KSR Today: Kentucky advances in the NCAA Tournament

ZGeogheganKSR

ksr-today-kentucky-advances-ncaa-tournament — Photo by Dr. Michael Huang | Kentucky Sports Radio

Good morning, folks! I almost forgot what this feeling is like, to wake up the day after Kentucky won an NCAA Tournament game. It’s been four years since the Wildcats accomplished that feat, which doesn’t seem all that long in the grand scheme of things, but in Big Blue Nation years, it might as well have been a lifetime. So let’s get the coffee rolling this morning and prepare for another big game on Sunday.

But let’s back up for a second. On Friday night, No. 6 Kentucky took down No. 11 Providence in the opening round by a low final score of 61-53. The Wildcats, particularly Jacob Toppin, completely shut down former ‘Cat Bryce Hopkins, holding him to just seven points on 2-9 shooting. Toppin, who received the team’s Most Impactful player belt after the win, dominated the matchup between the two close friends, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds, and two assists in 37 minutes, including an insane block on Hopkins at the rim near the end of the first half.

“Bryce, I love him with all my heart,” Toppin said after the win. “We got so close last year. He is a really good player. It was definitely hard to guard him because he is so physical.

Despite shooting just 25 percent in the second half, Kentucky played terrific defense on the other end to come away with the victory. Providence shot 29 percent overall in the second half on a 2-13 clip from beyond the arc. Free throws ultimately saved the day for the ‘Cats, making 8-9 in the second half with several of them coming down the stretch.

Antonio Reeves finished with a game-high 22 points on five made triples, every single one igniting the large crowd of Kentucky fans at Greensboro Coliseum. Oscar Tshiebwe was his typical beat-like self, but looked even more heroic against a smaller Providence front line. He only scored eight points but inhaled 25 rebounds — the most ever by a Kentucky player in an NCAA Tournament game.

It wasn’t always pretty, but NCAA Tournament games hardly are. Kentucky came away with a gritty win and moves on to the Round of 32 as a result. Up next? The No. 3 Kansas State Wildcats, which avoided an upset bid from No. 14 Montana State late Friday night.

Tipoff for UK-KSU is set for Sunday at 2:40 p.m. ET on CBS. The game will follow No. 11 Pitt vs. No. 3 Xavier, also in Greensboro. Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, and Evan Washburn will be on the call. The winner moves on to the Sweet 16 in New York City.

Kansas State opened as a 1-point favorite in Vegas, but it was quickly bet the other way with Kentucky now the favorite as of Saturday morning. UK is currently considered a 1.5-point favorite with the total set at 145.5. We’ll have plenty more content on Kansas State throughout the day. In the meantime, check out all of KSR’s postgame coverage from last night below.

KSR’s Rapid Reaction

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Highlights from the win

Postgame interviews

John Calipari, Kentucky players at the podium

[FULL TRANSCRIPT]

Kentucky players in the locker room

Dr. Mike’s photo gallery

East Region bracket

Saturday/Sunday NCAA Tournament schedule

We saw a ton of upsets throughout the first two days. Another one-seed went down, but was anyone truly shocked to see it was Purdue? No. 2 seed Arizona also went down on the opening day while Virginia always seems to either get upset by a double-digit seed in the first round, or win the whole damn thing.

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We have to wait for another chance to watch the ‘Cats until tomorrow afternoon, but there is still plenty going on throughout the next 48 hours. Here’s what’s on the docket for today and tomorrow.

Read this Ashton Hagans story right now

While down in Greensboro for the NCAA Tournament, KSR made a pitstop at an NBA G League game on Thursday to watch the Greensboro Swarm take on the Mexico City Capitanes. And who plays for the Swarm? Former Wildcat Ashton Hagans, who spent two seasons in Lexington and was part of the 2019-20 team that was rolling into the postseason before COVID-19 ended the season entirely.

KSR’s Jack Pilgrim had the chance to talk with Hagans after the game, which the Swarm won 118-107. It’s one of the best pieces on Kentucky basketball you’ll read all season long. Hagans touches on that missed tournament run, his time as a ‘Cat, and much, much more. Check it out below.

Ashton Hagans offers advice to Kentucky ahead of NCAA Tournament: “Take it all in”

Boys’ Sweet 16 semifinals/finals

It’s Championship Saturday at Rupp Arena. After a thrilling day of quarterfinals action on Friday, we’ve got two semifinals set for today followed by the state title game later tonight.

Up first, we’ve got the top-ranked Warren Central Dragons taking on arguably the hottest team in the entire field, the No. 16 Woodford County Yellow Jackets. The second semifinals contest features two of the top teams in the state: defending champion No. 5 George Rogers Clark against No. 2 Frederick Douglass, which will bring a 30-game win streak into the matchup.

It’s gonna be a fun day at Rupp and KSR will be there for all of it.

Semifinals

11:00 AM | Woodford County vs. Warren Central
1:30 PM | Frederick Douglass vs. George Rogers Clark

Championship

7:00 PM | Winner 1 vs. Winner 2