KSR Today: Happy Thanksgiving, BBN!
Good morning, folks! And a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, as well. I’ll be making the short trip from Lexington to Louisville later this morning to spend the day with friends and family. I’d drive for 14 hours though if it meant I don’t have to deal with hosting/cooking a Thanksgiving meal. Multiple plates will be consumed today to fill my year-long appetite for this meal. I’m slowly turning into a ham-over-turkey guy, too. Slap a spoonful of mac and cheese with a big side of stuffing next to the protein and I’ll shut up for the rest of the day.
I know someone who won’t be interested in either ham or turkey today though and his name is Kerr Kriisa, who says he doesn’t understand why Americans eat the food that we do during Thanksgiving. Will he feel the same way when he’s presented with a giant plate at Mark Pope‘s house today? The temptation of homemade mashed potatoes and gravy would certainly be too much for me to turn down. Pope, who was actually out recruiting all day yesterday, and his family are hosting the Kentucky men’s basketball team for Thanksgiving today.
Maybe skip going for a third or fourth plate today though boys. Don’t want to be over-full for Friday’s home game against Georgia State. But that’s enough food talk for the moment. Let’s dive into the rest of this morning’s top news and notes. We’ll start with this video of Travis Perry hitting an insane trick shot inside Rupp Arena.
Kentucky WBB rips apart No. 19 Illinois in 4th Q
Playing the second game of a back-to-back, Kenny Brooks‘ team looked anything but tired. If anything, Kentucky found an extra gear. The No. 14 Wildcats had no problem taking down No. 19 Illinois in Nashville last night in the Music City Classic, 76-53. Leading by six going into the fourth quarter, UK rattled off a 26-9 fourth-quarter run that sealed the win. Kentucky remains undefeated at 7-0 on the season, now with a pair of Top 25 wins under their belt. This is the first time in program history that UK has beaten two defeated two AP-ranked opponents in November.
Sophomore Clara Strack had her best outing of the season, and on her birthday, no less. The 6-foot-5 center celebrated her 19th year of life in style by dropping 25 points and 15 rebounds — both season-highs — on 12-18 shooting. Georgia Amoore added eight points and eight assists, Dazia Lawrence scored 15 points, and Teonni Key recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds. The outside shooting is still rough (5-28 against Illinois), but these scrappy ‘Cats keep finding ways to win.
- #14 Kentucky takes down #19 Illinois, 76-53, in Music City Classic
- Clara Strack celebrates birthday with 25 points, 15 rebounds in win over Illinois
- Kentucky WBB could have faltered, but they went on an 18-0 run instead to beat No. 19 Illinois
No. 14 just proved why they’re potentially Top 10.
— Phoenix Stevens (@PStevensKSR) November 28, 2024
Kentucky WBB downs No. 19 Illinois 76-53 in the Music City Classic to move to 7-0 on the year.
Watch as @KHutchisonKSR and I give our Rapid Reaction from the win. pic.twitter.com/sF7lCQ5LOj
A Thanksgiving filled with sports
From the gridiron to the hardwood, there will be plenty of sports to soak in while recovering from your inevitable afternoon food hangover. If the college basketball games are anything like they’ve been the last couple of days (UConn lost a third straight game last night, by the way), then we’re in for a treat.
| 2:30 PM (ESPN2) Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis | No. 14 Indiana vs. No. 3 Gonzaga |
| 2:30 PM (ESPN) ESPN Events Invitational | No. 18 Florida vs. Wake Forest |
| 3:00 PM (FS1) Rady Children’s Invitational | No. 13 Purdue vs. NC State |
| 4:00 PM (CBS) Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase | No. 19 Arkansas vs. Illinois |
| 5:00 PM (ESPN) Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis | Oklahoma vs. No. 24 Arizona |
| 5:30 PM (FS1) Rady Children’s Invitational | BYU vs. No. 23 Ole Miss |
| 9:30 PM (CBSSN) Arizona Tip-Off – Cactus Division | No. 25 Mississippi State vs. UNLV |
And of course, we have our usual slate of Thanksgiving NFL games. We’ll see WR Wan’Dale Robinson and CB Dru Phillips in action for the New York Giants while DE Josh Paschal and DE Za’Darius Smith will take the field for the Detroit Lions. CB Carrington Valentine of the Green Bay Packers rounds out the former ‘Cats playing on Thanksgiving.
