KSR Gameday: Kentucky vs. Clemson in the SEC/ACC Challenge, Signing Day Eve
Kentucky Basketball has cruised to four wins over the last two weeks, resulting in a 7-0 record and a No. 4 ranking in the AP Poll. Tonight, the competition ramps up considerably. At 9:30 p.m., Kentucky takes on Clemson in the first true road game of the season and the nightcap of Day 1 of the SEC/ACC Challenge.
You know all about what’s going on with Kentucky. The Cats are off to their best start since the 2016-17 season. If they win tonight, it’ll be the best start since the 2014-15 season. Kentucky leads the nation in scoring (96.7 points per game) and has topped the century mark on four occasions. Tonight, they’ll face a Clemson team that’s only lost once this season, at Boise State. The Tigers made it to the Elite Eight of last year’s NCAA Tournament but lost seven players from that squad, including First-Team All-ACC player PJ Hall, who is now in the NBA. This year’s team was picked to finish fourth in the ACC preseason poll and is led by Chase Hunter (16.4 points per game) and Ian Schieffelin (11.6 rebounds per game).
Cats vs. Tigers at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. There’s a lot of time until tip-off. If Monday was any indication, we’ll have a lot of football drama to keep us busy.
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Amari Williams, Otega Oweh preview Clemson
While Clemson has more talent than Kentucky’s previous two opponents, Western Kentucky and Georgia State, both games were physical, which helped prepare the Cats for what they’ll face tonight in Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson has size and one of the best rebounders in college basketball in Schieffelin, who ranks No. 3 in the country in boards per game (11.6). The Tigers can also shoot the ball, connecting on 39.8% of three-point attempts, which is tops in the ACC and No. 18 in the country.
“They’re a physical team and they’re good at rebounding,” Amari Williams said of Clemson yesterday. “I think we’ve had good practice against (Western Kentucky and Georgia State), so just carrying over that will be important. They’ve got a lot of tall guys. It will be a physical game for sure.”
Kentucky is coming off its two worst three-point shooting performances of the season, making just a combined 15-55 from the outside vs. Western Kentucky and Georgia State. The Cats still won those games by an average of 24 points, which Otega Oweh said was a credit to their defense.
“We didn’t make shots really in the past two games. That was really the biggest thing,” Oweh said. “The ball is gonna fall, sometimes it’s not gonna fall. In terms of our defense, we played really good defense because we weren’t scoring that well so we had to get stops and create our own energy and stuff like that. I think we did pretty good all around.”
One more note from the player interviews: it sounds like Brandon Garrison, who sat out the Georgia State game as a precaution due to soreness, will soon return.
“Thankfully it wasn’t that long, him being out,” Amari Williams said Monday. “… Only having him around, just shooting around (at practice), it was tough. I’m glad he’s going to be back this week with us. It’ll be good.”
How to Watch, Listen
For the first time since the Champions Classic, Kentucky will be back on ESPN proper. The 9:30 p.m. ET start is already late but will probably end up being later as Kentucky vs. Clemson follows Syracuse at No. 3 Tennessee on ESPN.
- TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes)
- Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
- Online Radio: iHeart
- Satellite Radio: Sirius 158 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. The KSR Pregame Show will begin at 7 p.m. ET, while the Postgame Show will start in the wee hours, about an hour after the show is over.
Odds, Computers
Kentucky remains a 2.5-point favorite, with the total set at 156.5 points. KenPom is going with the Tigers in a close one, 77-76, giving the Cats a 44% chance of victory. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor also likes Clemson by the slimmest of margins, while BartTorvik predicts a final score of Kentucky 76, Clemson 75.
Top 10
- 1Hot
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- 2
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Dan Radakovich has CFP issues
- 3
Bama over Miami
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- 4New
CFP Top 25 revealed
Controversy is here
- 5Breaking
Kobe Prentice
Alabama WR to transfer
Statistical Comparison
| STATISTIC | KENTUCKY | CLEMSON |
| Points Per Game | 96.7 | 79.4 |
| Rebounds PG | 45.0 | 37.8 |
| Assists PG | 21.1 | 14.8 |
| Blocks PG | 6.0 | 3.1 |
| Steals PG | 7.9 | 8.0 |
| Turnovers PG | 10.1 | 11.1 |
| FG Pct. | 0.516 | 0.477 |
| 3-Pt FG Pct. | 0.382 | 0.398 |
| FT Pct. | 0.747 | 0.730 |
| Assist-to-TO Ratio | 2.1 | 1.3 |
| KenPom | No. 12 | No. 25 |
SEC/ACC Men’s Basketball Challenge Schedule
This is just night one of the SEC/ACC Challenge. Syracuse at Tennessee and Kentucky vs. Clemson are the big games tonight. Tomorrow, No. 10 Alabama takes on No. 20 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, followed by No. 2 Auburn at No. 9 Duke. Lots of good basketball on tap.
