KSR Today: It's Game Day and Louisville Week

Good morning, Big Blue Nation and those of you joining us from L1C4 Land because you’re nosey. It’s Cats and Cards Week in the sport of football with a season-defining game ahead, plus a game day in Lexington as Kentucky Basketball returns home for Game 5 tonight.

Here’s what’s ahead on a busy day for Kentucky fans.

Kentucky hosts Albany in Rupp Arena tonight

The busy UK Athletics schedule continues today with another home Kentucky Basketball game, the fourth in 11 days since the Rupp Arena opener. This time it’s the Great Danes from Albany making the long trip from New York’s state capital to give John Calipari’s Wildcats a challenge from the American East Conference where Albany was picked seventh in the league’s preseason coaches poll.

Albany has four straight losses, the most recent in nearby Richmond, Ky., against Eastern Kentucky by 13 points. Other losses came against Towson, La Salle, and Harvard.

Check back a little later for plenty more on the winless Great Danes and the latest on Kentucky before the game.

The game can only be seen on ESPN+ and SEC Network+

If you’re interested in watching tonight’s Kentucky Basketball game, you’ll need to know your way around digital streaming. Like Kentucky Football’s game against Chattanooga, tonight’s basketball game can only be seen via SEC Network+ or ESPN+. The game will not air on traditional television, only on smartphones, tablets, connected streaming services, or via espn.com/watch.

Confused? KSR will have instructions here on the website before tip-off. Tip-off is 7 p.m. with Dave Neal and Joe Kleine on the call, if you can find it.

Kentucky opened as a 25-point favorite

The Wildcats are laying 25 points to the Great Danes and the opening line has already moved a half-point to 25.5 in some places. For the over/under crowd, the total on the game opened at 137.5.

So you know, Kentucky is 2-2 against the spread this season; Albany is 1-3 with four consecutive unders.

KSR Pregame Show at 4:30 p.m.

While you’re trying to find the game on ESPN+ later this evening, be sure to tune in to the KSR Pregame Show live from KSBar and Grille at 4:30 p.m.

Matt Jones, Ryan Lemond, and I will be getting you ready for Cats and Danes two and a half hours before tip-off on 630 WLAP in Lexington and anywhere in the world on the iHeart app.

Mark Stoops’ Louisville Week press conference coming up at noon

Kentucky Basketball’s home game stole top billing from Mark Stoops’ Monday press conference, but we are still excited to hear what Stoops has to say in his final Monday of the regular season. He will be in his usual spot at the podium at noon today to preview the week ahead and share any final thoughts on the New Mexico State win now that he’s seen the tape.

KSR will have the live stream and reactions to his comments beginning at noon.

Kentucky is an underdog at Louisville

There is a money-making opportunity if you believe Kentucky Football will beat Louisville to achieve a nine-win season. The Cards opened up as a two-point home favorite when the line was released Sunday afternoon and it has since slid another two and a half points to 2.5 and even a field goal in some places.

New KSR Football Podcast incoming

Shortly after Mark Stoops shares his thoughts on Louisville Week, the KSR Football Podcast crew will sit down for a conversation about Stoops’ comments and about the trip to moldy Papa Murphy’s Cardinal Stadium. Like last week, the new KSR Football Podcast will hit your podcast feed a little earlier than usual, this time due to the home basketball game and pregame show.

Tune in.

UK Soccer advanced in the NCAA Tournament

The freezing rain didn’t keep Kentucky Soccer from handling its business at The Bell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky beat Santa Clara, 2-0, to advance to the NCAA’s third round for the third time in the last four years and the fourth time in program history. Marcel Meinzer and Lucca Rodrigues were the scorers, each by header off a corner kicker early in the match.

Next, the Wildcats head to Clemson on Sunday to meet the eighth-seeded Tigers in the Sweet 16.

Other Weekend Wins:

— Rhyne Howard messed around and got a triple-double, the third in school history.

— Kentucky Volleyball picked up two wins in a weekend sweep of Auburn.

— Reed Sheppard made it official with a commitment to Kentucky Basketball

Now on to Game Day and Louisville Week on Kentucky Sports Radio…