| 12:30 PM (CBS) | Bears @ Lions (J. Paschal, Z. Smith) |
| 4:30 PM (FOX) | Giants (W. Robinson, D. Phillips) @ Cowboys |
| 8:20 (NBC/Peacock) | Dolphins @ Packers (C. Valentine) |
Kentucky VB locks up 8th straight SEC title
It’s now officially official. No. 12 Kentucky volleyball had locked up at least a share of its eighth straight SEC championship following Sunday’s win. But after beating No. 24 Missouri 3-1 (25-19, 25-14, 23-25, 25-20) last night on the road, the Wildcats have secured the conference title outright. UK automatically earned a bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament, as well.
Out of the eight league championships, this was the fifth outright SEC title for the ‘Cats. It was also the 300th career win in SEC play for head coach Craig Skinner. Kentucky finishes the 2024 regular season with a 20-7 overall record and a 14-2 mark in the SEC, including 11 straight match wins. The 2024 NCAA Volleyball Selection Show will be on Sunday night at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN. UK is expected to host the opening two rounds at Memorial Coliseum.
Odafe Oweh shouts out his younger brother
Linebacker Odafe Oweh has been in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens since he was a first-round pick in 2021. He’s also the older brother of current Kentucky player Otega Oweh. Yesterday, Odafe gave lil bro a shoutout.
“He’s worked so hard,” Odafe said of Otega. “Coming from Oklahoma, Blair (NJ), he’s been doubted. So just to see him have the opportunity to showcase who he really is and what he can do, it’s crazy. I remember I was watching him against Duke and he’s going against Cooper Flagg, big implications and stuff like that. And he’s dominating. I shed a tear on my eyes just because I know how hard he works and he’s doing well.
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Fan flashes Florida QB to Pope
“I just hope they make it deep in the tournament and continues to impress and put on for the last name.”
Start your Thanksgiving with new KSR podcasts
Need some entertainment to get you through the hours of cooking you’re about to do (or have already been doing)? We’ve got a couple of new podcast episodes to help you out.
Jack Pilgrim and Shawn Smith dropped a fresh Sources Say to break down Kentucky’s win over Western Kentucky to move to 6-0 on the year and claim the BBN Invitational title. They also answered questions from the KSBoard mailbag — some Thanksgiving-related, some scoop-related.
Nick Roush and Adam Luckett also put on their podcast hats for a new episode of Pigskin Preview. They dive into Friday’s jam-packed college football schedule, Shane Beamer, and Kentucky’s position as the underdog heading into the Governor’s Cup. You can listen to both episodes (and everything else KSR-related) over on your YouTube channel or wherever you stream your podcasts.
KSR Game of the Week heads to Frankfort
The undefeated Franklin County Flyers (12-0) will look to stay perfect when they host the Covington Catholic Colonels (11-2) in the Class 4A semifinals on Friday night in Frankfort, KY.
This will be the first meeting of the season for Franklin County and Covington Catholic. In fact, it’ll mark the first time these two schools have faced each other in over 50 years. The Colonels made it to the Class 4A title last season before falling to the same Boyle County team they just beat several days ago. Meanwhile, the Flyers will look to reach the state championship for the first time since 2020.
Kickoff on Friday at Benny Watkins Field is set for 7:00 p.m. EST. The winner of this one will take on the winner of No. 12 Corbin vs. No. 1 Paducah Tilghman in the Class 4A title in Lexington on Friday, Dec. 6. For a full preview, click here.
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