KSR Today: Blue-White Preseason Event tips off at Historic Memorial Coliseum

It’s basketball time in the Bluegrass, Kentucky set to open its exhibition slate with the program’s annual Blue-White scrimmage, our first chance to see the Wildcats in a competitive setting. This time, though, the event comes with major changes — all for the long-term benefit of the program, despite some inconveniences.

The main one for fans to keep in mind so as not to bury the lede: no television or live streams, though there will be a radio broadcast of the event. Instead, the Wildcats will participate in their intrasquad scrimmage — both men and women — in front of an exclusive in-person audience designed to benefit the program’s NIL efforts through Club Blue, the official collective partner of UK Athletics. It’s designed to be a premium experience featuring live scrimmage action inside the newly-renovated Historic Memorial Coliseum with in-game player interviews, live commentary from Mark Pope and Kenny Brooks and over 500 fan experience giveaways — “The most interactive event in UK basketball history,” the Club Blue description reads.

With premium events come premium pricing, however, with tickets ranging from $125 for reserved bench seats to $1,550 for courtside and club seats — though Club Blue members receive 20 percent off. And again, those proceeds all directly benefit the program’s NIL efforts, a massive recruiting tool to help stay ahead of the pack when pursuing blue-chip high school and transfer portal talent. It’s a fundraiser with a must-attend experience coming in return for any diehard Kentucky fan.

You can purchase those tickets at ClubBlueNIL.com. If you can’t attend in person, KSR will be your eyes and ears on the scene — use promo code JOIN50 for 50 percent off annual KSR+ subscriptions. The whole gang will be there for play-by-play on KSBoard with behind-the-scenes commentary, extended highlights and a Rapid Reaction to follow from Historic Memorial Coliseum.

It’s going to be a big night and we hope to see you there — it’s going to be worth the price of admission.

Mark Stoops previews Florida

Tonight is about Kentucky basketball. Tomorrow, though, is about the Cats beating the Florida Gators on the gridiron in Gainesville, kickoff scheduled for 7:45 PM ET on SEC Network.

What did Coach Stoops have to say about the matchup, hoping to get back on the right track after an embarrassing performance last week against Vanderbilt? He checked in for his final media appearance ahead of the trip to Sunshine State.

“We’re ready to go. Good practice, good week,” Stoops said. “Things are going to happen quickly (on Friday). It’s a little bit of a trip for us, we have to start earlier. Big day ahead of us to finish our preparation to go down there on the road to a place where, traditionally, it’s been extremely hard to play. Our teams, we’ve had some success and we’ve had some games that weren’t so good.

“It’s always a tough challenge. Both teams are hungry to get back in the win column. Both teams have shown really strong signs this year, had our moments where we’d like to play better, as well. It’s going to be a great football game.”

Chip Trayanum listed as probable in new injury report

Will running back Chip Trayanum make his season debut in Gainesville? The Ohio State transfer appears to be trending that way, joining defensive back Terhyon Nichols and kicker Jacob Kauwe as Wildcats elevated from questionable to probable against the Gators.

Elsewhere, star cornerback Maxwell Hairston remains out alongside the likes of Darrion Henry-Young and Josaih Hayes.

• Jayvant Brown | LB | Out
• Maxwell Hairston | DB | Out
• Darrion Henry-Young | DL | Out
• Josaih Hayes | DL | Out
• Tavion Gadson | DL | Out
• Chip Trayanum | RB | Probable
• Terhyon Nichols | DB | Probable
• Jacob Kauwe | K | Probable
• Keeshawn Silver | DL | Probable
• Gerald Mincey | OL | Probable

Gators list 16 on availability report

On the other side, the list remains the same for Florida with all 16 players listed on Wednesday maintaining the same status on Thursday, headlined by starting QB Graham Mertz being declared out for the season. The Gators might not have RB1 Montrell Johnson Jr. in the lineup against Kentucky, as well.

• Jamari Lyons | DL | Out
• Graham Mertz | QB | Out
• R.J. Moten | LB | Out
• Marcus Burke | WR | Out
• Tony Livingston | TE | Out
• Devon Manuel | OL | Out
• Kahleil Jackson | WR | Out
• TJ Abrams | WR | Out
• Ja’Keem Jackson | DB | Out
• KD Daniels | RB | Out
• Montrell Johnson Jr. | RB | Questionable
• Treyaun Webb | RB | Questionable
• Asa Turner | DB | Questionable
• Bryce Thornton | DB | Questionable
• Rocco Underwood | LS | Questionable
• Austin Barber | OL | Questionable

Tony Bennett retires, effective immediately

The college basketball regular season may be two weeks away from tipping off, but that’s not stopping three-time National Coach of the Year Tony Bennett from calling it a career. After 15 years at Virginia, the four-time ACC Coach of the Year abruptly stepped away from the game on Thursday with a press conference scheduled for this morning at 11 AM ET.

According to several national sources, his retirement is not health-related — he’s just done with coaching after 433 career wins and a national championship in 2019.

That’s one way to do it.

BREAKING: Tony Bennett to announce his immediate retirement in a press conference on Friday at 11 a.m. pic.twitter.com/jw9HYtyYaq

— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) October 17, 2024

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Get your tickets for the Blue-White Preseason Experience, folks. We’ll see you at Historic Memorial Coliseum tonight. Go Cats.