KSR Today: Kentucky Blue-White Games a big success

Good morning, folks! Did anyone else make the trip to the 606 for some preseason hoops on Saturday? KSR sure did, traveling to Pikeville for the annual Kentucky men’s basketball preseason Blue-White scrimmage. But the basketball-filled day actually began earlier that morning with the women’s basketball team hosting its Blue-White Game inside of Memorial Coliseum. As you probably guessed, KSR had boots on the ground there, too.

Let’s talk about it.

Entering year three as head coach, Kyra Elzy split her team in half and gave the Big Blue Nation a first-hand look at what’s to come with this season’s roster. It was a lopsided affair, with the Blue Team cruising to a 91-47 victory over the White Team. Graduate student Blair Green, who missed all of last season with an Achilles injury, finished with a game-high 32 points on 14-18 shooting (4-7 from deep). Sophomore guard Jada Walker wasn’t too far behind with 23 points while fifth-year senior Robyn Benton added 17.

Afterward, players and members of the coaching staff stuck around to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. For KSR’s three biggest takeaways from the event, check out Grant Grubbs’s recap here. There’s a lot to talk about with so many new faces.

From there, KSR made its way down to Pikeville for the men’s version of the event, but first was a pitstop at nearby Millard Elementary for the Reed Sheppard Impact Camp, which helped raise $10,000 for flood relief in eastern Kentucky. Giant checks would become a theme for the rest of the night, too.

Reed Sheppard presents $10,000 check for flood relief in Eastern Kentucky

The future Wildcat is hosting a youth basketball camp in Pikeville before tonight’s Blue-White Game pic.twitter.com/g2dvTSqgF1

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) October 22, 2022

The pregame fun didn’t stop there either. A massive Fan Fest event was held outside of the Appalachian Wireless Arena, which holds roughly 7,000 fans and was packed to the brim for Saturday night’s game. John Calipari signed autographs and spoke to the crowd, music was playing, food and drink were being shared, and the beautiful weather helped create a perfect atmosphere. There was even a basketball ‘Cat Walk, which should become an every-game thing when possible.

And then, finally, it was time for some basketball — some actual basketball, too. This wasn’t your everyday Big Blue Madness scrimmage. The players were going hard and giving fans something to cheer about. Even without Oscar Tshiebwe, Sahvir Wheeler, and Lance Ware due to minor injuries, the Wildcats who did suit up put on a show. Eventually, another giant check was presented with Governor Andy Beshear addressing the crowd.

But I’m not gonna spoil the entire event right here, right now. I’ll let all of our fantastic content from the night do that for me. Enjoy!

• KSR’s takeaways from White’s 70-67 win over Blue in Pikeville
• White Team beats Blue 70-67 in Kentucky’s scrimmage in Pikeville
• Kentucky’s Adou Thiero showing he can make an impact as a freshman
• Kentucky raises $162,450 for flood relief in Blue-White Game
• Misleading results in Blue-White Games under John Calipari

KSR’s Rapid Reactions

Blue-White Game photo album

Highlights from Pikeville

Antonio Reeves postgame interview

Adou Thiero postgame interview

Other UK sports in action

Volleyball swept by Texas A&M

For the first time since 2017, Kentucky volleyball was swept in SEC action. The Wildcats dropped all three sets on the road to Texas A&M on Saturday, ending UK’s six-game win streak. It was also just the second SEC road loss for the program since 2017.

Reagan Rutherford led the Wildcats with 13 kills on the afternoon, the only Kentucky player to eclipse double-digit kills on the afternoon. Azhani Tealer had nine kills on 20 swings and UK hit .203 for the match, a new season low for a conference match. The ‘Cats are back in action against the Aggies on Sunday afternoon. The match will begin at 3:00 p.m. EST on ESPNU.

Men’s soccer beats Indiana for first time since 1995

A lot of records were set on Saturday — good and bad. The bad we discussed above, but the good happened over in Indiana. Kentucky men’s soccer took down Indiana 3-0 at Bill Armstrong Stadium, the program’s first win over the Hoosiers since 1995 and the first of the Johan Cedergren coaching era. UK, which is currently ranked No. 2 in the country, is still undefeated on the season with a 9-0-5 record, including a 3-0-3 mark in the Sun Belt Confernce.

‘Cats in the NFL: Week 7

1:00 (FOX): Falcons (J. Ali) @ Bengals (Y. Corker)
1:00 (CBS): Lions (J. Paschal, L. Stenberg) @ Cowboys (Q. Bohanna, K. Joseph)
1:00 (CBS): Colts @ Titans (B. Dupree, L. Johnson)
1:00 (FOX): Packers (R. Cobb) @ Commanders (J. Davis)
1:00 (FOX): Buccaneers (M. Edwards, Q. Mosely) @ Panthers (P. Hoskins, M. McCall)
1:00 (FOX): Giants (W. Robinson) @ Jaguars (J. Allen, L. Fortner, C. Peters)
1:00 (CBS): Browns @ Ravens
4:05 (CBS): Jets (B. Echols) @ Broncos
4:05 (CBS): Texans @ Raiders
4:25 (FOX): Seahawks @ Chargers
4:25 (FOX): Chiefs (D. Kinnard) @ 49ers
8:20 (NBC): Steelers (B. Snell) @ Dolphins

Monday Night Football

8:15 (ESPN): Bears @ Patriots (L. Bowden)