KSR Today: MBB beats KSU, Football prepares for Mizzou

The basketball/football crossover continues for UK Athletics, as the men’s basketball team defeated Kentucky State 111-53 to close out the exhibition schedule on Thursday, while the football team is set to travel to Missouri to take on the Tigers this Saturday in Columbia.

We’ll start with John Calipari’s squad and how their win unfolded, then look into how Mark Stoops’ team can pull off the victory at Mizzou — a crucial matchup coming off an embarrassing loss in Knoxville last week.

Offense fires on all cylinders, defense overwhelms

Following a historically poor offensive performance in the team’s first exhibition game, the Wildcats torched the nets in their second showing, scoring 111 points on 50% shooting overall and 46.2% from three. Individually, Antonio Reeves led the way for the ‘Cats, finishing with a game-high 23 points on 7-14 shooting and 5-10 from deep, followed by Jacob Toppin with 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 30 minutes. 

CJ Fredrick showed off his playmaking abilities — Calipari raved about it after the game — finishing with 14 points, six assists and five rebounds with zero turnovers in 26 minutes. Another hot shooting performance from deep (3-5 3PT), the redshirt senior is now shooting 68.8% from three in three exhibition showings this preseason (including Blue-White).

Defensively, the Wildcats allowed the Thorobreds to shoot just 28.2% from the field and 27.3% from three while forcing 20 turnovers and blocking 11 shots. It was the team’s second consecutive dominant defensive effort after previously allowing just 38 points to Missouri Western, the fewest given up in an exhibition game since Kentucky allowed 28 vs. Transylvania back in 2012.

Rapid Reaction

Is Fredrick the team’s best player behind Oscar Thiebwe? Will it be Ugonna Onyenso or Lance Ware backing up the star center? What exactly is Chris Livingston?

The KSR basketball crew breaks it all down with our postgame rapid reactions, live from Rupp Arena.

John Calipari breaks down the win

What did Calipari think of the game? Who impressed him the most?

Also, the Kentucky head coach discusses a difficult week around the program following the loss of Daimion Collins’ father, Ben.

Ware, Livingston and Thiero share their thoughts

Lance Ware, Chris Livingston and Adou Thiero were the player representatives after the game, discussing what went right and what the Wildcats are working on going into regular season play.

Photo Gallery

UK Football heads to Mizzou

Kentucky football is in a difficult spot going into the back end of the regular season. Sitting at 5-3 and coming off a deflating loss at Tennessee, there are more questions than answers surrounding the team. The offense is sputtering as offensive line play and game-planning remain serious issues, while the defense’s bend-but-don’t-break style broke in Knoxville.

It’s an opportunity to right the ship in Columbia, taking on a stout defense in Missouri, who gives up just 21.5 points per game, 4.9 yards per play and 1.65 points per drive. Offensively, the Tigers struggle a bit, scoring just 23.9 points per game while averaging 5.4 yards per play and 1.68 yards per drive.

It will be a battle of the UK offense vs. Mizzou defense, with the Wildcats needing to get things rolling with the ball for a chance to win.

What does Vegas think of the matchup? It’s an even spread right now, with the money line favoring the Tigers ever-so-slightly thanks to home-field advantage. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Kentucky a 50.4% chance to win in Columbia. The over/under has been set at 40 points.

Kick-off is scheduled for noon ET (11 a.m. CT) at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field on Saturday, with the game broadcast live on SEC Network.

KSR Game of the Week heads to Taylorsville

The regular season is over and the playoffs are here for KHSAA football, and KSR Game of the Week is ready for round one. Where is the crew headed? Taylorsville, as the Spencer County Bears (9-1, 5-0 vs. 4A) are set to host the Shelby County Rockets (5-5).

The Bears are winning their games by an average margin of 24 points and averaging an impressive 38 points per game under Mike Marksbury. They’re currently averaging 303 rushing yards per game, with three players registering over 700 yards on the season. Wade Hutt is the team’s leading rusher with 882 yards and is followed by Camden Cardwell’s 862 and Kellen Marksbury with 722 — combining for 34 touchdowns as a trio. The defense is only giving up 13 points per outing, led by Nick Stowe’s 133 tackles (6 for loss).

As for Shelby County, the Rockets beat Anderson County 49-18 last Friday. Coach Marcus Harris’ squad is led by standout playmaker Gianni Hunter, who has racked up 1,190 rush yards and 17 touchdowns. Carter White is the team’s top pass-catcher with 15 receptions, while Isaac Estrada is the Rockets’ leading tackler with 86 stops and 5 TFLs.

The Rockets are looking to put the Bears on upset alert. KSR will be in attendance for it all, with kick scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

We’ll see you in Taylorsville.

2022 Breeders’ Cup begins today

Happy Future Stars Friday! It’s time to get this money with KSR’s Nick Roush, as he shares his picks and betting advice for the 2022 Breeders’ Cup.

Live from Keeneland this year, the Breeders’ Cup is one of the richest two days in sports, with $31 million paid out in purses and awards over the entire weekend.

Coverage will take place on NBC and USA, featuring the world’s best thoroughbreds racing for the big bucks in the 14-race card.

KSR is live from Keeneland for today’s show. Tune in at 10 a.m. ET and get your Breeders’ Cup weekend started off right.