FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas made Dickies Arena look like its home court Saturday, dominating Kentucky 76-54 in the Sweet 16. The top-seeded Longhorns (34–3) led 5-seed Kentucky (25–11) for all but 58 seconds of the game and will meet No. 2-seed Michigan (28–6) in the Elite Eight on Monday. Texas advanced to the regional finals for the third straight season and looks to continue what it hopes is ...

Texas' Jordan Lee rises for a shots against Kentucky's Asia Boone during the first quarter in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament at Dickies Arena on Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Stacy Revere/Getty Images North America/TNS

FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas made Dickies Arena look like its home court Saturday, dominating Kentucky 76-54 in the Sweet 16.

The top-seeded Longhorns (34–3) led 5-seed Kentucky (25–11) for all but 58 seconds of the game and will meet No. 2-seed Michigan (28–6) in the Elite Eight on Monday.

Texas advanced to the regional finals for the third straight season and looks to continue what it hopes is a championship run after falling in the Final Four last year. The Longhorns won their previous two games against 16-seed Missouri State and 8-seed Oregon by 42 points and had a similar onslaught against Kentucky, a team Texas beat 64-53 on Feb. 9 during the regular season.

Texas shot 54% from the floor and outrebounded Kentucky 38-29. The Longhorns scored 26 points off turnovers and outscored the Wildcats 20-0 on the fast break.

“They’re playing well right now,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. "It is our best basketball of the year."

Sophomore guard Jordan Lee scored a game-high 18 points, shooting 8 of 13 from the floor. Junior forward Madison Booker recorded 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting, adding eight rebounds and five assists. Senior guard Rori Harmon recorded 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Kentucky opened the game’s scoring, but the Longhorns responded with a 15-0 first-quarter scoring run and never relinquished the lead. Texas led 48-26 at the half and limited a Wildcats team that had five players averaging in double figures, with center Clara Strack leading the way (16.9 points, 10.3 rebounds per game).

“There’s got to be a certain urgency and intensity that we play with to not let any team try to work their way back,” Harmon said. “I think that’s how we came out today.”

Texas, ahead 21 entering the fourth quarter, opened the scoring in the final period, but the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to come within 15. The Longhorns ended their scoring drought with 5:09 to go in the game, starting a 7-0 run capped by a Lee 3-pointer.

The Longhorns also struggled at the free throw line, finishing 5 of 15.

“I thought the second half was frustrating at times, but at the same time, it’s really hard with young people to get them to understand ‘Hey, let’s go out and play [until the clock hits] 00.00,'″ Schaefer said.

One of the top teams in the nation throughout the season, Texas won its first SEC Tournament championship earlier this month with a 78-61 win over the No. 1 seed and defending SEC Tournament champion South Carolina.

Texas is one of two SEC teams still alive in the tournament. Vanderbilt and LSU lost Friday and Kentucky fell Saturday. South Carolina beat Oklahoma in a later game for a spot in the Elite Eight.

“It’s March, you want to be hot at this time of the year,” Lee said. “Going forward, the level of competition, the preparation’s only going to get higher. It’s only going to get better.”

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