KSR GAMEDAY: Kentucky hosts LSU in SEC home opener

The win over Louisville was fun, but starting tonight, the road gets considerably tougher for your University of Kentucky Wildcats. At 8 p.m. ET, the Cats host LSU at Rupp Arena. The Tigers are 12-1 this season, their lone loss coming vs. Kansas State on Nov. 23 in the Cayman Islands Classic. Last week, LSU upset No. 9 Arkansas in Baton Rouge to start SEC play, a performance that put them on the cusp of the AP Top 25. The Tigers are the first team receiving votes in this week’s poll, three spots ahead of Kentucky, which is now unranked for the first time since the 2020-21 season.

This will be the Tigers’ first true road game of the season and Matt McMahon’s first game vs. Kentucky. Prior to taking the job at LSU in March, McMahon was the head coach at Murray State for seven seasons, leading the Racers to a 154-67 record, including five OVC regular-season titles, three OVC Tournament championships, and three NCAA Tournament appearances. There was a chance the Cats and the Racers would face off in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, but, of course, Saint Peter’s made sure that never happened.

McMahon built his first LSU team via the transfer portal. Three Murray State players followed McMahon to Baton Rouge: 6’10” forward KJ Williams, the 2022 OVC Player of the Year who now leads LSU in scoring (18.5 PPG) and rebounding (8.0 RPG); point guard Justice Hill, who averages 8.7 points and 3.9 assists per game; and Trae Hannibal, who came off the bench to score 19 points in LSU’s upset of Arkansas. Two other transfers start: former NC State guard Cam Hayes (8.4 PPG) and former Mississippi State big man Derek Fountain (7.8 PPG). Adam Miller transferred to LSU in 2021 but tore his ACL before the season started. He is second on the team in scoring with 13.0 PPG.

TV, Radio Information

Tonight’s game tips off at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN with Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes on the call. If you can’t watch the game, you can listen in a variety of ways.

• TV: ESPN
• Local Radio: 630 WLAP, UK Sports Network
• Online: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 135 or 190, SXM app 961

The KSR Pregame Show will begin at 5:30 p.m. live from KSBar and Grille, so come on by if you’re on your way to Rupp, or listen via 630 WLAP, 840 WHAS, and 98.1 The Bull or iHeart Radio.

Vegas, Computers

Kentucky opened as an 11-point favorite but that line has since moved to Kentucky -9.5 at most sportsbooks. The total is 137.5 points. Depending on where you got the Louisville line, the Cats have not covered against the spread in their last seven games.

KenPom is calling for a 74-63 Kentucky win, giving the Cats an 83% chance of victory. ESPN’s matchup predictor goes even higher, at 87% Kentucky. Sagarin Predictor likes the Cats by 8.65 points.

Stat Comparison

Sahvir Wheeler, Adou Thiero preview LSU, talk mental health

Yesterday, senior Sahvir Wheeler and freshman Adou Thiero met with reporters to cover a number of issues, including takeaways from the win over Louisville, having Tyler Ulis on the bench as an assistant, and the importance of mental health. Check it out on the KSR YouTube Channel.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

College Basketball on TV today

Outside of next Monday’s national championship game, bowl season is officially over. That said, there’s plenty of college basketball on tonight to keep you entertained, including four SEC vs. SEC games.

TIME	AWAY	HOME	TV
7:00 PM	Mississippi State	#8 Tennessee	ESPN2
7:00 PM	South Carolina	Vanderbilt	SECN
8:00 PM	LSU	Kentucky	ESPN
9:00 PM	Ole Miss	#7 Alabama	SECN
9:00 PM	#11 Virginia	Pittsburgh	ACCN
9:00 PM	Kansas St.	#6 Texas	LHN
9:00 PM	#3 Kansas	Texas Tech	ESPN2
9:00 PM	Minnesota	#14 Wisconsin	BTN
11:00 PM	#21 New Mexico	Fresno St.	CBSSN

Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin in critical condition

The No. 1 story in sports right now is Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who is in critical condition after suffering cardiac arrest in last night’s game vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. The injury took place when Hamlin, age 24, tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, with Higgins’ right shoulder hitting Hamlin in the chest. Hamlin quickly got to his feet and after three seconds, collapsed to the ground. CPR was administered to Hamlin on the field for 10 minutes and his heartbeat was restored. From there, he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment and was sedated.

The moment brought the sports world to a halt. The game was ultimately postponed and there was no update this morning on when — or if — it would take place. Fans from both teams gathered outside the hospital during the night and social media was flooded with support for Hamlin. Within hours, a toy drive organized by Hamlin’s charitable foundation received more than $3 million on GoFundMe. Ryan Clark summed up the gravity of the moment beautifully on SportsCenter.

Well said by Ryan Clark. pic.twitter.com/xHrCl3XKbb

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 3, 2023

Keep Hamlin in your thoughts and prayers as we go through the day.