KSR Today: Only one game left in the regular season
Good morning, friends. It wasn’t as pretty as we all would have liked, but Kentucky beat Ole Miss 83-72 to finish the season with an 18-0 record in Rupp Arena. The Cats are now 24-6 overall, 13-4 in SEC play, and head to Gainesville this weekend to put a bow on the regular season. We’ve written a lot about the game already, so let’s run through the CliffsNotes before moving on with our day.
Kentucky shot 60% from the field (33 of 55), the second-best percentage of the season, but allowed Ole Miss to shoot 50% (29-58), well above their season average of 43.4%. The Rebels had 34 points in the paint and 16 second-chance points on only eight offensive rebounds. Ole Miss’ Matthew Murrell was the latest guard the Cats could not contain, finishing with 25 points on 9-16, 5-8 from three. Kentucky led for over 38 minutes and was up by 14 points with six minutes left; however, Ole Miss refused to go away, cutting the lead to six with two minutes to go. The Cats took care of business, finishing the game on a 7-2 run, but it wasn’t exactly the fun, Senior Day romp we all envisioned.
All that said, there were positives. Even though John Calipari said he got “bullied” by Ole Miss’ Nysier Brooks, Oscar Tshiebwe finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds, his 12th straight double-double. TyTy Washington (14 points, 4 assists, 3 steals) and Sahvir Wheeler (16 points, 7 assists) returned to form. Davion Mintz and Kellan Grady made the most of their Senior Nights and received standing ovations from the crowd. Jacob Toppin played well, finishing with 7 points, 6 in the second half. TyTy, Davion, and Kellan took the mic after the game to thank fans and the team left the floor doing the Griddy.
Here’s what else you may have missed:
Davion Mintz, Kellan Grady’s Senior Night Ceremony
Highlights
John Calipari, Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington’s Postgame Remarks
Box Score, Season Stats
Postgame Coverage
- Final Score Post
- Notes & Stats
- Analytics
- Quotes
- Best Dressed Award: Sean Mintz, Davion’s Dad
- Team’s message to the BBN after the game
- TyTy Washington, Sahvir Wheeler working back to pre-injury form
- “Oscar got bullied”…and still got 18 points and 15 rebounds
- Kentucky went undefeated in Rupp for the sixth time under Calipari
- Kentucky’s late-game struggles resurface once again
- Jack’s Top Takeaways
Dr. Mike’s Photo Gallery
Was “The Shot” mention really necessary, ESPN?
Brace yourselves because the Coach K Farewell Tour is about to reach even more nauseating levels. ESPN decided to rub some salt into a forever-open wound last night by showing the 1992 Christian Laettner shot during the Kentucky-Ole Miss game. I can’t be the only one who shouted, “Really??” at my television. I understand promoting content — it sounds like Saturday is going to be Coach K Day on the Worldwide Network — but bringing up a still-painful moment during Kentucky’s Senior Night, a game that had nothing to do with the Blue Devils, felt unnecessary. Rude, even.
Another crazy night in college basketball
It didn’t quite top Saturday’s madness, but last night was another wild one in college hoops. No. 6 Kansas lost at TCU 74-64. It was a Quad 1 loss but still may risk the Jayhawks’ chances at a No. 1 seed. Coming into the game, Joe Lunardi had Kansas as the final team on the No. 1 seed line, with Auburn and Kentucky waiting in the wings. Meanwhile, No. 10 Wisconsin took down No. 8 Purdue in the most ridiculous manner possible.
