KSR Today: Kentucky survives LSU to get first SEC win

Things got much too close for comfort down the stretch, but Kentucky got a huge home win on Tuesday when the Wildcats knocked off LSU to give John Calipari’s squad its third power conference victory of the season. It was much needed.

Kentucky got 19 points and 16 rebounds from star big man Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin produced 21 points on 13 field goal attempts, and the offense only had six turnovers in 59 possessions and scored a very efficient 1.25 points per possession.

There are still some things to fix. On the defensive end, Kentucky allowed LSU to go 11 of 25 from three, and once again there were issues regarding offensive execution in crunch time. However, this was a significant win over a team that will likely find itself with an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in March. Kentucky had to have it on Tuesday night.

Let’s dive into some postgame coverage.

• Kentucky picks up the biggest win of the season
• Highlights
• John Calipari opens up on Kentucky’s rotation
• John Calipari takes blame for Kentucky’s struggles
• Jacob Toppin balls out
• Takeaways

KSR YouTube channel also has postgame content

There’s plenty of postgame reading from KSR for the Big Blue Nation to consume on Wednesday, but that was not the only content created last night. We’ve got the postgame press conference and a Rapid Reaction with Drew Franklin, Zack Geoghegan, and Jack Pilgrim ready for your consumption.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

Look for more postgame content to come later today on KSR.

Justin Rogers is in the transfer portal and is receiving major interest

After three seasons at Kentucky, it was reported that former top-50 recruit Justin Rogers had completed the paperwork to enter the transfer portal. That became official on Tuesday evening.

Colorado, Georgia, LSU, Louisville, Miami, Michigan State, and Oregon are among the schools that have reached out so far to the nose tackle. Rogers might take a visit to LSU this weekend.

For Kentucky, Brad White’s defense has unexpectedly lost a returning starter. However, the Cats do have some depth in the defensive line room. KSR broke down the current options on the roster on Tuesday. But don’t be surprised if Kentucky becomes an active shopper in the transfer portal to fill the spot left by Rogers.

Losing in-state native and Notre Dame transfer Jacob Lacey to Oklahoma early in the transfer portal cycle really stings now.

NCAA Tournament expansion seems likely

Everyone loves March Madness. Many consider it the great postseason tournament in sports. But that tournament could see some changes soon.

The NCAA Transformation Committee made multiple recommendations Tuesday, including expanding the tournament by 25%. Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger noted an expanded NCAA Tournament is not a slam dunk, though. He said “many” in college basketball circles do not support the idea of increasing the field from 68 teams.

“To reiterate: Each sport’s oversight/governance group must support the recommendation and adopt the change to expand their championship tournament,” Dellenger tweeted. “Many in the basketball world are NOT in support of expansion. We’ll see.”

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has been on record for wanting an expanded tournament field. It sounds like that will be happening sooner rather than later.

Darin Hinshaw is the new offensive coordinator at UCF

Darin Hinshaw spent five seasons in Lexington serving as offensive coordinator Eddie Gran’s No. 2. The quarterbacks coach was responsible for signing Stephen Johnson out of junior college and did some good work with Lynn Bowden when Kentucky threw its offense out the window in 2019. However, Kentucky decided to move on after the 2020 season.

The UCF alum served as an analyst for Malzahn’s first team in 2021. After the season, Hinshaw left for UAB where he was promoted to offensive coordinator when head coach Bill Clark stepped down. Now Hinshaw will be returning to Orlando.

On3’s Matt Zenitz is reporting that Hinshaw will be the next offensive coordinator at UCF as the Knights make the move to the Big 12 in 2023. Malzahn serves as the primary play-caller at UCF, but multiple offensive assistants have landed bigger jobs at other programs working for the former Auburn head coach. Hinshaw will have a great opportunity in Orlando to help his alma mater make a big transition.

Fun college basketball slate

With conference play officially starting in college basketball, we get some interesting matchups nightly from right now until championship weekend. Buckle in for what should be a wild two months on the hardwood.

Let’s check out Wednesday’s slate.

• Villanova at Georgetown (6:30 pm ET, FS1)
• No. 22 Auburn at Georgia (6:30 pm ET, SEC Network)
• No. 16 Duke at NC State (7:00 pm ET, ACC Network)
• No. 12 Miami at Georgia Tech (7:00 pm ET, ESPN+)
• Penn State at Michigan (7:00 pm ET, Big Ten Network)
• Texas A&M at Florida (7:00 pm ET, ESPNU)
• No. 25 Iowa State at Oklahoma (7:00 pm ET, ESPN2)
• No. 20 Missouri at No. 13 Arkansas (8:30 pm ET, SEC Network)
• No. 4 UConn at Providence (8:30 pm ET, FS1)
• Illinois at Northwestern (9:00 pm ET, Big Ten Network)
• Clemson at Virginia Tech (9:00 pm ET, ESPNU)
• No. 17 TCU at No. 18 Baylor (9:00 pm ET, ESPN2)
• Wake Forest at North Carolina (9:00 pm ET, ACC Network)