KSR Today: A wild week for Kentucky Football and Basketball begins
Good morning, friends. Welcome to what we expect to be a wild week for both the football and basketball programs, albeit for very different reasons.
Let’s start with football as we wade through the aftermath of the Louisville loss and the muddy waters of another rebuild. After the embarrassing 41-14 defeat, Mark Stoops said he anticipates lots of turnover, for both good and bad, in the days ahead as everyone prepares for the Early Signing Period (Dec. 4-6) and the transfer portal to open (Dec. 9). Yesterday, we got our first taste of that as three-star offensive lineman Tucker Kattus, the younger brother of current UK tight end Josh Kattus, flipped his commitment from Kentucky to Clemson. A few hours later, four-star running back Marquise Davis, Kentucky’s highest-ranked commitment in the class, flipped to Missouri. One recruit not going anywhere? Three-star quarterback Stone Saunders, who reaffirmed his commitment to Kentucky last night.
Unfortunately, that’s probably just the start. After an all-day staff meeting on Sunday, player meetings are now underway, with coaches asking some players to stay and others to go as they try to make way for a new crop of Cats. It’s not pretty, but it’s the reality of the game, especially after an extremely disappointing season. As Matt Jones, Adam Luckett, and Nick Roush wrote on KSBoard this weekend, staff changes are likely coming as well — some that seem too crazy to possibly be true.
Speaking of KSBoard, if you’ve ever been curious about it, now’s the time to try it out. Through tonight, we’re holding a Silly Season Sale. Just $1 gets you access to KSR+, including the message board, for 7 days. Between football staff and roster news, the Early Signing Period, basketball games vs. Clemson and Gonzaga, Drew Franklin’s updates from the backseat of the three-row SUV as the radio crew makes its way to Seattle, and all the chatter in between, that board is the place to be. Add in Adam Luckett’s deep dives and Jacob Polacheck’s daily interviews with recruits and there is no better way to maximize your Kentucky sports coverage.
We will not hear from Mark Stoops nor Mark Pope today
Typically, the coaches’ call-in shows take place on Monday night. This is not a typical week. Mark Stoops’ call-in show will take place on Wednesday night to correspond with the first day of the Early Signing Period. Because the basketball team is traveling to Clemson today, that’s also when Mark Pope’s call-in show will occur. Alas, we won’t hear from either coach today but we will hear from two basketball Cats before they leave for Clemson.
Amari Williams, Otega Oweh preview Clemson
In about 37 hours, we’ll be watching Kentucky vs. Clemson in the SEC/ACC Challenge (Tuesday, 9:30 PM ET, ESPN). As you know, the Cats are 7-0, their best start since the 2016-17 season. The Tigers are 7-1, their lone loss being at Boise State. Around lunch, Amari Williams and Otega Oweh will meet with reporters to preview the matchup. We’ll bring you their comments shortly after. You can also see the full interviews on the KSR YouTube Channel, which includes a lot of other awesome stuff.
Where will Kentucky be ranked in the polls?
Feast Week was full of upsets, particularly of the top-10 variety. Four teams ahead of Kentucky in the AP Poll lost last week, including No. 2 UConn, which lost THREE times in the Maui Invitational. What does that mean for the Cats? There’s room to move into the top five, but the measuring stick comes out this week vs. Clemson and Gonzaga. New AP and Coaches Polls drop around lunch. We bring them to you then.
| AP RANK | TEAM | LAST WEEK |
| 1 | Kansas | Beat No. 11 Duke, Furman |
| 2 | UConn | Lost to Memphis, Colorado, and Dayton; beat Maryland Eastern Shore |
| 3 | Gonzaga | Lost to West Virginia; beat Indiana and Davidson |
| 4 | Auburn | Beat No. 5 Iowa State, No. 12 UNC, Memphis |
| 5 | Iowa State | Lost to No. 4 Auburn; beat Dayton and Colorado |
| 6 | Houston | Lost to No. 9 Alabama and San Diego State; beat Notre Dame |
| 7 | Tennessee | Beat UT Martin |
| 8 | Kentucky | Beat Western Kentucky, Georgia State |
| 9 | Alabama | Lost to Oregon; beat No. 6 Houston, Rutgers |
| 10 | Marquette | Beat Stonehill, Western Carolina |
The first NET Rankings of the season are released
Polls are fun, but the NET Rankings are what really matters. The first NET Rankings of the 2024-25 season will be released today, giving us an idea of what the NCAA’s evaluation tool thinks of the Cats. It will take a bit for the formula to stabilize, but we’ll get an idea of which wins matter most in the eyes of the NCAA.
Top 10
- 1New
FSU to hire Huskers DC
Tony White expected to be hired by FSU
- 2Hot
Harsin wears Bama gear
Former Auburn HC sports LANK shirt
- 3
BCS formula predicts CFP
Predicting the College Football Playoff Top 25
- 4
Kirk Herbstreit
A call for punishment for brawls
- 5
Ryan Day
Ross Bjork addresses job security
Right now, Kentucky is No. 12 in the KenPom ratings. You would have to think games at Clemson (KenPom No. 25) and vs. Gonzaga (KenPom No. 3) at a neutral site would be huge for the resume.
ICYMI, Kentucky Volleyball is a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament
On Sunday night, the Kentucky Volleyball team found out its postseason path. The Cats earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host a sub-regional later this week at Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky will play Cleveland State on Thursday night (7:30 p.m., ESPN+). The winner of that will face the winner of Western Kentucky vs. No. 6 seed Minnesota on Friday.
Thursday, Dec. 5
- 4:30 p.m. ET – Western Kentucky vs. (6) Minnesota – ESPN+
- 7:30 p.m. ET – Cleveland State vs. (3) Kentucky – ESPN+
Friday, Dec. 6
- 7 p.m. ET – Winner of WKU/Minnesota vs. Winner of Kentucky/Cleveland State – ESPN+
The winner of Friday’s match will move on to Regionals (Thursday, Dec. 12 – Sunday, Dec. 15). Remember, this year, the semifinals and finals of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament take place just down the street at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville.
The Cats also racked up some SEC awards, with Brooklyn DeLeye taking home SEC Player of the Year and Craig Skinner SEC Coach of the Year. It’s the sixth time in the last seven years a Wildcat has won SEC POY. It’s Skinner’s sixth SEC COY honor, second in a row. Here’s the complete list of Cats to win some hardware:
- Brooklyn DeLeye (POTY)
- Emma Grome (First-Team)
- Molly Tuozzo (Second-Team)
- Asia Thigpen (All-Freshman)
- Brooke Bultema (All-Freshman)
- Craig Skinner (COTY)
It’s Cyber Monday at the KSR Shop!
Looking to get some holiday shopping done? It’s Cyber Monday at the KSR Shop at Kentucky Branded, where you can get 25% off KSR official apparel and accessories. We’ve just added some new hats and sweatshirts that are perfect for the cold weather coming through.
KSR the Show is in Iowa City
After starting the annual KSR road trip at the Bengals/Steelers game, the crew made it to Iowa City. This morning’s show will take place live from Pizza Ranch (171 Highway 1 West), with doors opening at 8:45 a.m. CT. If you’re in the area, come on out, or simply listen online to hear the adventures from the start of a long, fun week as the crew makes its way to Seattle. Matt Jones will also share the latest he’s hearing as rumors swirl around the football program.
Until then, enjoy some of the video content Mario’s been pumping out:
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