Sheesh. In the SEC, No. 13 Tennessee held off Georgia 75-68, South Carolina beat Missouri 73-69, and Florida defeated Vanderbilt 82-78. As of now, Kentucky and Tennessee are tied for second in the SEC standings at 13-4, but Arkansas plays tonight; if the Razorbacks beat LSU, it will once again be a three-way tie. Arkansas and Tennessee face off in Knoxville on Saturday.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
| Auburn | 13-3 | – | 25-4 |
| Kentucky | 13-4 | 0.5 | 24-6 |
| Tennessee | 13-4 | 0.5 | 22-7 |
| Arkansas | 12-4 | 1 | 23-6 |
| Alabama | 9-7 | 4 | 19-10 |
| Florida | 9-8 | 4.5 | 19-11 |
| South Carolina | 9-8 | 4.5 | 18-11 |
| LSU | 8-8 | 5 | 20-9 |
| Mississippi State | 8-8 | 5 | 17-12 |
| Texas A&M | 7-9 | 6 | 18-11 |
| Vanderbilt | 6-11 | 7.5 | 14-15 |
| Ole Miss | 4-13 | 9.5 | 13-17 |
| Missouri | 4-13 | 9.5 | 10-20 |
| Georgia | 1-16 | 12.5 | 6-24 |
Today, the Big South Championship tips off in Charlotte, and the Ohio Valley Conference Championship starts in Evansville. You can watch all of the games on ESPN+. Here’s the TV schedule for all other games today (SEC games in bold):
- 6:30 PM (FS1): Xavier vs. St. John’s
- 7:00 PM (SECN): Texas A&M vs. No. 25 Alabama
- 7:00 PM (ESPNU): Western Kentucky vs. Marshall
- 7:00 PM (CBSSN): Georgetown vs. Seton Hall
- 7:00 PM (ACCN): Georgia Tech vs. Clemson
- 7:00 PM (ESPN2): Notre Dame vs. Florida State
- 7:00 PM (Big 12/ESPN+): Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State
- 7:00 PM (BTN): Rutgers vs. Indiana
- 9:00 PM (SECN): No. 5 Auburn vs. Mississippi State
- 9:00 PM (ESPN2): LSU vs. No. 14 Arkansas
- 9:00 PM (ACCNX): NC State vs. Wake Forest
- 9:00 PM (ACCN): Miami vs. Boston College
- 9:00 PM (BTN): Minnesota vs. Maryland
For Kentucky’s SEC Tournament seeding purposes, you should be rooting for Mississippi State to beat Auburn and LSU to beat Arkansas. If Auburn loses out OR Arkansas loses to LSU but beats Tennessee, the Cats will get the No. 2 seed as long as they beat Florida. For now, the likeliest scenario is still Kentucky being the No. 3 seed, playing late Friday night.
SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament begins
A few miles from me, the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament tips off today in Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville. Kentucky doesn’t play until tomorrow evening, at 7 p.m. ET vs. No. 10 seed Mississippi State, but if you want to catch the Dr. Pepper/Golden Flake/Sunkist SEC fever early, there are two games this afternoon on SEC Network:
NFL Combine Media Day
Even though the NFL Combine begins in earnest tomorrow, the KSR gridiron crew of Nick Roush and Adam Luckett is already in Indianapolis to get the lay of the land and interview Wan’Dale Robinson, one of seven Wildcats set to participate. Joining Robinson at Lucas Oil Stadium this week are safety Yusuf Corker, center Luke Fortner, offensive tackle Darian Kinnard, nose guard Marquan McCall, defensive end Joshua Paschal, and offensive tackle Dare Rosenthal. Here’s the schedule of events:
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Baseball Top 25 released
New No. 1, massive shakeup
- 2
Shilo Sanders legal battle
Deion Sanders addresses
- 3
Texas lands transfer
AAC Freshman of the Year heading to Austin
- 4Trending
Dan Hurley
Jabs Jon Scheyer, Kelvin Sampson
- 5
Vyctorious Miller
LSU guard headed to Big 12
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
- March 3 – 4 p.m. ET – Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers, Tight Ends (Wan’Dale Robinson)
- March 4 – 4 p.m. ET – Running Backs, Offensive Linemen, Special Teams (Luke Fortner, Darian Kinnard, Dare Rosenthal)
- March 5 – 4 p.m. ET – Defensive Linemen, Linebackers (Marquan McCall and Joshua Paschal)
- March 6 – 2 p.m. ET – Defensive Backs (Yusuf Corker)
Check the site around lunch to hear what Robinson has to say on the eve of his big day. In the meantime…
Catch up on Stoops, Scangarello, Yenser, and Stoops
Yesterday was a busy one on KentuckySportsRadio.com. Before the Senior Night fun started, Mark Stoops met with reporters to preview Kentucky’s spring practice and introduce the new members of his coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, offensive line coach Zach Yenser, and inside linebackers coach Mike Stoops all took turns in front of the podium. We’ve already shared Scangarello’s comments on his new quarterback Will Levis with you and Zach Yenser’s desire to make John Schlarman’s family proud. We’ve got more coverage rolling out today, but if you just can’t wait, check out all of the videos below.
Head Coach Mark Stoops
Offensive Coordinator Rich Scangarello
Offensive Line Coach Zach Yenser
Inside Linebackers Coach Mike Stoops
We also found out the Spring Game will take place on Saturday, April 9 at 1 p.m. at Kroger Field. Admission is free. If you can’t make it, it will stream live on SEC Network+.
