KSR Gameday: A Kentucky triple-header

Good morning, folks! We’re in for a busy Saturday evening in the world of UK Athletics. I hope you’ve got a multi-screen setup in your living room — you’ll need it for today’s fun.

We’ve got a triple-header on deck with all three games starting at essentially the exact same time. Kentucky women’s basketball and Kentucky volleyball will get us rolling at 5:00 p.m. EST before Kentucky men’s basketball tips off soon after at 5:15 p.m. EST. One is a Power 4 road game, another an Elite 8 matchup in the NCAA Tournament, and the third an in-state rivalry. All three games will be ones to follow closely.

• No. 16 WBB: @ Purdue (Big Ten Network) | 5:00 p.m. EST
• No. 3 VB: @ No. 1 Pitt (ESPN2) | 5:00 p.m. EST – Elite 8
• No. 5 MBB: vs. Louisville (ESPN) | 5:15 p.m. EST

Keeping up with all three games will admittedly be a tough task for just one person, but you won’t need to worry about being out of the loop. We’ll be covering all of the action as it happens on the website and on KSBoard. Let’s have some fun today, BBN.

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Pope vs. Kelsey: Round 1

Kentucky and Louisville’s new head coaches square off for the first time ever tonight at Rupp Arena. Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey have done nothing but sing each other’s praises this week through the media, but the competitors in them will hopefully come out once the ball is tipped. This friendly start to the new era of the Battle of the Bluegrass is unfamiliar territory for most of us.

Kentucky enters as the overwhelming favorite. Most sportsbooks have the Wildcats as 10-point favorites or better. KenPom has UK at an 85 percent chance of victory. And that’s taking into account the fact that starting point guard Lamont Butler still might not play. The veteran floor general has missed the previous two games due to an ankle injury. Pope essentially gave two different answers yesterday when asked about his status for today.

“Lamont was on the court a little yesterday,” Pope said Friday. “He didn’t do anything with us but he was on the court a little bit yesterday and we’ll kind of see how it goes today. We’ll try to roll him out there. I’d love to have him. He really helps us. I just don’t know if he’s going to be quite ready.”

UK is already down backup point guard Kerr Kriisa. Missing Butler too would be tough, but not anything this group can’t overcome. Louisville is banged up too. The key for the Cardinals will be to hit as many three-pointers as possible. Kelsey’s team is top 10 in the country in three-point attempts but holds a bottom 10 mark in percentage of makes. One extra hot night could have the Rupp crowd on edge. But Kentucky will have nearly every advantage once this game begins.

For more on the ‘Cats vs. the Cards, check out yesterday’s episode of Sources Say.

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KSR Staff Predictions: UK vs. UL

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WBB on the road again

Kentucky women’s basketball will play its second true road game today over its last three outings. The ladies are in West Lafayette, Indiana to take on Purdue. It’s the first game of a home-and-home series between the two programs. The Wildcats are coming off an easy win over Queens, which comes on the heels of a road loss to North Carolina. Purdue is just 5-4 on the season. Kentucky is the betting favorite at -5.5, per FanDuel.

We’ll have an in-depth preview of the matchup on the website later this morning. In the meantime, check out the latest episode of Memorial Memo for more on the ‘Cats.

A shot in the Final Four is on the line

Craig Skinner has put on a masterclass in coaching this season. The SEC Coach of the Year has Kentucky volleyball one win away from another trip to the Final Four. Standing in the way is top-seeded Pitt in the Elite Eight this evening. The Wildcats struggled against the nation’s best early in the season but responded once SEC play came around. UK is currently on a 14-match win streak.

The winner of this one will face the winner of Stanford and Louisville in the Final Four. Kentucky lost to both of those teams in four sets in back-to-back outings in September. But if they can get over the hump today against Pitt, there’s no reason to believe this group can’t run the table the rest of the way and win a second national championship. Time to make some history.

More NOCTA gear for MBB

Remember the famous picture of Drake sitting in the Kentucky film room from the 2014-15 season? Well, the 2024-25 team was hooked up with some fresh NOCTA gear from Nike, a line that Drake inspired. So of course they had to recreate that picture, this time including Pope.

I think it’s pretty funny, honestly. And the sweatsuits don’t look half bad. See for yourself.

Rocking our Kentucky blue 😼 pic.twitter.com/8xBe3zIiOx

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) December 13, 2024

The transfer portal is heating up.

The Kentucky football offseason continues to roll along as the transfer portal heats up. Visitors are coming in and out of Lexington now as commitments could be right around the corner.

Southern California EDGE Sam Greene was on campus yesterday for a visit while Arkansas IOL Josh Braun, Marshall EDGE Landyn Watson, and Wake Forest WR Horatio Fields have also made stops at UK this week. Bowling Green OT Alex Wollschlaeger begins his visit today. More will arrive on campus over the next week. Keep your eyes peeled for some commitments.