KSR Gameday: Kentucky opens 2025 SEC Tournament vs. Oklahoma

Good morning, folks. Mark Pope‘s first-ever run in the SEC Tournament as head coach of Kentucky is almonst officially here.

Later tonight, the 6-seeded Wildcats will take on 14-seeded Oklahoma in a revenge game opportunity for the Sooners. The last time these two teams met, Otega Oweh went to work against his former team, scoring Kentucky’s final 18 points en route to a massive road win on Feb. 26. That was only two weeks ago though, and the chippy finish to that game will surely be on the mind of Oklahoma players (and probably Brandon Garrison‘s, too).

“We know how it ended last time, it ended on a last-second shot. We’re ready to go. We’re ready to go and do it again, get a dub,” Sooner forward Jalon Moore said last night. “…We’re a different team now than when we played them, so being able to close out the game tomorrow and get a dub, that’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a fun and physical game.”

The Sooners made it to Thursday by taking down 11-seeded Georgia in the opening round Wednesday night. Oklahoma was fueled by 29 points from star freshman Jeremiah Fears. Jalon Moore (one of Oweh’s best friends during his time at OU) finished with 14 points while Mohamed Wague added 12 points and nine rebounds. Georgia controlled the momentum in the second half and led by as many as six points before the Sooners ripped off a 14-0 run and never looked back. Oklahoma shot 48.1 percent from the field and 12-25 from deep in the win. UK had five coaches watching the entire game from the sidelines.

Kentucky immediately opened as a 6.5-point favorite by the folks in Las Vegas. The likes of KenPom and BartTorvik are also calling for the ‘Cats to come out on top by 5-7 points. A win for the Wildcats would be the program’s first in the SEC Tournament since beating Vanderbilt in 2022. Oklahoma needs a win to ensure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. There is plenty on the line in Pope’s first tournament game at UK.

Tonight’s tipoff is scheduled for approximately 9:30 p.m. EST on the SEC Network. While you wait, dive into some pregame reading and the rest of this morning’s top news and notes.

• Oklahoma prepares for ‘revenge tour’ against Kentucky: “We’ll get the dub.”
• Cheers! Alcohol now being sold to general public at SEC Tournament
• Checking in from Nashville with early Wednesday observations from the tournament
• Expect more minutes for Collin Chandler in postseason: ‘He’s gonna be a big key to this.’
• Mark Pope reveals his favorite SEC Tournament memory from Kentucky playing days
• RAPID REACTION: Oklahoma beats Georgia, sets up revenge game vs. Kentucky in SEC Tournament

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(6) Kentucky vs. (14) Oklahoma: How to Watch, Listen

• Date, Time: Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EST
• Television: SEC Network
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 106 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 tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard.

Got thoughts? Take advantage of our KSR+ Introductory Offer and continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board. $1 for a week.

Today’s SEC Tournament schedule

The opening round of the tournament provided plenty of drama throughout. John Calipari and Arkansas avoided near disaster in a tight win over South Carolina, nearly blowing a 20-point lead down the stretch. Texas snuck past Vanderbilt while Mississippi State blew out LSU by 29 points. And as we’ve already discussed, Oklahoma used a 14-0 run in the middle of the second half to beat Georgia.

Here is what we have in store today.

TIME (EST)/TV	MATCHUP
1:00 PM (SEC Network)	(9) Arkansas vs. (8) Ole Miss
3:30 PM (SEC Network)	(13) Texas vs. (5) Texas A&M
7:00 PM (SEC Network)	(10) Mississippi State vs. (7) Missouri
9:30 PM (SEC Network)	(6) Kentucky vs. (14) Oklahoma

Spring practice updates from Bush Hamdan’s offense

Spring practice is off and running at the University of Kentucky. On day two, the Wildcats got outside for the first time thanks to the nice March weather in the Bluegrass State. After the workout, offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan spoke to the media for the first time since Kentucky’s loss to Louisville to end the 2024 season. The likes of Cutter Boley, Ja’Mori Maclin, and Clemson wide receiver transfer Troy Stellato also stepped up to the mic.

Girls’ Sweet 16: Opening Round, Day 2

It was an exciting start to the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Girls Basketball Sweet 16 on Wednesday in Rupp Arena. Four teams have already locked up spots in Friday’s quarterfinals, and four more teams will join them by the end of the night.

North Laurel opened the state tournament with a 51-42 win over Ashland Blazer, followed by Taylor County’s 53-35 victory over Knott County Central to close the first session. George Rogers Clark then beat Franklin Simpson 64-42 to open the second session of the day with Frederick Douglass knocking off Simon Kenton 48-39 to finish the night. For a full recap of everything that went down yesterday, click here.

First-round action continues today inside Rupp Arena.

TIME (EST)	MATCHUP
11:00 AM	Johnson Central vs. Sacred Heart
1:30 PM	Mercy Academy vs. Cooper
6:00 PM	Henderson County vs. Marshall County
8:30 PM	Danville Christian vs. Daviess County

In Nashville? Come watch KSR live!

Drew Franklin’s favorite KSR show of the year has arrived. Tin Roof on Broadway will serve as the host site with doors opening at 7:00 a.m. CT and the show starting at 9:00 a.m. CT. Below are some other scheduling notes on what the radio show crew is up to today, courtesy of Mr. Franklin himself.

• Thursday’s pregame show will not be at Tin Roof. The KSR crew will be somewhere downtown two and a half hours before tip-off, but it will not be a public show unless you stumble into it. (Please don’t literally stumble into it if you’re day-drinking.)
• Shannon The Dude will be at Tin Roof before the game. His band, Alice Blue Gown, is scheduled to play a four-hour gig leading up to the game, beginning at 4:30. Ryan Lemond will make an appearance before his KSR Pregame Show obligations.
• The locations for Friday’s morning show and any other pregame shows are still TBD. Follow @KSRTHESHOW on X for any updates on shows in Nashville.