High School Basketball State Tournament in 1964 at age 7. Rice believes this week’s renewal of the Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena will be the 57th he has seen in person.
20. The “Bittersweet 16.” The 2026 state tourney will be emotional for Rice because it will be the first he has attended without his father, Reginald Rice, who died last August at age 96.
19. A Sweet 16 treasure. As I discovered when I wrote about the Rices and their history with the Sweet 16 in 2019, Reginald Rice was a prize if you loved the lore of Kentucky basketball. The elder Rice had seen his first state tourney in 1946 and could tell you what it was like to see Brewers’ undefeated state championship team (1948) or to watch Kentucky hoops icon Cliff Hagan play in the Sweet 16.
18. “A bond we shared.” For five-plus decades, Kenny Rice carved a week out of his schedule each year to attend the Kentucky hoops state tournament with his father. “It was a bond we shared,” Kenny Rice said. “We always enjoyed this tournament.”
17. Keeping the tradition alive. After his father passed, Kenny Rice said he quickly decided that he would keep the tradition alive of going to the state tournament even if it will not be the same. “It’s something I want to do,” he said. “And it’s something I know Dad would want me to do.”
16. Jake Feldhaus. The Madison Central boys basketball star was impacted when Belmont men’s hoops coach Casey Alexander recently left to become head coach at Kansas State. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound Feldhaus signed with Belmont in the early signing period.
15. A wait-and-see approach. Speaking prior to media reports that Belmont is hiring Duke assistant and former Bruins star Evan Bradds to replace Alexander, Madison Central coach Allen Feldhaus Jr., Jake’s uncle, says the Indians’ star player “wants to wait. He’d like to wait and see who (Belmont) hires. But, if they drag their feet, we got to go in and ask for a release, just to explore other (options).”
14. A hot commodity in the late signing period? Jake Feldhaus, whose grandfather (Allen Feldhaus Sr.) and father (Deron Feldhaus), both played for Kentucky, will likely be much-coveted should he go back on the recruiting market after averaging 20.7 points and 13 rebounds for Madison Central (30-4).
13. UK men’s errant outside shooting. In Kentucky men’s basketball’s three games in last week’s SEC Tournament, the Wildcats shot a chilly 25.8% (17 of 66) from behind the 3-point arc.
12. Cats must do better to thrive in March Madness. UK’s opening opponent in this week’s NCAA Tournament, Santa Clara, makes 10.1 treys a game. For Kentucky to advance, the Cats need to get their long-range artillery dialed back in.
11. Ugonna Onyenso. The former Kentucky center (2022-24) was one of the major storylines in last week’s ACC Tournament while playing for Virginia.
10. An all-tournament selection. In three games, the 7-foot, 245-pound Onyenso hit 14 of 21 shots, scored 31 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked 21 shots. The ex-Cat was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team.
9. A reunion? If Virginia, No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region, and Kentucky, the No. 7 seed, can each win two games, Onyenso will get a chance to play against his old team in the round of 16.
8. Jordan Burks. The former UK forward (2023-24) is entering the NCAA Tournament on a roll for Central Florida. The No. 10 seed Knights (21-11) will face No. 7 seed UCLA (23-11) on Friday in the East Region.
7. Reliable scoring down the stretch. Burks, a 6-9, 205-pound junior, scored in double figures in nine of Central Florida’s final 10 games — and had nine points in the contest that was the exception. Burks will enter the NCAA tourney averaging 13 points and 4.8 rebounds.
6. Maddie Scherr. The former Ryle High School star and Kentucky guard (2022-2024) has not played for the TCU women since Feb. 8 due to a reported back injury. In 20 games, 18 starts, Scherr has averaged 5.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.1 steals for TCU (29-5).
5. Clara Silva. The ex-UK center (2024-25) has started all 34 games this season for TCU. The 6-7 Silva has averaged 8.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks and made 58.8% of her shots as a sophomore.
4. Hassett vs. Boone. As the Kentucky women’s basketball team prepares to face James Madison Saturday in the NCAA Tournament round of 64, senior forward Amelia Hassett (92 made treys) and junior guard Asia Boone (89) are locked in a duel for the UK single-season record for made 3-pointers.
3. Key to UK’s advancement? Whether the Cats can complement the play of star center Clara Strack by making outside shots figures to be a huge determining factor in whether Kentucky can make a March Madness run.
2. A reason for urgency. Kentucky has not advanced as far as the round of 16 in the women’s NCAA tourney since 2016. If seeds hold and NCAA Tournament No. 5 seed UK beats No. 12 James Madison and No. 4 West Virgina vanquishes No. 13 Miami (Ohio) in the round of 64, then the Wildcats will have to beat the Mountaineers (27-6) on their home court, Hope Coliseum, to reach the Sweet 16.
1. A challenging venue. West Virginia enters the NCAA Tournament with a 14-3 mark on its home court. The losses have come to Villanova (81-59), Texas Tech (71-66) and TCU (51-50).
Embrace the Madness.
