KSR Today: Senior Day Eve, Kentucky Baseball hosts EKU

Good morning, friends. If you didn’t know already, I regret to inform you that Kentucky Basketball does not play today; it’s tomorrow night that the Cats host Vanderbilt. We’ll have plenty to say about the Commodores and Senior Night as the day goes on. We’ve also got a baseball game to entertain us if Mother Nature cooperates. See, this Tuesday is going to fly on by.

You know how this goes. Let’s start the rundown.

Kentucky Baseball hosts Eastern Kentucky

Coming off a home sweep of Lipscomb, the No. 25 Kentucky Baseball team is now 10-1 and No. 10 in the first RPI rankings of the season. This week, the Cats play Eastern Kentucky (2-9) twice, once in Lexington and once in Richmond.

The first game takes place this afternoon at Kentucky Proud Park. Righty Drew Lafferty is expected to get his third career start on the mound. The Cats’ big weekend vs. Lipscomb pushed the UK team ERA to the 13^th lowest in the nation. Kentucky’s relievers are in the midst of an 18-inning scoreless streak.

First pitch is at 4 p.m. ET. You can watch live on SEC Network+ or listen on the UK Sports Network (98.5 locally) or UKAthletics.com. Rain is in the forecast, so we’ll keep you updated on any changes in the schedule.

Quick-hitters from the John Calipari Show

Last night, John Calipari sat down with Tom Leach to share his thoughts on where the Cats stand in the final week of the regular season. Here are some quick hitters from their conversation:

Update on Alex Poythress: Calipari started the show with an update on Alex Poythress, who became ill while playing in the AfroBasket Qualifiers last month and returned to Italy experiencing numbness and weakness in one side of his face and body. Calipari said he spoke to Poythress on Monday and the former Cat said the doctors believe it is Bell’s Palsy. He’s expected to make a full recovery, but Calipari encouraged fans to keep sending love and prayers Poythress’ way.

Going on John Wall’s podcast: “Point Game,” John Wall’s new podcast, will be required listening/viewing again this week. After bringing on DeMarcus Cousins for the second episode, Wall brought in his old coach for the third. Calipari and Wall taped the podcast on Monday and, per Cal, one of the things they discussed was the West Virginia loss, in which Kentucky couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. Thankfully, this year, Calipari believes the Cats have enough shooters to overcome such a scenario.

Not doing Vandy postgame radio: Tomorrow’s game tips off at 9 p.m., and, like most of us, Calipari is already dreading being up past his bedtime. In fact, he went ahead and informed Leach and fans that he would not be doing his postgame radio segments on Wednesday night so he could go home, get some shuteye, and prepare for Saturday’s game at Tennessee. So, heads up in case you were planning on sticking around Rupp; you’ll likely be hearing from Orlando Antigua or another Kentucky assistant.

Great practice on Monday: With only two regular-season games left, Calipari spent some time reflecting on what a fun season this has been so far. He said Monday’s practice was so good the team didn’t want to stop, their competitive juices churning for what’s ahead. He encouraged fans to sit back and enjoy the ride because there are only so many games left: “Enjoy these young people because, at the end of the year, they’ll be gone.”

Who specifically will be gone is a whole other question, but for now, I’m happy to take Cal’s advice and cherish the time we have left with this very fun group. On that note, if you haven’t yet, watch the latest installment of UK’s “Journey” series on the win over Arkansas:

We’ll hear from the four seniors

Kentucky will honor four seniors tomorrow night. Antonio Reeves and Brennan Canada went through Senior Day ceremonies last year (also against Vanderbilt, a loss), but will do it again on Wednesday along with Tre Mitchell and Kareem Watkins. All four will speak with reporters in just a few hours at the Joe Craft Center, comments we’ll share with you later this morning.

It’s incredible how far Reeves has come since stepping through that hoop a year ago. The super senior has scored 20 or more points in Kentucky’s last five games and is now tied with Jamal Murray as the leading scorer in the John Calipari era (20.0 points per game). He has over 1,000 points as a Wildcat and over 2,000 in his college career. Not shabby for a mid-major transfer. I’m sure he, Mitchell, Watkins, and Canada will get a huge ovation tomorrow night.

We’ll find out the line for Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt

Kentucky beat Vanderbilt by 32 in the first matchup in Nashville earlier this season. The Cats are riding a three-game winning streak and should be heavy favorites tomorrow night. Just how heavy? We’ll be refreshing our FanDuel apps to bring you the opening line when it drops.

The Commodores are 8-21 this season, 3-13 in SEC play. After upsetting Arkansas in Bud Walton Arena, they lost to LSU by 14 at home. Kentucky let that same Arkansas team stick around for too long on Saturday, but Vanderbilt is not good, although Calipari said on his radio show he’s expecting the Commodores to “play out of their minds” in Rupp. Remember that they won the last matchup in Rupp, beating the Cats on Senior Night a year ago.

College Basketball on TV

Three SEC games tonight. Alabama vs. Florida is the one to watch for our purposes. If the Gators win, Kentucky still has a chance at the No. 2 seed in Nashville if they beat Vanderbilt and Tennessee.

• 7:00 PM (Peacock): No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 12 Illinois (-1.5)
• 7:00 PM (ACCN): Notre Dame vs. No. 7 North Carolina (15.5)
• 7:00 PM (ESPN): No. 16 Alabama (-1.5) vs. Florida
• 7:00 PM (ESPN+): Tulane vs. No. 24 South Florida (-7.5)
• 7:00 PM (SECN): Ole Miss vs. Georgia (-1.5)
• 9:00 PM (SECN): No. 13 Auburn (-12.5) vs. Missouri
• 9:00 PM (ESPN): Kansas State vs. No. 14 Kansas (-10.5)
• 9:00 PM (CBSSN): No. 25 Dayton (-10.5) vs. Saint Louis
• 11:00 PM (CBSSN): No. 21 San Diego State (-2.5) vs. UNLV

Filling in for Shannon the Dude on the KSR Preshow

Shannon the Dude is still under the weather, so Billy Rutledge called two KSR relievers out of the bullpen for today’s KSR Preshow. Turn your radio or streaming device to 630 WLAP or one of our many affiliates across the state right now to hear me, Billy, and Zack Geoghegan discuss the Cats. The main event begins an hour after at 10 a.m. ET.