KSR Today: College Basketball Tips Off with Kentucky vs. Duke

College basketball begins with a bang. On the opening night of the 2021-22 season, Kentucky will take on Duke in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off on ESPN will be 30 minutes following the conclusion of Kansas-Michigan State game at approximately 9:45 pm ET.

The BBN is in unfamiliar territory. Kentucky won only nine games last season, lost all but two significant contributors, yet has the oldest team of the John Calipari era. Defining expectations is difficult. Starting with a win over Duke at The Mecca undo a lot of damage done last season and remind the entire college basketball world that Kentucky is the Gold Standard.

Vegas, TV, Radio

The Wildcats are a one-point underdog against the Blue Devils. The first total of the season is 148.5. KenPom agrees with the line, calling for a 75-74 Duke win, giving the Wildcats a 47% chance at victory.

Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Holly Rowe are on the call for ESPN. Tipoff is set for approximately 9:30 pm ET, but there’s a zero percent chance it starts that early. If you’d rather listen to the Voice of the Wildcats, there are multiple ways to hear tonight’s game.

• AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
• FM: 98.1 WBUL
• Satellite: XM-190, Sirius-134, SXM App-961
• Online: iHeart Radio

Kick Rocks, West Coast

The two most recognizable names in the sport of college basketball call the eastern time zone home. The two teams will play in New York City, also in the eastern time zone. The game will most likely not end until it is Wednesday. Why? Because the sports broadcasting industrial complex caters everything to Pacific Time.

It’s time to tell the west coast to kick rocks. Nobody out there cares about the sport of college basketball. Why should we lose sleep so they can be home from work in time to watch the game? If the west coast refuses to reciprocate and won’t even run the Breeders’ Cup on the east coast’s schedule, nobody should cater to them any longer.

Some people are sick of daylight savings. I’m sick of time zones, particularly, the pacific one. When you’re tired tomorrow morning, blame the west coast and ESPN for ruining your unproductive Wednesday morning.

Coach K Retirement Party Starts

Time to bust out the dramamine. The nauseating Coach K retirement tour starts tonight. ESPN will lay it on thicker than Mike Krzyzewski’s hair dye. Unfortunately, even John Calipari is being gracious, but not without a jab or two.

“The stuff about Coach K, look, he’s made me a better coach,” Calipari said Monday. “He’s kept me sharper. We did things those first five or six years that, you know, Duke started taking the same kind of guys and it became that competition back and forth. But I’ve never lost respect for what he’s been able to do over 40 years.”

Duke’s Recent Domination of UK

The Wildcats lead the series 12-10, but Duke has completely controlled the Cats in recent years. The two teams have played six times since Christian Laettner’s fateful shot and Kentucky has won just twice. Cameron Mills’ shot propelled Kentucky to the 1998 National Championship, and in 2015 Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray out-dueled Grayson Allen. Two of those Kentucky losses were at the Meadowlands, including the infamous Rashaad Carruth game against Jay Williams in 2001.

Toppin Time for Kentucky

When handicapping the matchups, Kentucky has the upper-hand on Duke at almost every spot. The one outlier is the best player on the court, Paolo Banchero. A 6-foot-10 forward that can play facing the basket in space, he will be a challenge to defend all season long.

Oscar Tshiebwe is big enough to match his physicality, but that physicality can quickly turn into fouls that send him to the bench. Jacob Toppin might be the only Cat that can match his length and athleticism. His teammates love what they’ve seen from the junior in limited minutes this preseason.

Where to Find the Party in NYC

The NYC UK Alumni Club is helping the Wildcats Take Manhattan before tip-off. The party begins at 4 pm ET at the home of the BBN in Big Apple, Jack Demsey’s.

What Wildcats are exploring NYC today? Don’t forget about our #WildcatsTakeManhattan challenge today and Pre-Game happy hour tomorrow at Demsey’s! @DrewFranklinKSR @KySportsRadio @ryanlemond #bbnyc #nycukalumni #nycukwildcats #bbn #GoCats pic.twitter.com/cIZCgXHr1P

— NYC UK Alumni Club (@NYCUKAlumni) November 8, 2021

College Basketball Schedule

The season tips off before the Champions Classic and it gets a little more interesting on FS1. They’re experimenting with a Red Zone-like broadcast that will cut to every game in the Big East. The action begins at 4:30 pm ET.

• 4:30: Mount St. Mary’s at #4 Villanova on FS1
• 6:00: Akron at #17 Ohio State on ESPN2
• 7:00: #3 Kansas vs. Michigan State on ESPN
• 7:00: Bellarmine at #7 Purdue on BTN+
• 7:00: Georgetown at EKU on ESPN+
• 8:00: Jackson State at #11 Illinois on BTN
• 9:05: Louisiana Tech at #14 Alabama on SECN
• 9:00: Navy at #25 Virginia on ACCN
• 9:00: Southern at Louisville on Bally Sports South

Eli Cox Out for the Year

When it rains, it pours. In addition to the third straight loss, Kentucky learned not long after the Tennessee game that Eli Cox suffered an injury that will require surgery, likely sidelining him for the rest of the season. The rising star at right guard was named a Midseason All-American by two different media outlets.

Mark Stoops will not let injuries be an excuse for this football team. With 16 so far this season by members of the rotation, nobody would blame him if he did. See everything he had to say at Monday’s press conference.

BOOM, Roasted

Even though today is a very important day for John Calipari’s basketball program, we have not spent enough time on Kentucky Sports Radio dot com pointing and laughing at Dan Mullen’s Florida Gators. Let’s make up for lost time, shall we?

So much room for activities! pic.twitter.com/503NkyMvxg

— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) November 9, 2021