Kentucky vs. Colgate: Preview, Odds & How to Watch

Still celebrating the Gonzaga win? Time to move on. Kentucky once again has its biggest game of the season thus far ahead with Colgate coming to town, Mark Pope driving that point home no matter the opponent. The fighting Raiders head to Rupp Arena with a 2-8 record on the year with lone wins over SUNY Canton and UNC Wilmington, the Wildcats entering the matchup as massive favorites with a feel-good victory on the table if they play their cards right.

Pope isn’t expecting a pushover, though, no matter what the stats and analytics say entering this one.

“We understand, if you’ve watched the college landscape long enough, you know that any team can beat any other team on any given night,” he said this week. “We understand that this Colgate team is going to come in here starving and hungry and have a chance to do something really special for themselves, to compete.”

What do you need to know about the mid-week battle in Lexington? KSR’s got you covered.

Kentucky vs. Colgate: How to Watch, Listen

• Time: 8 p.m. ET
• Television: ESPN2 (Tom Hart, Dane Bradshaw)
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 106 or 190
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tipoff, or join the conversation on KSBoard.

Join KSR Plus! With a KSR Plus membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.

Early season rewind

Kentucky: KenPom 9

• 11/4: 103-62 W vs. Wright State
• 11/9: 100-72 W vs. Bucknell
• 11/12: 77-72 W vs. No. 6 Duke
• 11/19: 97-68 W vs. Lipscomb
• 11/22: 108-59 W vs. Jackson State
• 11/26: 87-68 W vs. Western Kentucky
• 11/29: 105-76 W vs. Georgia State
• 12/3: 70-66 L at Clemson
• 12/7: 90-89 W OT vs. Gonzaga

Colgate: KenPom 271

• 11/5: 95-62 W vs. SUNY Canton
• 11/9: 73-56 L at Drexel
• 11/12: 74-72 L at Syracuse
• 11/18: 72-49 L at N.C. State
• 11/22: 78-67 L at Harvard
• 11/27: 72-59 W at UNC Wilmington
• 11/29: 72-50 L vs. Appalachian State
• 11/30: 82-78 L vs. Sam Houston State
• 12/4: 84-57 L vs. Cornell
• 12/8: 78-75 L at Northeastern

Series History

It’s a run of firsts tonight for both sides inside Rupp Arena. Kentucky has never taken on Colgate in a head-to-head matchup, nor has Mark Pope taken on the Raiders at either of his prior stops at BYU or Utah Valley State. Matt Langel, the head coach at Colgate for all 14 years of his career, is also taking on the Wildcats for the first time.

Kentucky vs. Colgate Odds via Circa Sports

Spread: Kentucky -31.5
Total: 155

Kentucky covered the spread in its first five games of the season before falling just short of that mark in back-to-back matchups vs. WKU and Georgia State. The Wildcats then lost outright as slight favorites at Clemson before winning outright against Gonzaga in Seattle as solid underdogs. KenPom projects a 90-62 victory for the Wildcats while Bart Torvik sees the home team coming away with a 92-60 win inside Rupp Arena.

Kentucky Potential Starters

#1 – Lamont Butler
6-2 – 208 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
12.9 PPG, 3.9 APG, 3.1 RPG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – JUNIOR
15.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.3 SPG

#2 – Jaxson Robinson
6-6 – 192 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
12.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.8 APG

#7 – Andrew Carr
6-11 – 235 – FORWARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
11.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.6 APG

#22 – Amari Williams
7-0 – 262 – CENTER – GRADUATE STUDENT
10.1 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1.9 BPG

Colgate Projected Starters

#3 – Jalen Cox
6-3 – 165 – GUARD – SOPHOMORE
8.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.4 APG

#5 – Nicholas Louis-Jacques
6-4 – 195 – GUARD – SENIOR
10.9 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 1.6 APG

#1 – Brady Cummins
6-6 – 190 – GUARD – JUNIOR
11.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.6 APG

