KSR Today: Kentucky takes on Stonehill, then South Carolina

The opportunities for double-dip weekends are winding down, but we’re going to enjoy them while we’ve got them. It starts with Kentucky basketball taking on the Stonehill Skyhawks on Friday, tip scheduled for 7 p.m. ET inside Rupp Arena. Just under 24 hours later, the football program will take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia — a must-win for both teams coming down the home stretch of the schedule.

We also got a big win from men’s soccer to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament while Craig Skinner’s volleyball team earned its 13th consecutive victory.

It was a big Thursday ahead of a bigger weekend. Let’s chip away at it all one by one.

Kentucky takes on Stonehill

John Calipari’s group is coming off a heartbreaking 89-84 loss to No. 1 Kansas in Chicago. The Wildcats held a 14-point lead in the second half, but struggled to make shots late as the Jayhawks stormed back to earn the win. But if there was ever a feel-good loss Kentucky could suffer, that was the one.

And unfortunately, the response may come at the expense of Stonehill — the nation’s No. 349 program out of 362 in the latest KenPom rankings.

The Skyhawks opened the season with an 89-44 loss to George Washington, then defeated Army West Point 57-44 for the team’s lone win of the season. From there, a 107-67 loss at No. 5 UConn and a 100-56 loss to Saint Joseph’s.

So when you check FanDuel today and find that the Wildcats are holding firm as 33.5-point favorites, it’s probably for good reason. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives Kentucky a 97.7% chance to win at home. Combining for 56.0 points per game on 33.5% shooting while turning the ball over 16.8 times per contest against this group? Yikes.

Chin Coleman previews the Skyhawks

So how do you get your team mentally prepared for a game like this, especially following an emotional loss to No. 1 Kansas? Assistant coach Chin Coleman said it’s part of this group’s journey, one step of many toward March.

“It’s always us versus us. If everyone does a little, nobody has to do a lot. It doesn’t matter who we play, our standard is Kentucky. We’ve got to play our style of basketball whether it’s Stonehill or Kansas. We’ve got a goal we’re trying to accomplish this year,” Coleman said Thursday. “With that in mind, Stonehill is part of the small picture, but there is a big picture we’ve got in the parking lot we’re keeping our mind on.

“Stonehill does some good stuff. Whatever they’re ranked, they run this motion, they’re constantly off-the-ball screening, play fast. They use the off-ball screening actions to drive it, put you in situations to be on high alert with heavy communication.”

The Cats tip off against the Skyhawks at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network+ and ESPN+.

Football heads to Columbia

As for the Wildcats, they’re set to take on the Gamecocks on Saturday, kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Despite losing four of the team’s last five games, Kentucky remains a 1.5-point road favorite at South Carolina (4-6) with the over/under set at 54.5 points. It’s essentially a toss-up on FanDuel, a -115 vs. -104 moneyline difference for UK and USC, respectively.

ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Wildcats a 41.9% chance to pull off the victory inside Williams-Brice Stadium.

USC ranks No. 63 overall in team offense at 393.1 yards per contest and No. 105 in defense, allowing 413.6 yards per game. That compares to No. 99 overall for the Kentucky offense (343.3 YPG) and No. 49 for the defense (356.9 yards allowed). The Cats have won seven of their last nine in the matchup, though the Cocks have come out on top in two of the last four, including a 24-14 victory a season ago.

Mark Stoops previews South Carolina

What does Stoops think of the team’s chances in Columbia? It was a good week of practice with another huge opportunity to make a statement on the road in a crucial matchup.

“Another week down for the most part, beautiful weather. Great day out there today, guys are in great spirits and we’re excited about getting on that plane and going down to South Carolina and having a great game. It’s a week-to-week season, it’s tough on everybody,” he said. “These guys work hard with a lot on their plate. They’ve had good energy with really good practices. Excited about another great opportunity.

“We did it a couple of weeks ago on the road in a tough SEC environment in a place we hadn’t played pretty good. For the most part, we’ve played pretty well in this place, so hopefully that will continue.”

UKVB downs Texas A&M in four sets

The Kentucky volleyball team continues to stack wins, recording a 13th consecutive in its four–set victory over Texas A&M (25-17, 25-20, 24-26, 25-12) on Thursday inside Rupp Arena. Four Wildcats totaled at least 12 kills and junior Emma Grome dished out 55 assists.

Kentucky’s winning streak is second-longest in the country, improving to 16-7 on the year and 14-1 in the SEC, good for best in the league. Next up, the Cats will take on the Missouri Tigers inside Rupp Arena on Sunday as they prepare for the final week of the regular season. First serve against Missouri is set for 1:30 pm E.T. and will be broadcast live on SEC Network+.

Men’s soccer advances in NCAAT

Given the opportunity to get hot in the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky men’s soccer (8-7-4, 3-3-3 Sun Belt) took advantage, advancing to the second round with a 2-0 win over Xavier (9-3-6, 4-1-3 Big East) in Cincinnati on Thursday.

The Cats will travel to South Bend on Sunday to take on Notre Dame in the second round at 5 p.m ET.