KSR Today: Beat West Virginia Edition

The Bat Cats are entering the NCAA Tournament needing a reset after losing four straight and eight of the last 12 to wrap up the regular season and SEC Tournament. Kentucky went from a lock in the field to joining the bubble conversation, finishing league play with a 13-18 record including Hoover despite leading in 28 of those 31 SEC contests. We later found out UK was not among the Last Four In, meaning the call wasn’t as close as it felt in real time, but that didn’t make the long wait any easier on Selection Monday.

Today, none of it matters. Everything up to this point is behind them, the Bat Cats now getting a fresh start in the Big Dance with a chance to rewrite the season script. We can focus on the fact that Nick Mingione has led this program to three straight NCAA Tournaments for the first time in school history, just three wins away from a Super Regional — the third in school history, all under Mingione.

First, they’ll have to take on Big 12 regular season champion West Virginia on Friday, scheduled for 12 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The No. 2 seed Mountaineers are 41-14 entering the matchup, ranked No. 28 in the RPI compared to No. 38 for the Wildcats. Kentucky leads the all-time series 12-2, including a 10-0 win in the Lexington Regional back in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

That’s priority No. 1 for Big Blue Nation as we get this weekend started. KSR’s Daniel Hagar has everything you need to know about the matchup ahead of the lunchtime first pitch.

Kickoff times set for Kentucky football’s first three games

While we wait for the Bat Cats, we’ve got plenty of news updates to catch up on from Thursday — including kickoff times and TV designations for the first quarter of the season for Kentucky football.

It’s a little bit of everything for fans, starting with an early-afternoon kickoff to open the season vs. Toledo, followed by a mid-afternoon ABC battle vs. Ole Miss before a sleepy late-evening matchup vs. Eastern Michigan to get us to the first bye week.

• Aug. 30, 12:45 PM: vs. Toledo | Kroger Field (Lexington, KY) | SEC Network
• Sept 6, 3:30 PM: vs. Ole Miss | Kroger Field (Lexington, KY) | ABC
• Sep. 13, 7:30 PM: vs. Eastern Michigan | Kroger Field (Lexington, KY) | ESPNU

The remaining kickoff times will be released as the season goes on, typically two Mondays before each game for planning purposes. How many wins will Kentucky have going into the week four bye?

Prepare for the field of 72 or 76 in 2026

If you see Jon Rothstein leading an open protest in Central Park this weekend, just know he warned you. Despite years of national analysts and basketball diehards desperately fighting against NCAA Tournament expansion, it does not appear they will get their wish. After watching the field of 64 become the field of 68 in 2011, it appears a field of 72 or 76 is coming in 2026.

NCAA President Charlie Baker says his goal is to finalize the four- or eight-team jump as early as this summer, ESPN’s Pete Thamel previously reporting the latter as the likely setup. Either way, expect change sooner rather than later.

“That would be the goal — to try and do this for next year, which is why the window to actually negotiate it will probably end sometime early summer,” Baker told Front Office Sports reporter David Rumsey. “… We’ve been talking about 72 and 76. Those have been the numbers the basketball committee’s talked about. It would obviously be one or the other, won’t be more.”

The Pirate is eligible for the HOF

An iconic figure in Kentucky football history, the late Mike Leach will finally get his shot at the NFF College Football Hall of Fame. Passing away in 2022 just one win short of eligibility — his 158-106 record gave him a win rate of 59.8 percent, not meeting the 60 percent minimum — the HOF has decided to change its rules to let the Pirate in.

Starting in 2027, the minimum win percentage for eligibility will be lowered to 59.5 percent to go with other requirements including a minimum of 10 seasons as a head coach with 100 games, considered three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement if they are at least 70 — active coaches still eligible at the age of 75. Leach, who passed away at 61, hit the 10-year, 100-game requirements, and now, he’s got the 59.5 percent minimum, too.

We love the Pirate Rule in Lexington, a well-deserved honor for the Air Raid OG when his time comes in ’27.

KAT and the Knicks stay alive

Don’t count out KAT just yet — the Knicks are still alive after beating the Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday. Winning 111-94, Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 24 points on 10-20 shooting with 13 rebounds, three assists and one steal in the win-or-go-home matchup inside Madison Square Garden. Jalen Brunson led the way with 32 points while Bennedict Mathurin was the only Pacer to hit the 20-point mark at 23. Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton went for just eight points on 2-7 shooting in the loss.

Game 6 will take place in Indianapolis on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on TNT. Should the Knicks win that one, we’d see a Game 7 at the Garden on Monday at 8 p.m. ET, also on TNT.

From there, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace will be waiting with their Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, Game 1 scheduled for Thursday, June 5 on ABC.

---

That’s all for now, folks. Enjoy your Friday cheering on the Bat Cats.