Kentucky Baseball loses to Western Kentucky
The Kentucky Baseball team picked up its first loss of the season yesterday, falling to Western Kentucky 7-5. Sophomore RHP Seth Logue got the Cats off to a great start, striking out nine in six innings; unfortunately, the rest of the team failed to capitalize on opportunities, going 1-14 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 runners on base. Western scored a pair of runs in the ninth inning to win 7-5.
The Cats, now 7-1, will be back in action today vs. Evansville at 4 p.m. at Kentucky Proud Park. It’s a beautiful day for baseball, but if you’re not able to make it out there, you can watch online via SEC Network+.
KHSAA region tournaments roll on
Region tournament action continued last night across the Bluegrass. In Lexington, Henry Clay knocked off No. 8 Lexington Catholic to move on to the 11th region semifinals:
Last night’s scores
| Murray | 72 | vs. Graves County (at Murray State University) | 53 | 1st Region |
| Paducah Tilghman | 71 | vs. Carlisle County (at Murray State University) | 34 | 1st Region |
| Hopkins County Central | 63 | at Henderson County | 52 | 2nd Region |
| Hopkinsville | 82 | vs. Crittenden County | 46 | 2nd Region |
| Lyon County | 63 | vs. Christian County | 51 | 2nd Region |
| Madisonville-North Hopkins | 81 | vs. Union County | 75 | 2nd Region (overtime) |
| Bowling Green | 62 | vs. Franklin-Simpson (at Western Kentucky University) | 45 | 4th Region |
| Clinton County | 43 | vs. Glasgow (at Western Kentucky University) | 40 | 4th Region |
| Doss | 72 | vs. Fairdale | 46 | 6th Region |
| Evangel Christian | 70 | vs. Bullitt East (at Moore) | 40 | 6th Region |
| Jeffersontown | 67 | vs. Bullitt Central | 46 | 6th Region |
| Pleasure Ridge Park | 79 | vs. Butler | 45 | 6th Region |
| Ballard | 66 | vs. Trinity (Louisville) | 55 | 7th Region |
| Male | 86 | vs. Christian Academy-Louisville | 76 | 7th Region |
| Seneca | 75 | vs. Central | 70 | 7th Region (overtime) |
| St. Xavier | 66 | at DuPont Manual | 65 | 7th Region (overtime) |
| Frederick Douglass | 92 | vs. Western Hills | 39 | 11th Region |
| Great Crossing | 61 | vs. Madison Central | 55 | 11th Region (overtime) |
| Henry Clay | 70 | at Lexington Catholic | 58 | 11th Region |
| Madison Southern | 54 | vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar | 46 | 11th Region |
Tonight’s Schedule
| Meade County | vs. McLean County (at Owensboro Sportscenter) | 6:00 PM | 3rd Region |
| Owensboro | vs. Trinity (Whitesville) (at Owensboro Sportscenter) | 7:45 PM | 3rd Region |
| LaRue County | vs. Elizabethtown (at Nelson) | 6:00 PM | 5th Region |
| Campbellsville | vs. Thomas Nelson (at Nelson) | 8:00 PM | 5th Region |
| Owen County | vs. Collins (at Henry County) | 6:30 PM | 8th Region |
| Walton-Verona | vs. North Oldham (at Henry County) | 8:00 PM | 8th Region |
| Mason County | vs. Bishop Brossart (at Holmes) | 6:00 PM | 10th Region |
| George Rogers Clark | vs. Robertson County (at Holmes) | 7:45 PM | 10th Region |
| McCreary Central | vs. Mercer County (at Pulaski) | 6:30 PM | 12th Region |
| Lincoln County | vs. Rockcastle County (at Pulaski) | 8:15 PM | 12th Region |
| South Laurel | vs. Harlan (at Corbin Arena) | 6:00 PM | 13th Region |
| Knox Central | vs. Jackson County (at Corbin Arena) | 7:30 PM | 13th Region |
| Cordia | vs. Hazard (at Breathitt) | 6:00 PM | 14th Region |
| Estill County | vs. Wolfe County (at Breathitt) | 8:00 PM | 14th Region |
| Martin County | vs. Belfry (at Appalachian Wireless) | 6:30 PM | 15th Region |
| Pikeville | vs. Lawrence County (at Appalachian Wireless) | 8:00 PM | 15th Region |
| Rowan County | vs. Raceland (at Morehead State University) | 6:30 PM | 16th Region |
| Elliott County | vs. Boyd County (at Morehead State University) | 8:00 PM | 16th Region |
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard