KSR Today: Ringing in the New Year with a Kentucky Basketball Win

Happy New Year! We’re officially in the middle of the heart of the Roaring 20s as the calendar flipped to 2025 at midnight. Kentucky basketball fans got to celebrate fresh off a win over Brown.

Slow starts are becoming more of a norm than anyone would like. That was once again the case on New Year’s Eve. Six minutes into the game, Jaxson Robinson had all eight of the Wildcats’ points. That’s not exactly an explosive offense. Andrew Carr injected a little life into the Cats with seven points in a flurry to help create some separation from the Bears.

Kentucky led by 12 at the half, then Otega Oweh scored five points from the jump to spark an 11-3 run. From that point on, it never felt close.

The 88-54 victory capped off the non-conference slate with an 11-2 record. Not too shabby. It sets up a showdown against undefeated Florida this Saturday at Rupp Arena.

Kentucky Defense Steps Up, With One Exception

Amari Williams got things rolling by swatting a couple of early shots. The block party turned into a turnover party. The Cats had five total blocks and 14 steals, turning 23 Brown turnovers into 33 points.

The Kentucky defense put the game out of reach, but the rebounding let Brown hang around for a half. The Bears had 11 more rebounds at intermission, many of which were on the offensive glass. Once Kentucky cut out the second chance points in the second half, the Bears didn’t stand a chance. The Cats closed the gap, but Brown still had a 35-29 advantage at the final horn.

No Mo’ Stache for Travis Perry

New Year, New Travis Perry. The freshman from Eddyville ditched his mustache and the change appears to have changed the vibes. His first shot with a clean upper lip was a made three-pointer. Coincidence? I think not. Andrew Carr revealed after the game that Perry’s missing mustache was in fact a mistake.

“I don’t know if I should out him like this, but he forgot to put the guard on,” Carr snitched. “He didn’t want to do it, but he messed it up and once you mess up a mustache, it’s all got to go. I kind of just exposed him, but he’ll be all right.”

Open corner 3️⃣ from @Travis_Perry11 is 🔥

📺 – ESPNU pic.twitter.com/Grnw8e4Z4T

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) December 31, 2024

Trent Noah was 2-2 from three-point land and Koby Brea hit a couple from downtown to give the Cats ten made three-pointers for the third time in four games.

More Coverage from the Kentucky Basketball Win

KSR’s 10 Favorite Things from the Blowout Win over Brown
New Year’s Eve Toasts and Resolutions from Kentucky’s Win over Brown
Acaden Lewis Saluted by BBN at Rupp Arena
Kentucky scored in every way possible vs. Brown: “It’s super impressive”
Otega Oweh is “barely getting started”
Fans Waited an Hour to Hear from Mark Pope
WATCH: Pope, Players, Recap the Win
BOX SCORE: Defense Allows Kentucky to Run Away from Brown
WATCH: Highlights from the Win
RECAP: Kentucky cruises in final non-conference game

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Three College Football Playoff Games

Penn State got the party started on New Year’s Eve with a win over Boise State. We’ll have two fewer college football games today, but these might have a little more juice, even if Georgia is playing without Carson Beck. Ohio State and Oregon produced a classic during the regular season. If the rematch is anything close to the last one, we’re in for a real treat. You can find all of the broadcasts on ESPN.

Peach Bowl: Texas (-12.5) vs. Arizona State, 1 pm
Rose Bowl: Ohio State (-2.5) vs. Oregon, 5 pm
Sugar Bowl: Georgia (-1) vs. Notre Dame, 8:45 pm

There’s College Basketball Happening Too

If the CFP isn’t enough to scratch that sports itch, today’s not a bad day to dabble in college basketball. ACC tips off conference play today and a couple of teams we don’t like are facing one another. UConn is also traveling to a 9-4 DePaul team for a 2 pm EST tip on CBSSN, and there are eight NBA games, if that floats your boat. You can find the following on ACC Network.

Noon: Miami at Boston College
2:00: Cal at Pitt
4:00: Stanford at Clemson
6:00: North Carolina at Louisville
6:30: Villanova at Butler, FS1

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Thank You So Much For Your Support

If you’re reading this on the morning of New Year’s Day, you’re a real one. That’s not lost on us. We have a really cool job where we get to talk about our favorite team. It’s a pretty sweet gig. None of it would be possible without the unwavering support from Big Blue Nation. Thank you so much for joining us on the wild ride in 2024. Just when you think it can’t get any wilder, you never know what’s going to be in store for 2025. Follow all of the chaos and fun us at Kentucky Sports Radio.