KSR Gameday: Kentucky takes on No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville

Good morning, folks! It’s gameday, and the Kentucky men’s basketball team has a major opportunity to pick up a much-needed, resume-building victory this afternoon down in Knoxville. The Wildcats (10-6; 1-3 SEC) head into Thompson-Boling Arena to take on the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers (14-2; 4-0 SEC) on the same day that UT plans to retire the jersey of Bluegrass native Chris Lofton.

Tennessee is firing on all cylinders right now, beating the South Carolina team that Kentucky just lost to by 43 points in Columbia last week. A loss for the ‘Cats would move them to 1-4 in Southeastern Conference play for the first time since the 1966-67 season. Jacob Toppin‘s playing status is still an unknown for today as he deals with a shoulder injury, but it does sound like Cason Wallace should be good to go after he dealt with back spasms in Kentucky’s loss to South Carolina on Tuesday.

This is a huge opportunity for Kentucky. The ‘Cats need to show some signs of life. A win isn’t what I would call necessary, but another blowout loss by 20 or 30 points would not put this team in a great situation moving forward. There has to be some progression at this stage. Let’s dive into what we need to know about this afternoon’s matchup.

TV, Radio Information

Today’s game tips off at noon ET on ESPN with Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas 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 9:30 a.m., or you can listen via 630 WLAP, 840 WHAS, and 98.1 The Bull or iHeart Radio.

Vegas, Computers

Kentucky opened up as a 14-point underdog when the spread was released on Friday afternoon, but that line has since been bumped down to just 11.5, according to DraftKings. The over/under is set at 131.5.

This spread marks the largest betting line against Kentucky with John Calipari as head coach. The last time UK was this big of an underdog, you’d have to go all the way back to Nov. 2008 when No. 1 North Carolina hosted Kentucky as an 18.5-point favorite. UK lost that game by 19 points, 77-58.

It’s not just the folks in Las Vegas that are down on the ‘Cats in this matchup, either. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives Tennessee a 90.8 percent chance to win while KenPom and BartTorvik project the Vols will win by 13 points (73-60) and 18 points (74-56), respectively. Kentucky is currently riding a 10-game losing streak against the spread.

Tale of the Tape

Bruiser Flint previews Tennessee

How is Kentucky preparing for the battle against its bitter SEC rival? Associate to the Head Coach Bruiser Flint spoke with the media prior to the team’s trip to Knoxville, discussing the Wildcats’ recent setbacks, the outside noise, and the keys to an upset win.

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

Rick Barnes keeps hyping up UK

Rick Barnes is officially playing nice. On Thursday, the head coach of the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers echoed his comments from earlier this week in saying that Kentucky’s struggles to this point don’t matter because John Calipari will have the Wildcats ready to go in Knoxville.

“What I know is the respect I have for John Calipari and his program,” Barnes said of what’s seen from Kentucky. “What he’s meant not only to the University of Kentucky but to college basketball in general. When you think of his teams, all I know is they always get better. Always. I don’t care what has happened up to this point with either the University of Kentucky or the University of Tennessee. You can throw all of that out. It’s going to be a game where both teams are going to play hard, going to try to get better. So we’re going to have to be ready to play.”

Mitch Barnhart came on KSR

Amid reports that his relationship with John Calipari is at an all-time low, Mitch Barnhart did something he hasn’t done in years: called Kentucky Sports Radio to clear the air. Barnhart covered several topics during his 18-minute conversation with Matt Jones on Friday morning, ranging from his relationship with Calipari, the state of the basketball program, his handling of Calipari’s “basketball school” comments last summer, and Calipari’s request for a new practice facility.

Miss the interview live or want to listen to it over again? KSR’s got you covered with the full replay featuring footage from the show’s live remote at Amteck in Lexington.

Jamarion Wilcox picks KENTUCKY

Typically, this news would be the top story of the week, but even though I took until now to mention it, this is still very significant.

The Kentucky football backfield just got better. The Wildcats picked up a commitment from Jamarion Wilcox on Friday afternoon after weeks of speculation that he would join the 2023 class. A late riser in the recruiting rankings, Wilcox is a running back with home-run playmaking ability. Once a Georgia Tech commit, Kentucky beat out Clemson and Ohio State, while withstanding a late push from Auburn to secure the talented rusher’s signature.

Check out Adam Luckett’s Film Room breakdown on Wilcox here. You should also make sure to watch KSR’s Rapid Reaction to the big-time commitment below.

Liam Coen ALSO went on KSR yesterday

Seriously, Friday was stupid busy.

Before Barnhart came on to address the state of the UK Athletics department, Kentucky’s “new” offensive coordinator Liam Coen also made an appearance on KSR to discuss his return to Lexington. Matt Jones spoke with Coen about what led him to come back and what to look for next year with Coen calling the plays.

You can hear it all below.

Go ‘Cats.