KSR Today: Kentucky Volleyball in the NCAA, Louisville's Tights, ACC/SEC Results and More

Good morning and Happy Thursday, friends in the Big Blue Nation. There are two UK events in downtown Lexington tonight, an important birthday to acknowledge, and lots of news to share as this week rolls on.

So, find your favorite tights and let’s get this day started with a morning rundown.

The inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge was a push

Well, this is no fun. The Atlantic Coast and Southeastern Conferences split the 14-game, two-day basketball showcase with seven wins each. We can blame the SEC teams that played last night. (Looking at you, Tennessee.)

The SEC had a one-win lead after the seven games played on Tuesday, then lost its grip on the ACC/Challenge early last night. The SEC needed Arkansas to beat Duke, 80-75, for the split decision.

2023 ACC/SEC Challenge Results

Mississippi State 59, Georgia Tech 67 [ACC, 1-0]
Notre Dame 53, South Carolina 65 [Tied, 1-1]
LSU 57, Syracuse 80 [ACC, 2-1]
Missouri 71, Pittsburgh 64 [Tied, 2-2]
Miami 73, Kentucky 95 [SEC, 3-2]
NC State 52, Ole Miss 72 [SEC, 4-2]
Clemson 85, Alabama 77 [SEC, 4-3]

Texas A&M 47, Virginia 59 [Tied, 4-4]
Florida 71, Wake Forest 82 [ACC, 5-4]
Tennessee 92, North Carolina 100 [ACC, 6-4]
Boston College 80, Vanderbilt 62 [ACC, 7-4]
Virginia Tech 57, Auburn 74 [ACC, 7-5]
Georgia 68, Florida State 66 [ACC, 7-6]
Duke 75, Arkansas 80 [Tied, 7-7]

Louisville was losing to Bellarmine at halftime, then came back to win once the underwear situation got figured out

Louisville beat Bellarmine last night with a second-half comeback. It was progress for the Cardinals after Bellarmine won that game last year. However, the Cards couldn’t enjoy a five-point win without embarrassing itself in front of the college basketball nation again because, after the game, Kenny Payne admitted one of his best players refused to play because of his tights.

“You ready for this? I probably shouldn’t tell you this,” Payne said in his postgame comments. “(Ty-Laur Johnson) didn’t have the tights he wanted, so he didn’t know if he wanted to play. Oh yeah, you heard it. We didn’t have the tights he wanted, that we’ve never had for him, and he decided, ‘I don’t feel like I can go.’”

Here's the full quote from Kenny Payne on Ty-Laur Johnson and his tights situation: pic.twitter.com/WnIX88d1Lz

— Kent Spencer (@WHAS11Kent) November 30, 2023

Johnson, a four-star freshman guard, played 16 second-half minutes once he realized Louisville did not have the tights he wanted to wear.

Unbelievable.

Kentucky Volleyball in the NCAA Tournament

Kentucky Volleyball begins its NCAA Tournament journey tonight at Rupp Arena. A No. 2 seed, the Wildcats will play Wofford at 7:30 p.m., following Baylor vs. James Madison in downtown Lexington. The winners of each match will play Friday to advance from Rupp into the Sweet Sixteen. You can see the entire tournament bracket here.

To watch the SEC Champs in the NCAA Tournament, you can tune in on ESPN+. Even better, go support the Wildcats in person. Tickets are available here.

Kentucky Women’s Basketball back home tonight

In desperate need of a win, Kentucky Women’s Basketball is back home in Lexington (at Transylvania’s Beck Center while Memorial Coliseum is under construction) to host Boston College. The game tips off at 7 p.m. on SEC Network tonight.

The Wildcats are back from a trip to the Virgin Islands, where UK went 0-3 in the 2023 Paradise Jam, losing to NC State, Colorado, and Cincinnati.

Happy Birthday, Ellen Calipari!

John Calipari, if you’re reading this, don’t forget today, November 30, is your wife’s birthday. The birthday brownie baker celebrates her own birthday today, and hopefully, someone else did the baking today.

Happy Birthday, Ellen!

Kentucky Football Transfer Portal/Roster Tracker

On Wednesday, tight end Izayah Cummings added his name to the transfer portal, thus ending his time as a Wildcat. The fifth player to announce a transfer since the season ended, Cummings is a Louisville native and may consider home for his graduate transfer year of football. Cummings came to Kentucky out of Louisville Male High School as a wide receiver in 2020.

Also on Wednesday, Kenneth Horsey officially announced he is moving on from college football. Horsey will enter the NFL Draft after a six-year career in Lexington. Horsey will not play in the bowl game, joining running back Ray Davis on the opt-out list.

Keep up with the Kentucky Football Transfer Portal Tracker.

Scott Woodward relieved of UK’s WR coaching duties

There is a new coaching vacancy on Kentucky Football‘s coaching staff, one you probably could’ve predicted. On Wednesday, Scott Woodward was fired from his job as the wide receivers coach after three years on the staff in Lexington. A college teammate and close friend of Liam Coen, Woodward was hired as an analyst but took over the WR room following Javon Bouknight’s demotion for a D.U.I. arrest.

“Woody” was a popular guy around the building in those three years, and he had some big recruiting wins for the Wildcats, including Barion Brown. But, the production level at wide receiver fell too short to overcome, forcing Stoops to make a change.

The job is officially listed online.

Oscar Tshiebwe will make his NBA debut tonight

Oscar Tshiebwe will be in Miami with the Indiana Pacers tonight when the Pacers play the Heat. The rookie from Kentucky got called up from the G League, where he averaged 19.7 points, 18.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals in 29.4 minutes per game in six games as a Fort Wayne Mad Ant.

You can watch the Pacers-Heat at 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV.

Get a free KSR ornament if you’re early to Friday’s show

Kentucky Sports Radio’s morning show will be at The Corman Marketplace in Lexington on Friday, beginning with the KSR Preshow at 9 a.m. If you can join us, go early because the first 24 people through the door will receive a custom KSR Christmas ornament for their tree this year.

Friday's show will be at The Corman Marketplace in Lexington and the first 24 people will receive a custom KSR ornament.

Maybe we can convince @ryanlemond to dress up as Santa. pic.twitter.com/ZKRRFTx8NF

— Drew Franklin (@DrewFranklinKSR) November 29, 2023