KSR Today: Kentucky Won a Weird Wednesday Night Matchup with Colgate

Kentucky just won an overtime thriller in Seattle against Gonzaga. They’re about to host Louisville at home. A Wednesday night 8 pm date with Colgate stood in the way.

It looked and felt like a trap game. It certainly didn’t start that way.

Kentucky was cruising to give Colgate a bruising, building up a 17-0 lead over the Raiders who did not make their first bucket until almost seven minutes into the action at Rupp Arena. That’s when Colgate got hot. They knocked down eight threes to outscore the Cats 36-21 for the rest of the first half and only trailed by two points at the break.

Kentucky actually trailed by as many as three points before turning on the jets and putting the clamps on Colgate. Koby Brea was one of five Wildcats who scored in double figures, netting five threes to score a team-high 17 points in the 78-67 win. It wasn’t pretty for most of the night, but the Cats got the job down to improve to 9-1, just the fourth 9-1 start over the last 10 seasons.

Trent Noah Providing a Spark?

Once again, Kentucky was without its primary point guards, Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa. It was the perfect opportunity for Travis Perry and Collin Chandler to get comfortable on the floor. That’s not exactly what happened. Neither freshman could find the bottom of the net, but the other one did.

Trent Noah entered the game in the second half with the Wildcats traiilng by one. After back-to-back Jaxson Robinson threes, the Harlan County kid buried one from downtown, helping the Cats put their foot on the gas and run away from Colgate. Noah was plus-10 in 11 minutes of action.

“My favorite part of Trent Noah,” Mark Pope said after the win, “and this is why I love him so much, is he’s been in the game for a good minute and seven seconds — something like that. And he’s standing right in front of me and I’m like ‘Punch it, punch it! Throw it in the post. Punch it, punch it!’ And he shoots (and makes) a three, and that’s how I know he’s gonna be a big-time player.”

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Catch Up on Coverage from the Kentucky Win

Top 10 Takeaways from the Win over Colgate
RECAP: Kentucky Fends Off Pesky Colgate
Kerr Kriisa called Mark Pope while he was “high as a kite” post surgery
Mark Pope says it’s ‘really important’ to stay in the national conversation
The Cats broke out of a shooting slump and hit the 30 mark
Mark Pope Loved Trent Noah’s Confidence
Koby Brea joins the 1,000-Point Club
Postgame Press Conferences
Highlights from the Win
Pope acknowledges “weird energy” vs. Colgate

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Kentucky has a Football Schedule

Boy, is it a doozy. We knew the opponents would be challenging. Seeing it on paper is a whole other ballgame. A quirky schedule is giving us another schedule with two byes. Kentucky’s are early, ending the schedule with seven games in seven straight weeks. That stretch starts with Texas, Tennessee, at Auburn, and Florida. Sheesh!

Kentucky Volleyball Faces Familiar Foe in Sweet 16

Last fall Craig Skinner’s Cats beat Arkansas twice in the regular season, then fell to the Razorbacks in the Sweet 16. Kentucky swept Missouri at home, then won in four sets on the road. They’ll try to stop history from repeating itself this afternoon in Pittsburgh.

“I don’t know if it’s an advantage,” Skinner said. “The advantage is that you know each other really well, so there’s not going to be very many surprises. I don’t see a disadvantage other than stigma, someone’s perception. No matter who you play in the NCAA Tournament in the third round, it’s going to be a great match.”

It should be a doozy. The match begins at 1 pm on ESPN2. The winner will advance to play either No. 1 seed Pitt or Oregon on Saturday at 5 pm EST.

North Carolina Actually Did It

It wasn’t Jon Sumrall or Matt Campbell. Those guys got contract extensions from the North Carolina coaching search. Glenn Schumann met with the Tar Heels twice. Ultimately, they went for the splash, and boy, was it a cannonball.

The greatest coach in NFL history is testing his salt in the college ranks. Bill Belichick signed a five-year deal worth a reported $30 million to become the next North Carolina head football coach. His goal is to bring a professional structure to the college game, separating the coaching staff from the front office. Former NFL GM and media pundit Michael Lombardi will serve as Belichick’s GM.

It’s a shocking sports story that will eat up headlines for weeks and months to come. If you got annoyed by the Coach Prime coverage at Colorado, get ready to learn North Carolina argyle.

The Coaching Carousel Story That Got Buried

Rich Rod is returning to West Virginia. During a normal time, that would be a big damn deal. Bobby Petrino 2.0 was quite a sideshow and this could be another fire that burns hot and fast. People will forget that Rich Rodriguez is the West Virginia coach until we see him on the sideline in September. Just get a game scheduled with Greg Schiano’s Rutgers and pretend we’re back in the Big East.

Primetime NFC West Showdown

The NFL is putting more and more divisional matchups on Thursday night and this one should be a doozy. There’s a logjam in the NFC West and tonight’s matchup could determine a playoff spot. Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay have been cooking up stuff in the lab for this battle between the 49ers and the Rams. L.A. is a three-point underdog on the road for the 8:15 pm EST kickoff on Amazon Prime.