KSR Today: Day one of the best four days in sports

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Good morning, folks! The 2023 NCAA Tournament officially gets rolling later today (do the First Four games really count?) as half of the first-round matchups will grace our televisions from the early afternoon all the way through the late hours of the night. 16 games are set to be played throughout Thursday in what is the start of arguably the most exciting four-day stretch of sports all year long. From now until Sunday, the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament will take over the sports world. Let’s see some buzzer-beaters.

The Kentucky Wildcats don’t play until Friday night (and the KSR crew is traveling to Greensboro, NC as we speak to cover all the action), but there is plenty to keep yourself occupied with today. If you think you have to work, no you don’t. There is basketball to be watched. Here’s what’s on the schedule for Thursday.

All games will be available through the March Madness Live app, which you can access on your computer, smart TV, or phone by logging in through your cable provider or with a Paramount+ subscription.

TIME	“AWAY”	“HOME”	TV
12:15 PM	No. 9 West Virginia (-2.5)	No. 8 Maryland	CBS
12:40 PM	No. 13 Furman	No. 4 Virginia (-6.0)	truTV
1:40 PM	No. 10 Utah State (-1.0)	No. 7 Missouri	TNT
2:00 PM	No. 16 Howard	No. 1 Kansas (-22.0)	TBS
2:45 PM	No. 16 Texas A&M-CC	No. 1 Alabama (-24.0)	CBS
3:10 PM	No. 12 Charleston	No. 3 San Diego State (-5.0)	truTV
4:10 PM	No. 15 Princeton	No. 2 Arizona (-14.0)	TNT
4:30 PM	No. 9 Illinois	No. 8 Arkansas (-2.0)	TBS
6:50 PM	No. 9 Auburn (-1.0)	No. 8 Iowa	TNT
7:10 PM	No. 12 Oral Roberts	No. 5 Duke (-6.0)	CBS
7:25 PM	No. 15 Colgate	No. 2 Texas (-13.5)	TBS
7:35 PM	No. 10 Boise State	No. 7 Northwestern (-1.5)	truTV
9:20 PM	No. 16 Northern Kentucky	No. 1 Houston (-18.0)	TNT
9:40 PM	No. 13 Louisiana	No. 4 Tennessee (-11.0)	CBS
9:55 PM	No. 10 Penn State	No. 7 Texas A&M (-3.0)	TBS
10:05 PM	No. 15 UNC Asheville	No. 2 UCLA (-17.5)	truTV

Boys’ Sweet 16 action continues

March Madness isn’t just for the college kids. On Wednesday, the first four games of the 2023 UK Healthcare Boys’ Sweet 16 Tournament were played inside Rupp Arena, where another four games will be played throughout Thursday. So far, Woodford County, Elizabethtown, No. 1 Warren Central, and Ashland Blazer have already locked in their spots for Friday’s quarterfinals action. KSR was at Rupp to watch it all happen, and we’ll be back today to bring you even more coverage.

Check out Wednesday’s recaps below. Outside of top-ranked Warren Central blitzing Pulaski County by 25 points, the other first-round games were thrillers from start to finish.

• Woodford County edges Jeffersontown in overtime during Sweet 16 opener
• Elizabethtown holds on to Defeat McCracken County in Sweet 16
• Warren Central blows out Pulaski County in first round of Sweet 16
• Ashland Blazer outlives Owensboro in stunning comeback Sweet 16 win

Thursday’s games have the potential to be even more exciting, though. Six of the eight teams are ranked among KSR’s latest statewide rankings, with five of them among the top 7, including Kentucky signee Reed Sheppard (North Laurel) and Kentucky target Travis Perry (Lyon County), the latter being tabbed as the Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year on Wednesday.

Defending champions George Rogers Clark will look to begin its path to back-to-back titles with a late-night matchup against Sheppard and the North Laurel Jaguars. Meanwhile, Perry needs just 21 points to break the all-time state scoring record previously held by Kelly “King” Coleman. It should be another great day for some high school hoops.

Thursday, March 16: Sweet 16 Day Two Schedule

11:00 AM | No. 6 Male (25-10) vs. Breathitt County (18-9)
1:30 PM | No. 4 Lyon County (30-5) vs. No. 22 Newport (28-6)
6:00 PM | No. 2 Frederick Douglass (31-2) vs. Martin County (24-10)
8:30 PM | No. 5 George Rogers Clark (27-5) vs. No. 7 North Laurel (25-10)

There are betting odds for today’s games, too. Because of course there are.

Tomorrow’s Old Guy Sweet 16 lines

Male (-22) over Breathitt County

Lyon County (-4) over Newport

Douglass (-25) over Martin County

George Rogers Clark(-3) over North Laurel

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) March 16, 2023

Oscar Tshiebwe named Consensus All-American

Wednesday afternoon the United States Basketball Writers of America named Kentucky center Oscar Tshiebwe a Second Team All-American. It’s the fourth All-American honor by a major organization this offseason. That means Tshiebwe is only the ninth two-time Consensus All-American in the history of Kentucky basketball. Kenny Walker was the last to accomplish the feat, back in 1985-86. The elite company Oscar is joining:

• Forest Sale (1932, 33)
• Ralph Beard (1947, 48, 49)
• Alex Groza (1947, 48, 49)
• Cliff Hagan (1952, 54)
• Cotton Nash (1962, 63, 64)
• Louie Dampier (1966, 67)
• Dan Issel (1969, 70)
• Kenny Walker (1985, 86)

The Oscar Tshiebwe experience has only happened once at Kentucky in the last 53 years. Remarkable.

This year he became the 24th two-time All-American at Kentucky by once again cleaning the glass better than any other player in college basketball. He led the nation in rebounding with 13.1 per game. He also is the Cats’ leading scorer tallying 16.5 per contest.

Drew Franklin gives betting advice for every first-round tournament game

Looking to make some coin on the NCAA Tournament? Well, you’re in luck. KSR’s Drew Franklin has predicted every first-round game to perfection and he’s sharing his knowledge with the rest of us.

Last year, KSR made one bet for every game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, sponsored by our friends at MyBookie. We went 10-5-1 on Thursday, then 7-8-1 on Friday for an overall record of 17-13-2. With that success rate, let’s try it again in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

You can check out all of Drew’s first-round bets by clicking the link here.

Kentucky Hockey heads to National Championships

The Kentucky Hockey team qualified for the ACHA National Championships for the first time since 2008, and thanks to the generosity of the Big Blue Nation, the Cats are now on their way to Boston.

Kentucky clinched the No. 3 seed in the Southeast in the Division II Championships, but, as a club team that is not supported by the University, didn’t have the funding to make the trip. So, they started a GoFundMe and partnered with several local businesses in hopes of raising the $80,000 they needed for travel, hotels, food, and much more.

In just two weeks, they did it. The t-shirts they sold through a partnership with Shop Local Kentucky raised $30,000 alone.

Kentucky holds a 29-6 record this season, the most wins in program history. The Wildcats swept 10 teams throughout, including three wins over the Louisville Cardinals. The Cats are led by Tim Pergram, who was named the TSCHL (Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League) Coach of the Year.

The Wildcats left for Boston on Wednesday morning. Their first match is Friday, March 17 in Boston at 11:00 a.m. EST against the No. 2 seed University of Saint Thomas. The Final Four begins on Monday, March 20. All games will be streamed on HockeyTV.