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KSR Today: Let the SEC Tournament begin!

Jack PIlgrimby:Jack Pilgrim•about 9 hours
An "It Just Means More" banner at the SEC Tournament - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio
An "It Just Means More" banner at the SEC Tournament - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

Many times of the year claim to be the best times of the year — Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, 4th of July, Masters weekend and Memorial Day are some of the go-to favorites. There are arguments to be made for many of them, namely considering the weather at the time of celebration or the meaning behind each holiday and moment. They all fall short of this upcoming stretch, though, everything else competing for second behind this week and those to come through the first weekend of April.

There is a caveat to that high praise, however. You must be a willing and active participant to claim the joy. We’ve been on the other side, losing in the first round of both to limit that excitement to exactly two total days — the rest are miserable, games hard to even stomach. If you can manage to put together a run? Well, you could be earning a core memory to cherish for the rest of your life, the highs higher than anything else you’ll experience all year long.

That’s the gift and curse of March.

It all begins today in our world as the SEC Tournament tips off in Nashville, the blue mist taking over the Music City for the weekend to watch the Cats in Mark Pope‘s first postseason as the head coach at Kentucky. All of the talk about understanding the assignment leads to this point, putting the regular season in the rearview mirror as the fight for bringing hardware back to Lexington begins.

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SEC Tournament Schedule: Day 1

Thankfully, Kentucky can rest up on Wednesday as eight other teams begin their SEC Tournament journeys with four other games scheduled throughout the day. That’s the beauty of the single bye the Wildcats earned by taking care of business last week with wins over LSU and Missouri — and the slight frustration of some costly slip-ups earlier in conference play to miss out on a double bye to start on Friday.

Check out today’s schedule as we get ready for a magical couple of weeks:

  • Game 1: No. 9 Arkansas vs. No. 16 South Carolina – 1 PM ET (SEC Network)
  • Game 2: No. 12 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13 Texas – 3:30 PM ET (SEC Network)
  • Game 3: No. 10 Mississippi State vs. No. 15 LSU – 7 PM ET (SEC Network)
  • Game 4: No. 11 Georgia vs. No. 14 Oklahoma – 9:30 PM ET (SEC Network)

Kentucky will take on the winner of UGA vs. OU on Thursday at 9:30 PM ET on SEC Network, so you’ll be wanting to watch Game 4 closely tonight, folks.

Mark Pope talks in Music City

Has Pope found a proper nickname for Nashville yet? BroadOweh, Jamal Nashburn, and Cotton Nashville are some new ones to consider. Either way, we’ll be asking him when he sits down with reporters this afternoon to preview the SEC Tournament.

He won’t know Kentucky’s opponent quite yet — no one will until about midnight — but he’ll take his best stab at Georgia and Oklahoma previews while also sharing his team’s approach going into his first postseason coaching the blue and white.

We already know the Cats are going down to the Bluesic City (oh, that one felt good) with their eyes set on winning the whole thing, but we’ll get a peek into Pope’s brain today hopefully explaining the how.

That’ll take place at 1:30 PM ET with plenty of coverage to follow.

The Journey recaps Kentucky’s win at Mizzou

For one last time this regular season, The Journey is here to give you a behind-the-scenes look at a big-time Kentucky basketball win — this time at Missouri. How did the Wildcats put together the historic victory in CoMo to give them eight top-15 dubs on the year for the all-time college basketball record? Andrew Carr and Koby Brea are to thank for that.

The coolest part, though, was Jaxson Robinson’s locker room FaceTime after the win to join the celebration while he was away recovering from wrist surgery.

Enjoy the last one from the regular season before more to (hopefully) come over the next few weeks:

The Waterboys are back (with Trent Noah and Travis Perry)!

Remember when the Kentucky basketball managers nicknamed themselves “The Waterboys” and debuted a music video ahead of the 2024 NCAA Tournament through an NIL partnership with Geddes Pools? They’re back and better than ever — now with Trent Noah and Travis Perry.

They’re all joined by the UK Dance Team for “Ladies Love The Waterboys,” a song about their viral success from last year’s debut and how interest from the ladies has followed.

It’s hilarious and perfect in every way. Check it out below:

Malachi Moreno is going to the Sweet 16

While we’re focusing on the current group, don’t forget there’s a massive run to Rupp Arena going on in Kentucky, too — and future Wildcat Malachi Moreno will be a part of it.

Participating in the 11th Region Championship inside Paul Laurence Dunbar High School on Tuesday, Moreno led Great Crossing with a triple-double — 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks — en route to the tight 59-57 victory over Frederick Douglass to advance to the Sweet 16 state tournament.

“It really just came down to who wanted it more and who wanted to go to Rupp Arena,” Moreno said after the win.

Mark Stoops sits down with KSR

It’s mostly about basketball this time of the year, but not only about basketball as spring practice has begun for Mark Stoops and Kentucky football. It’s a polarizing topic considering how the 2024 season finished, leading to a lack of interest and hope entering a massive 2025 campaign for the program.

To his credit, though, Stoops faced some tough questions head on and took responsibility for things going south last fall while adding he has ‘never been as motivated as I am right now.’

“If you know anything about me, I do not like an ass kicking,” he said.

Read Drew Franklin’s recap here — or you can listen for yourself below:

That’s all for today, folks. We’ll see you down in Nashville, BBN.

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2025-03-12