#25 – Parker Jones
6-6 – 190 – FORWARD – SOPHOMORE
9.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.9 APG

#33 – Sam Wright
6-9 – 240 – CENTER – SOPHOMORE
7.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 0.9 APG

Statistical Comparison

(via Kentucky’s game notes)

Fun stats from UK’s game notes:

• Kentucky tied a program record in its 16-point halftime comeback to defeat No. 7 Gonzaga to move to 2-0 against top-10 opponents
• The Wildcats snapped a streak of 175 games that Gonzaga has won when leading by 10 or more points at halftime
• UK leads the nation in scoring at 92.9 points per game, good for first nationally with four 100-point performances. Their 19.6 assists per game are No. 1 in the SEC and No. 8 nationally
• Kentucky makes 10.2 3-pointers per game, good for No. 1 in the SEC and No. 29 in Division I
• The Wildcats are ranked sixth in the nation in fastbreak points at 19.22 per game

Pregame Storylines

WILL LAMONT BUTLER PLAY?

A game-time decision ahead of the team’s matchup vs. Gonzaga, Butler was ruled out ahead of the opening tip with Mark Pope saying the training staff ‘couldn’t quite get him back healthy where he was able to be on the floor and explosive.’ When asked about his starting point guard’s status this week vs. Colgate and then Louisville, Pope officially listed him as ‘day-to-day’ with Tuesday’s practice deciding is fate. “We’re really feeling sooner rather than later. It’s a matter of days. I would like those days to include a game on Wednesday. We’ll see how that goes. … He’s dying to get back on the floor.”

REPLACING KERR KRIISA

As Butler works toward a return, Kriisa is just starting his absence after breaking his foot in the team’s win over Gonzaga. Reportedly a three-to-six-week recovery, Pope said he’s “dealing with the best doctors and performance team in the country” and “we’re expecting him back sooner rather than later.” How will the Wildcats replace his production, especially if Butler remains out or is forced to play at less than full strength? Jaxson Robinson took over lead guard duties while Travis Perry and Collin Chandler saw extended run with the team shorthanded in the backcourt. Expect to see more of the same on Wednesday — especially against the Patriot League competition.

WILL THE SHOOTING WOES CONTINUE?

Kentucky is a combined 29-107 from three in its last four games, good for just 27.1 percent and an average of 7.25 makes per contest in that span. That’s been against both good competition (Gonzaga) and bad (Georgia State) with everything in between. The potential difference in this one? Colgate is one of the worst teams in the country in terms of 3-point defense, allowing teams to shoot 37.3 percent from deep, good for No. 323 nationally. The Wildcats have promised to keep letting it fly, sticking with their run-and-gun identity hoping the numbers balance themselves back out. Tonight will be a good opportunity to do that.

ANOTHER TRAP GAME? DON’T BUY IT

It was an emotional win out in Seattle with a bitter in-state rivalry matchup coming up this weekend vs. Louisville. Worried about Kentucky not coming out focused against Colgate — the second-worst team on the schedule behind Jackson State? Don’t be. Once again, the Wildcats are dedicated to building this one up as the biggest of the season up to this point, just as they’ve done in the nine games leading up to this one. “Tomorrow is a big game — the biggest game of our lives. We’re going to go out there and try to take care of business,” Ansley Almonor said. “… We’re really focused on Colgate.”

IN HONOR OF EPHRAIM WOODS

Ashland, KY’s own was a lifelong Kentucky basketball fan who taught at Colgate University and became a close friend of the Raiders’ program under Matt Langel. This game is years in the making, hoping to bring Woods’ love of both teams together. The former chemistry professor passed away last year after a fight with brain cancer, so tonight’s matchup will be in his honor with Woods’ family traveling with the team to Lexington and watching from the stands inside Rupp Arena.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during tonight’s game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates as your eyes and ears inside Rupp Arena while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

New members can get KSR+ for seven days for just $1.

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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel

Miss the game? KSR’s got you covered with a Rapid Reaction live on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from Mark Pope and the players, stats, and takeaways.

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