KSR Gameday: Kentucky looks to bounce back on the road against Arkansas

ZGeogheganKSR

ksr-gameday-kentucky-looks-bounce-back-road-against-arkansas — Photo by Nelson Chenault | USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, folks! It’s Gameday once again. Tonight, your No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats will hit the road for the second straight game, this time taking on the struggling Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville.

This will be a bounce-back opportunity for Kentucky, which suffered a bad loss on Tuesday (also on the road) against South Carolina. The expectation for tonight is going to be a UK win. Arkansas has not been playing good basketball this season, particularly in SEC play. The Razorbacks are just 1-5 against conference competition and had many people believing they quit entirely during their most recent loss to Ole Miss.

Arkansas was actually picked to finish one spot (3rd) ahead of Kentucky (4th) in the preseason SEC poll. Eric Musselman’s pool of transfers just hasn’t clicked like they did in years past. The Hogs are dealing with some injuries to star players too. Both Trevon Brazile (leading rebounder) and Tramon Mark (leading scorer) are considered game-time decisions for tonight.

The College Gameday crew is on-site for this one too. They’ll go live on ESPN right at 11:00 a.m. EST. We’ll see you on the KSBoard live thread this evening.

Follow @KSRonX, KSR’s official Twitter/X account, for all the latest Kentucky Wildcats news, videos, and content.

How to Watch, Listen

No. 6 Kentucky (14-4) at Arkansas (10-9)
6 p.m. ET | Saturday, Jan. 27 | Bud Walton Arena

TV: ESPN (Jay Bilas, Dan Shulman, Jess Sims)
Streaming: WatchESPN
Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
Online Radio: iHeart
Satellite Radio: Sirius 84 and on the SiriusXM App
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Kentucky vs. Arkansas on FanDuel

The line opened at -5.5 in favor of Kentucky but has since been bet up to -7.5. That’s about in line with what the computers are thinking, too. KenPom projects Kentucky to win by seven 87-80 while BartTorvik also projects a seven-point UK win, 88-81. ESPN gives the Wildcats a 71.5 percent chance to pull off the victory.

Spread: Kentucky -7.5
Total: 163.5

Adou Thiero expected to suit up

After missing the last seven games, sophomore wing Adou Thiero is on the verge of making his return later today. Nothing has yet to be made official but all signs are pointing toward Thiero taking the floor in Fayetteville this evening.

If he does finally suit up, it’ll mark the first time all season long that Kentucky has been able to roll out a full roster. In 23 minutes per game, Thiero is averaging 7.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks while shooting just a hair under 53 percent from the field. The ‘Cats sure could use his physicality today and for the rest of the season.

Responding to the physicality

Speaking of physicality, the No. 1 thing on every Kentucky fan’s mind going into Arkansas is how the ‘Cats will respond to getting bullied by the Gamecocks just a few days ago. There was no sugar-coating that ugly 79-62 loss. South Carolina influenced the tempo of the game from the get-go and pushed Kentucky around until the very end.

Getting Thiero back in the fold will go a long with in making sure Kentucky can punch back if Arkansas decides to muck things up (which they likely will). John Calipari made sure practices have been extra physical the last couple of days. We’ll see if it translates.

Another 37-burger from Reeves on the way?

Antonio Reeves likes playing in Fayetteville. Last time down there, the Kentucky guard unleashed hell on the Razorbacks, pouring in a career-high 37 points. Reeves shot 12-17 from the field, 2-4 from deep, and a perfect 11-11 from the line while playing all 40 minutes in what was an 88-79 win for the Wildcats.

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Let’s do that again today, Tone.

Hear from Aaron and Tre

To get us ready for tonight’s showdown, Kentucky freshman Aaron Bradshaw and fifth-year veteran Tre Mitchell met with reporters on Friday afternoon. They talked about bouncing back from the loss to South Carolina earlier this week, the state of Kentucky’s defense, being more aggressive, and much more.

More Kentucky News and Views on the KSR YouTube Channel

Kentucky Sports Radio has expanded its coverage of the Wildcats in the most ridiculous manner possible on our YouTube Channel. Here you will be able to find interviews with coaches and players, as well as commentary from the KSR crew. From Rapid Reactions following big events to our lengthy lineup of live shows, subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel to stay up to date on everything happening around the Big Blue Nation.

Have a night, D-Book!

On Monday, it was Karl-Anthony Towns scoring 62 points in the NBA. On Friday, it was Devin Booker‘s turn. Unfortunately, both performances resulted in a loss.

But Booker’s huge night was still one for the record books. His 29 first-quarter points broke his own Phoenix Suns franchise record. Booker reached his 62 total points on 22-37 shooting (6-12 from deep) including a 12-13 mark from the free throw line. He had a chance to win the game at the buzzer against the Indiana Pacers but slipped on the inbounds pass and struggled to get off a clean look.

It wasn’t quite his career-best of 70 points, which he scored back in 2017, but Friday night’s 62 points tie him all-time with Wilt Chamberlain (6x), Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Steph Curry, and Towns. And oh, by the way, Luka Doncic went crazy and dropped 73 points of his own for the Dallas Mavericks last night, too.

College Basketball on TV today

Kentucky-Arkansas isn’t the only college basketball game featuring a ranked team today. In fact, 18 of the nation’s top 25 squads will be in action, including two between ranked teams.