KSR Today: On the road to Pittsburgh + the Boys' Sweet 16

Good morning, folks! Kentucky’s path to a ninth national championship begins tomorrow night. The Wildcats are off to Pittsburgh for the weekend, kicking things off with a first-round NCAA Tournament matchup against 14-seed Oakland. We’ll get a chance to hear from some of the Kentucky players/coaches at some point this afternoon to provide their thoughts on the Golden Grizzlies.

Kentucky has already made the trip to the Steel City, and the KSR crew will do the same today. We’re hoping for a longer stay this time around than we had over the weekend in Nashville. This group of players deserves to play more than a couple more games.

Is Rob Dillingham ready to make his “Kemba Walker-like” run into March Madness? The ‘Cats will have to get past Oakland first, which isn’t shy on confidence. Head coach Greg Kampe thinks Kentucky is actually the best possible matchup for his squad.

“The matchup is really important,” Kampe said on Tuesday. “For me, this was the best matchup I think we could get as we were trying to figure it all out.”

Those are fighting words, Greg. We’ll see what you have to say after Kentucky rains down 15 three-pointers come tomorrow night.

And while you wait for that matchup, go check out the new, limited-edition Bud Light bottle equipped with University of Kentucky packaging — released just in time for March Madness.

Boys’ Sweet 16 begins TODAY

The 2024 UK HealthCare Boys’ Basketball Sweet 16 Tournament gets rolling this morning at Rupp Arena with four first-round games throughout the day, followed by four more on Thursday. Below is the full bracket. The tournament runs through Saturday.

There are plenty of storylines to follow in this year’s field. For starters, Kentucky signee Travis Perry will look to lead Lyon County to the school’s first-ever Sweet 16 title. The Lyons have made the Big Dance the last two seasons but were bounced early in both. Perry will take the floor this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. EST against Ashland Blazer.

But Lyon County likely isn’t even viewed as the favorite to win this event. That would be Great Crossing, led by four-star junior Malachi Moreno (a top Kentucky target) and big-shot maker Vince Dawson. The Warhawks take on Spencer County in tonight’s nightcap.

There are other incredibly talented players spread throughout this tournament, as well. Newport’s Tay Kinney is arguably the top sophomore in the state (although an injury has his Sweet 16 status in doubt) while Harlan County features South Carolina commit Trent Noah. Defending champion Warren Central trots out one of the best overall players in the state in Kade Unseld while Butler County unleashes one of the best scorers in the state, Ty Price.

It should be a fun few days at Rupp Arena. KSR will be in attendance for every game. KSR’s Brady Byrdwell has previews of both Wednesday and Thursday’s slate of games.

Virginia should have never made the First Four

We could have had Indiana State and Cream Abdul-Jabbar, but instead, we got the ugliest brand of college basketball available. The 10-seed Virginia Cavaliers never should have been selected to the Big Dance in the first place, and that was proven during last night’s First Four games against 10-seed Colorado State. The Rams won 67-42 in a game where Virginia shot only 25 percent from the floor and went 3-17 from deep.

Just terrific stuff from the Cavaliers on the biggest stage…

At least Wagner-Howard (two 16 seeds) provided some fireworks down the stretch in the first of the two First Four games. Wagner nearly coughed up the win down the stretch as Howard hit timely shots and forced a handful of turnovers, but the Seahawks held on. Howard missed three potential game-tying three-pointers on the final possession.

Wagner’s reward? A date with 1-seed North Carolina on Thursday. Colorado State advances to take on 7-seed Texas, also set for Thursday.

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KSR previews the NCAA Tournament

Need help filling out the rest of that bracket? Allow the KSR crew to give you a hand.

A six-person gang of Nick Roush, Tyler Thompson, Jack Pilgrim, Jacob Polacheck, Steven Peake, and I sat down for about 45 minutes yesterday to give our thoughts on Kentucky’s path to the Final Four, who we believe will actually make the Final Four, and which Cinderella stories we should be paying attention to. We won’t let you down.

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

Chris Collins promoted co-DC

Tuesday was Kentucky football’s first practice of the spring, and the biggest news out of the facility was the promotion of Chris Collins from being just the defensive backs coach to now holding the title of co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach — a well-earned honor for one of the Wildcats’ top assistants and recruiters.

Nothing is expected to change with Brad White, who has been UK’s defensive coordinator since 2019. In addition to this move, head coach Mark Stoops also announced the hiring of former Marshall tight ends coach Derek Shay as a quality control coach for the offense.

KSR’s Nick Roush has other notes and thoughts from the first practice here.

Wildcat Waterboys

Today in Things I Never Expected To See, the Kentucky men’s basketball student managers have reeled in an NIL deal — and it might just be the best one we’ve seen yet. The video, titled “Wildcat Waterboys”, was created in a NIL partnership with Geddes Pools, a pool contractor in Nicholasville, KY.

It’s catchy and hilarious. My favorite line? “So I’m all up in Cal’s ear saying ‘go zone'”

Antonio Reeves an AP Honorable Mention

Antonio Reeves had one of the best seasons in the John Calipari era, but it wasn’t enough to crack any of the Associated Press’ All-American teams. Instead, he was just barely left off the Third Team and was named an Honorable Mention. He was two votes behind Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr. for the final spot.

We wholeheartedly disagree. Below is the AP’s entire All-American Team roster.

*Denotes unanimous First Team selection

First Team

• Zach Edey (Purdue)*
• Dalton Knecht (Tennessee)
• RJ Davis (North Carolina)
• Jamal Shead (Houston)
• Tristen Newton (UConn)

Second Team

• Tyler Kolek (Marquette)
• Mark Sears (Alabama)
• DaRon Holmes (Dayton)
• Kyle Filipowski (Duke)
• Hunter Dickinson (Kansas)

Third Team

• Jaedon LeDee (San Diego State)
• Johni Broome (Auburn)
• Caleb Love (Arizona)
• Baylor Scheierman (Baylor)
• Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois)

Honorable Mentions

• Antonio Reeves (Kentucky)
• Kevin McCullar Jr. (Kansas)
• Devin Carter (Providence)
• Armando Bacot (North Carolina)

Join the On3 Bracket Challenge!

Looking for the perfect spot to fill out your bracket this evening? We’ve got you covered here.

Register today for the KSR and On3 Bracket Challenge and have the chance to win some great prizes! Start making your picks Sunday night with selections locking in at noon EST on 3/21.