KSR Today: Here come the Kansas Jayhawks

One of the most anticipated matchups of the season is upon us, as the Kentucky Wildcats are set to take on the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks in a battle of the blue bloods inside Rupp Arena on Saturday. The former is coming in hot with a four-game winning streak, but remains unranked (for now) while the latter is uncomfortably riding a three-game losing streak.

It’s a brutal stretch overall for Kansas (16-4 overall, 5-3 in the Big 12) with seven matchups vs. ranked opponents out of eight games overall — the true road test at Kentucky being the eighth. They started that run with a 62-60 win vs. No. 12 Iowa State, but have since fallen at No. 5 Kansas State (83-82), vs. No. 11 TCU (83-60) and at No. 17 Baylor (75-69). After their trip to Lexington, the Jayhawks will then host No. 5 Kansas State for a rematch, followed by battles at No. 12 Iowa State and vs. No. 10 Texas, respectively.

How has Bill Self done coming off back-to-back-to-back losses historically? Unfortunately for the Wildcats, he’s never lost a fourth straight, sitting at 3-0 in those matchups dating back to 2005.

• 2005 (Losses to Texas Tech, Iowa State, Oklahoma): Win vs. No. 4 Oklahoma State
• 2013 (Losses to Oklahoma State, TCU, Oklahoma): Win vs. No. 10 Kansas State
• 2021 (Losses to Oklahoma State, Baylor, Oklahoma): Win vs. TCU

An opportunity to make history, giving Self the first four-game losing streak of his 19-year career.

“There is time to be reactive in a negative way if your team is not doing well. (But) this is not one of those times,” Self said this week. “We have gotten beat, granted. But we’ve got beaten by a team that got projected to win the league tonight that’s really good. And they went through the same crap we’re going through right now. We got beat by a team that’s fifth in the country at their place by one. And we got beat at home by a team that could’ve beat anybody in the country on Saturday. So our league is that good.

“It’s going to be a grind. Our team isn’t talented enough where we can be disappointed when teams of equal talent play better than us and get frustrated with it. We don’t have as much margin for error as we have in years past. And that’s okay.”

Viewing Info, Odds and Predictions

• Date: 8:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, Jan. 28
• Location: Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)
• TV Channel: ESPN
• Stream: WatchESPN, ESPN+, SEC Network+
• Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will be on the call for UK Sports Network
• Odds: The official spread has not yet been released, but ESPN’s matchup predictor gives UK a 65.6% chance to pull off the win. KenPom favors the good guys, giving Kentucky a 52% chance to win while predicting a 71-70 victory. Bart Torvik, though, likes the Jayhawks in a close one, predicting a 71-70 loss for the Wildcats (+1.7) with a 43% chance for the home team to come out on top.

John Calipari preparing for “very good” Kansas team

Kansas may be struggling a bit, but that doesn’t mean Kentucky is taking the matchup lightly. After all, it is still a team with elite wings and versatile scorers at all five positions, one that has been competitive in its toughest matchups of the season. Not a traditional Bill Self team, but certainly one capable of leaving Lexington with a victory.

John Calipari is preparing his team for a battle.

“Really good. They’ve lost a couple games, but they’re still what they are — they’re Kansas,” Calipari said. “Reigning national title, championship. Bill (Self) is a heck of a coach, you know what he is. They play fast, play five-out or four-out. They don’t have the (David) McCormack kid, which means they aren’t as traditional — they play with what’s there.

“When you’re playing basketball and you’re playing another team that’s really competitive, you take what they give you and roll with it.”

Kentucky players set to preview the Jayhawks

How are the players getting ready for the Jayhawks? What are their expectations heading into the battle of blue-blood programs? They are scheduled to meet with the media this afternoon at 1 p.m. ET to break it all down.

Coverage will follow right here on KSR throughout the day.

Vanderbilt win video recap is a must-watch

Who needs a cup of coffee when you have the video recap of Kentucky’s most complete win of the season, a 69-53 start-to-finish statement at Vanderbilt? It’s a victory that saw the Wildcats hit shots, defend and play with energy to leave the tricky road venue with a fourth straight on the season.

Just two short weeks ago, the team was sputtering and on the outside looking in regarding the NCAA Tournament field. Now, Kentucky is building some very real momentum as it approaches the back half of the SEC schedule.

Take a look at the video team’s recap of the win below:

🎥 Recap: Kentucky-Vanderbilt

Stacking wins before a big one on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/3rf0SINjz8

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 26, 2023

Kentucky WBB suffers yet another SEC loss

As well as things are going right now for the men’s team, the opposite can be said about Kyra Elzy’s group down the hall at the Joe Craft Center.

Taking on a mediocre Auburn (12-8, 2-7 SEC) team, Kentucky women’s basketball suffered yet another loss on the season Thursday to fall to 9-11 overall and an abysmal 1-7 in the SEC, a 71-68 final inside Memorial Coliseum.

Robyn Benton led the way with 19 points, but shot just 7-18 overall and 1-6 from three. Maddie Scherr finished with a smooth 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists while shooting 6-11 overall and 1-3 from three. Elsewhere, though, the Wildcats struggled, knocking down just 24-57 (42%) shots as a team and 4-16 (25%) from three. They would finish with just nine assists compared to 20 total turnovers, 12 alone in the first half. The Tigers scored 32 points off those turnovers.

With a chance to brush off the ugly performance and leave with a win late, Kentucky missed three free-throws in the final two minutes and ended the team’s final possession with a desperate attempt inside the paint to seal the three-point loss.

Disappointing season for Elzy, to say the least.

Hayes Johnson commits to Kentucky

The Kentucky football program has its first commitment in the 2024 recruiting class — and for a second consecutive year, the Wildcats are starting inside the state. 

Hayes Johnson, a three-star lineman out of Taylor County High School in Campbellsville, chose the Wildcats over Baylor, Tennessee, Louisville and Michigan State on Thursday. Standing 6-4, 295 pounds, he is considered the No. 2 prospect in Kentucky and the No. 38 offensive tackle in the country, per On3.

Not a bad way to open a huge recruiting weekend for Kentucky football, with the Wildcats set to host a long list of blue-chip prospects for Junior Day. Johnson will be in attendance, helping his future school lay down a strong foundation in 2024.

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Need a preview of this weekend’s recruiting festivities? KSR’s Nick Roush and Adam Luckett have you covered in the latest episode of 11 Personnel — with plenty more on the way, of course.

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Happy Friday, BBN. Go Cats.