Who should UK fans root for — and against — in the men’s Final Four?
Fast-break points from college basketball’s final week.
21. UK fans’ rooting interest. Which team in the 2026 men’s basketball NCAA Tournament Final Four should Kentucky fans pull for?
20. Not Arizona. ‘Zona is 3-2 all-time head-to-head vs. Kentucky and, of far greater consequence, pinned an 84-79 overtime loss on UK in the 1997 NCAA tourney finals.
19. Definitely not Connecticut. The Huskies are 4-1 all-time vs. the Cats and are 3-0 vs. Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament — including wins in the 2011 Final Four and the 2014 national championship game. UConn is also two wins from what would be its seventh men’s NCAA title — dangerously close to UK’s eight men’s hoops national championships.
18. Not Michigan. The Wolverines are only 2-6 overall vs. Kentucky and are just 1-2 in the NCAA Tournament. But the one March Madness win for Michigan over UK hurt, having come in overtime in the 1993 Final Four.
17. Yes to Illinois. The Fighting Illini are only 4-12 all-time vs. Kentucky and are 0-5 vs. the Cats in the NCAA Tournament. That, along with the presence of ex-UK big man Zvonimir Ivisic and former Kentucky assistant Orlando Antigua with the Illinois men’s hoops program is why the BBN should pull for Illinois.
16. Big Ten > SEC. When Michigan throttled Tennessee 95-62 on Sunday in the Midwest Region final, the Volunteers became the fifth Southeastern Conference team bounced from this NCAA Tournament by a Big Ten squad, joining Alabama (also eliminated by Michigan), Florida (Iowa), Texas (Purdue) and Vanderbilt (Nebraska).
15. Troy University and the Bluegrass State. When it comes to picking coaches for its most visible men’s sports teams, Troy University has a definite type — the Alabama school loves it some Kentuckians.
14. Adam Howard. When the former Ashland Tomcats and Western Kentucky Hilltoppers guard was introduced Monday as Troy’s new men’s basketball coach, it meant that the Trojans now employ Kentuckians as head men in their three highest-profile men’s sports.
13. Gerad Parker. The former Lawrence County High School star and ex-Kentucky Wildcats wide receiver coached Troy football to an 8-6 mark in 2025, his second season as Trojans coach.
12. Skylar Meade. A former baseball player at Ballard High School and an ex-University of Louisville pitcher, Meade has been the Troy head baseball coach since 2022.
11. Darrin Horn. This spring has seen the Northern Kentucky men’s basketball coach and Tates Creek High School alumnus have a burgeoning college basketball head coaching tree.
10. Tarleton State. To replace old friend Billy Gillispie as head men’s basketball coach, the Texans turned to Utah State assistant Eric Haut — who had been an assistant to Horn at NKU from 2019 through 2024.
9. Troy. The Trojans choice of North Carolina State assistant Adam Howard (see above) meant a player Horn coached at Western Kentucky from 2004 through 2008 is now a Division I head man.
8. Travis Ford. The former Kentucky point guard’s first NCAA Division I head coaching job came at Eastern Kentucky from 2000 through 2005.
7. Now a conference rival of the Colonels. With this week’s announcement that Ford is the new head coach at Little Rock, he will be competing against EKU in the same conference. The newly formed United Athletic Conference is a rebranded version of the Western Athletic Conference which will also be bringing in new teams from the ASUN (such as Eastern) and the OVC (Little Rock).
6. Juli Fulks. In her second season as Marshall women’s basketball coach, the former Division III national championship-winning coach at Transylvania University led the Thundering Herd to a 23-8 regular season — an eight-win improvement over her debut season (15-20).
5. A disappointing Sun Belt Tournament. In its first conference tournament contest, however, No. 5 seed Marshall was upset by No. 12 seed South Alabama, 73-58. In the regular season, Marshall had beaten South Alabama 69-60 on the road.
4. Making hay in the WNIT. After the league tourney letdown, Marshall has gotten a second chance at tournament play in the women’s NIT — and is making good on it.
3. A shutout fourth quarter. After starting WNIT play by winning over UMBC and at Youngstown State, Marshall beat Army West Point 82-65 on Monday in the quarterfinals. Down 65-61 after three quarters vs. Army, Marshall outscored the Black Knights 21-0 in the fourth period for an 82-65 win.
2. One win from a championship. In the WNIT semifinals Wednesday night, Marshall went on the road and beat Sun Belt Conference rival Arkansas State 69-62. The Thundering Herd will host Illinois State (24-13) Saturday at 3 p.m. EDT in Huntington, West Virginia, for the WNIT championship.
1. A school record for wins. With the Thundering Herd at 27-9, Fulks has already led Marshall to a new school record for wins in a season — which proves again a talented coach can succeed at any level.
