KSR Gameday: Kentucky heads to Baton Rouge for late-night tip against LSU
Good morning, folks! And Happy Gameday to you all. We’ve got another lateeee tip-off time for this evening’s affair. We’re already pouring up the coffee now. I advise you to do the same.
Kentucky is in Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for a 9:00 p.m. EST start time. LSU sits at just 5-7 in the SEC and has lost seven of its last 10 games, but the Tigers will welcome Kentucky by coming off a 64-63 shocking win against South Carolina over the weekend. In year two as the LSU head coach, Matt McMahon (the former Murray State coach from 2016-22) is steadily improving his new program, but not enough to contend in the SEC this season.
LSU leading scorer Jalen Cook (who is nursing a hamstring injury and might not play) is playing his best basketball as of late, hitting double-figures in all of his last seven games while averaging 16 points per contest during that span. He’s not the most efficient shooter but can put up points in a hurry. You might remember his teammate, Jordan Wright, from his time at Vanderbilt, too. Wright is averaging 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game against SEC competition.
6-11 center Will Baker rounds out the double-digit scorers for LSU as he averages 11.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in SEC play. He’s a stretch big man who prefers to hang on the perimeter instead of inside the arc. Additionally, former Wildcat Daimion Collins transferred to LSU during the offseason, although he’s not played since Dec. 29. Don’t expect to see him against his former team tonight.
As for Kentucky, the Wildcats are still riding high after picking up a huge win on the road against Auburn on Saturday. UK has put together impressive defensive performances in back-to-back outings now. Things appear to be turning a corner on that end, but the SEC has not been too kind to anyone so far this season. Kentucky has to remain locked in on both ends if they want to avoid an upset. It should be a good one in Louisiana tonight.
How To Watch/Listen
No Jay Bilas this time around (we all needed a break), but we do have to deal with Jay Williams on the call tonight. I wonder what he’ll say tonight that will make him go viral for all the wrong reasons.
No. 17 Kentucky (18-7) at LSU (13-12)
9 p.m. ET | Wednesday, Feb. 21 | Pete Maravich Assembly Center
- TV: ESPN (Dave Pasch, Jay Williams)
- Streaming: WatchESPN
- Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
- Online Radio: iHeart
- Satellite Radio: Sirius 84 or SiriusXM App
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Kentucky at LSU Odds via FanDuel
Kentucky opened as a 4.5-point favorite against LSU when the line was announced yesterday afternoon. It’s already been bet up to -6.5 in favor of the Wildcats, according to our friends at FanDuel. The over/under has been set at 164.5.
Looking at what the computers are saying, ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives Kentucky a 59.8 percent chance of beating LSU. KenPom gives UK a 63 percent chance at victory (84-80) while BartTorvik gives the ‘Cats a 59 percent chance at the win (85-83).
John Welch pre-LSU press conference
To get us ready for tonight’s matchup, Kentucky assistant coach John Welch spoke with the media on Tuesday to give us his thoughts. While he didn’t talk all that much about LSU specifically, he did note how the Tigers will pose another tough challenge to Kentucky’s still-improving defense. He’s also of the belief that this UK team just likes to play in tough road environments.
They’ll be ready for LSU tonight.
“It’s gonna be a tough game. Hopefully we can play well. LSU is a very good team, they’re a very good offensive team,” Welch said. “They have great spacing, they move the ball. It’s gonna be another challenge for our defense. There’s not an easy game in this conference. Every game is a tough game.
“I think from a players and coaches perspective, that makes it a lot of fun. I think our players enjoy the tough environments on the road.”
Updated SEC standings
After Tennessee avoided disaster against Missouri (still winless in the SEC) last night, the Volunteers remain just a half-game back of Alabama for the league’s top spot. The top of the standings is crowded, with Kentucky just two games back of first and a half-game out of a top-four seed, which equates to a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.
A win over LSU tonight would go a long way in helping Kentucky snag a top-four seed. Florida also takes on Alabama tonight, so we might be rooting for the Crimson Tide just for positioning reasons.
| TEAM | CONFERENCE | GAMES BACK | OVERALL |
| Alabama | 10-2 | — | 18-7 |
| Tennessee | 10-3 | 0.5 | 20-6 |
| South Carolina | 9-4 | 1.5 | 21-5 |
| Auburn | 9-4 | 1.5 | 20-6 |
| Florida | 8-4 | 2 | 18-7 |
| Kentucky | 8-4 | 2 | 18-7 |
| Ole Miss | 6-6 | 4 | 19-6 |
| Mississippi State | 6-6 | 4 | 17-8 |
| Texas A&M | 6-7 | 4.5 | 15-11 |
| LSU | 5-7 | 5 | 13-12 |
| Georgia | 4-8 | 6 | 14-11 |
| Arkansas | 4-9 | 6.5 | 13-13 |
| Vanderbilt | 2-10 | 8 | 7-18 |
| Missouri | 0-13 | 10.5 | 8-18 |
College basketball on TV
We’ve got a long day ahead of us with such a late tipoff, but there are some worthy games to watch while you wait. As mentioned above, the top-25 matchup between Florida and Alabama will be must-watch basketball. Below are all of the ranked teams in action tonight.
- 6:30 PM (BTN) | No. 12 Illinois @ Penn State
- 7:00 PM (ESPN) | No. 8 Duke @ Miami (FL)
- 7:00 PM (ESPN2) | No. 24 Florida @ No. 13 Alabama
- 7:00 PM (ESPN+) | No. 16 Dayton @ George Mason
- 9:00 PM (FS1) | DePaul @ No. 7 Marquette
- 9:00 PM (ESPN) | No. 17 Kentucky @ LSU
- 10:00 PM (CBSSN) | No. 22 Colorado State @ New Mexico
Bat ‘Cats win home-opener
Now ranked No. 24 in the country after opening the 2024 season with a sweep of USC Upstate on the road, Kentucky baseball made its home debut last night against in-state foe Morehead State.
After a very slow start for the Bat ‘Cats, Nick Mingione’s team poured in seven runs in the eighth inning to cap off a wild comeback. Following the 9-5 win, Kentucky is up to 4-0 on the young season. Next, UK will travel to Round Rock, Texas for the Karbach Round Rock Classic, which begins with a matchup against Washington State on Friday.
For a full recap, check out Daniel Hager’s breakdown here.
Larry Bird almost came to Kentucky?
Or so he says. Larry Bird recently sat down with fellow NBA greats Reggie Miller and Isiah Thomas to chop it up on TNT’s Basketball Stories. Among the topics of discussion was about Bird’s college days. The Hall of Famer says he wanted to go to Kentucky, but that the Wildcats (coached by Joe B. Hall at the time) stopped recruiting him.
“I wanted to go to Kentucky, but Kentucky quit recruiting me, so it was down to Indiana State and IU [Indiana],” Bird said. “So I went to IU. Financially I couldn’t stay. Reggie, I just couldn’t do it.”
Granted, Kentucky went on to win the 1978 national championship while Bird was a junior at Indiana State. So it wasn’t exactly a huge miss, but it’s tough not to imagine what UK might have done with Bird roaming the Rupp Arena hardwood.
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