Kentucky's record with Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes on the call

Unless you believe in jinxes, Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes do not impact the college basketball games that they call for ESPN, nor do they have a say in the games they’re assigned. Dykes, who was an assistant coach at Kentucky for two seasons, has been nothing but friendly in my brief interactions with him, and many of us have watched Ravech since the heyday of “Baseball Tonight” on ESPN. So, none of this is personal.

Still, their record is their record in Kentucky Basketball games this season. Many of you asked if that record is as bad as it seems, so I did the legwork and discovered that it’s not good for the Wildcats when Ravech and Dykes sit courtside for TV broadcasts this season. They’ve called eight Kentucky games together, and Kentucky lost six of those for a 2-6 record with its most frequent broadcast team.

Kentucky’s first Karl and Jimmy game was the trip to Clemson for the SEC/ACC Challenge in December. The Wildcats also had the Karl-Jimmy duo in half of the SEC games to date, with a 2-5 record, including the home loss to Arkansas.

The wins were the Texas A&M game in Rupp Arena and the trip to Knoxville, two of the best wins on UK’s schedule. The A&M and Arkansas games are Ravech and Dykes’ only two trips to Rupp Arena. They’ve mostly been assigned to the Wildcats on the road.

Additionally, Dykes had two non-conference games without Ravech, the wins over Wright State and Gonzaga.

Kentucky’s games with Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes

Tue, Dec 3	@ Clemson	L 70-66
Tue, Jan 14	vs. 11 Texas A&M	W 81-69
Sat, Jan 25	@ Vanderbilt	L 74-69
Tue, Jan 28	@ 8 Tennessee	W 78-73
Sat, Feb 1	vs. Arkansas	L 89-79
Tue, Feb 4	@ 25 Ole Miss	L 98-84
Sat, Feb 15	@ Texas	L 82-78
Sat, Feb 22	@ 4 Alabama	L 96-83