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup | Platform |
| Tue, Dec 3 | 7 p.m. | Notre Dame at Georgia | ESPNU |
| 7 p.m. | South Carolina at Boston College | ACC Network | |
| 7 p.m. | Cal at Missouri | SEC Network | |
| 7 p.m. | Arkansas at Miami | ESPN2 | |
| 7:30 p.m. | Syracuse at No. 3 Tennessee | ESPN | |
| 9 p.m. | Wake Forest at No. 22 Texas A&M | ESPN2 | |
| 9 p.m. | Georgia Tech at No. 21 Oklahoma | ESPNU | |
| 9 p.m. | No. 23 Ole Miss at Louisville | ACC Network | |
| 9 p.m. | Florida State at LSU | SEC Network | |
| 9:30 p.m. | No. 4 Kentucky at Clemson | ESPN | |
| Wed, Dec 4 | 7:15 p.m. | No. 10 Alabama at No. 20 North Carolina | ESPN |
| 7:15 p.m. | Virginia at No. 13 Florida | ESPN2 | |
| 9:15 p.m. | No. 2 Auburn at No. 9 Duke | ESPN | |
| 9:15 p.m. | Texas at NC State | ESPN2 | |
| 9:15 p.m. | Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech | ACC Network | |
| 9:15 p.m. | No. 18 Pitt at Mississippi State | SEC Network |
If you missed it Monday, stop what you’re doing and watch this
The Reed and Rob Donatos Pizza ad may have just been topped. On Monday, Clark’s Pump & Shop released this commercial featuring Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, and Jaxson Robinson rapping while stopping for fuel and snacks. It’s the NIL content we’re here for.
Speaking of Robinson, it’s his birthday. Happy 22nd birthday to the sharpshooter from Ada, Oklahoma.
What chaos awaits on Signing Day Eve?
On the football front, Monday was a busy one as we continued to wade through the aftermath of Kentucky’s 4-8 season and prepare for Signing Day. Vince Marrow kicked things off with an appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio after word broke that he is NOT taking a job on Jeff Brohm’s staff at Louisville. Marrow would not comment on the Louisville rumors but said all the right things about the rebuild ahead. He insisted the Cats simply had one bad season and after a “Come to Jesus” staff meeting, the plan and resources are in place to turn the ship around.
That was the biggest official “news” we got on Monday, but there were many more rumblings. After one of his best performances in a Kentucky uniform, wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin dropped some hints on social media that his time in Lexington may be over. Florida State also hired Tony White of Nebraska as its new defensive coordinator, eliminating that as a possible landing spot for Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White. Nick Roush and Adam Luckett digested all the news on an emergency Monday afternoon episode of 11 Personnel.
KSR+ Silly Season Sale EXTENDED
This time tomorrow, faxes will be rolling into the war room at the Joe Craft Football Training Center, so we’ll have our ears to the ground to bring you all the latest both on the site and KSBoard. Last night, Roush dropped some insider notes that may make you feel better on Signing Day Eve. Maybe not.
Shoutout to the bosses at On3 for giving us the green light to extend our KSR+ Silly Season Sale. We’ve seen incredible growth over the past 48 hours as BBN waits to see what’s next for the program. If you haven’t yet, take advantage of the sale to get bonus coverage of the Cats, including the latest recruiting and roster intel, basketball game threads, and in-depth scouting reports. Just $1 for seven days.
The KSR Road Trip stops in Kearney, Nebraska
On Monday, the KSR crew hosted their first show of the road trip to Seattle at Pizza Ranch in Iowa City, with several fans in attendance. After the show wrapped, they got some shots up at the Iowa basketball facility before making their way to Kearney, Nebraska, where today’s show will take place. If you’re in the area, please come join them to keep the streak of KSR fans attending remotes in very random places alive. Tonight’s pregame show (7 p.m. ET), will be held in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The show starts in an hour. Until then, check out some of the video content Mario’s been pumping out on social media.
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