KSR Today: Setting the stage for the Final Four in Houston

Good morning, folks! The one good thing about your favorite team not playing for a spot in the Final Four is the sanity you get to hold on to. Everything else about it sure does suck, but it’s a lot easier to watch these Elite 8 battles without fluctuating levels of stress over the course of two hours (even if we all would still rather experience it).

On Saturday, half of the 2023 NCAA Tournament’s Final Four was set, with No. 9 Florida Atlantic continuing its Cinderella run through an exhilarating 79-76 win over No. 3 Kansas State. Markquis Nowell, the top story of the tournament so far, did everything he could to keep his Wildcats’ season alive (30 points, 12 assists, five steals — like, what?), but this FAU squad is just damn good. The Owls can go nine deep and have a starting five that covers all the bases. They didn’t get as hot as they normally do against KSU (9-23 from deep) but went 18-22 from the free-throw line and outrebounded the Wildcats by 22. FAU, which will play in the program’s first-ever Final Four, is legit good and will be an actual threat to win the whole damn thing. What a world we live in.

Shortly after, No. 4 UConn made easy work of No. 3 Gonzaga, blowing out the Bulldogs by 28 points with an 82-54 win. For the millionth season in a row, Gonzaga proved once again to be tournament frauds, shooting just 33 percent from the floor and 2-20 from distance. The Huskies might now be the perceived favorite to win it all after Saturday’s dominating performance. UConn has great guard depth and two brutes in the post. Dan Hurley’s squad is tough.

Today, the rest of the Final Four field will be decided. First up is No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 5 San Diego State at 2:20 p.m. EST on CBS, followed by No. 5 Miami (FL) vs. No. 2 Texas at 5:05 p.m. EST, also on CBS. Creighton is a 2.5-point favorite to make the Final Four while Texas is set as a 4-point favorite to do the same.

Stoops was not a happy camper Saturday

Attitude reflects leadership, and right now Kentucky’s leadership is not happy with his team’s attitude. Mark Stoops did not pull any punches after Saturday’s spring practice, sharing his disappointment in not only their performance, but also the team’s work ethic.

“I just feel like we got a bunch of guys that are entitled and don’t work extremely hard. They think it’s going to happen and are waiting for the next guy to make it happen,” he said. “I’m not real pleased.”

Simply put, right now Kentucky isn’t tough enough. Even though Devin Leary wasn’t in Lexington until January, he knows the Wildcats aren’t playing up to that standard.

“Me coming in as a new guy, I gotta do a better job stepping up as well, upholding that standard,” said Leary. “I remember watching Kentucky before I even came here, and that’s what they were all about, hard-nosed, tough football.”

There is still time to correct these issues before spring practice ends, but Stoops certainly isn’t happy with the current state of the program.

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Baseball extends streak to 17, softball drops doubleheader

The Fighting Mingiones just keep on winnin’.

On Saturday, Kentucky baseball picked up its 17th straight win of the season (the longest in all of Divison I), this time beating Alabama down in Tuscaloosa for the second time in two days to lock up the series victory over the Crimson Tide. The Bat Cats needed 12 innings to keep the streak rolling on Friday before gliding past Alabama 9-5 on Saturday. Kentucky jumped ahead 4-0 early on, saw Alabama cut that lead to 4-3 in the fourth, then responded right away with three more runs that put the game away for good.

Now with a 5-0 record in SEC play, Kentucky is off to its best start in league action in 31 years. UK will look to sweep the series against Alabama on Sunday. Frist pitch is scheduled for noon ET and will be aired on the SEC Network.

Meanwhile, back in Lexington, the softball ‘Cats weren’t nearly as successful. After Friday’s game was postponed due to weather, it created a Saturday doubleheader against No. 24 Texas A&M. Unfortunately, Kentucky couldn’t come away with wins in either. The Aggies and ‘Cats battled it out in game one, with UK losing by the high, high score of 14-13.

Then, just a few hours later, the two teams met once again, although the end result was never in doubt. Texas A&M drilled Kentucky, shutting out the ‘Cats 10-0 to win in five innings. The Aggies have locked up the series victory, but Kentucky will have a shot at redemption in the final game on Sunday, which is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. EST.

KSR is on the road to Houston

No, not to cover the Final Four (boy, that sure would be nice, huh?), but KSR’s Jack Pilgrim and Jacob Polacheck will be down in Houston, TX over the next few days to watch the future of next year’s Kentucky roster. Beginning today and running through Tuesday, Kentucky signees DJ Wagner (West), Justin Edwards (West), Aaron Bradshaw (West), and Reed Sheppard (East) will all participate in the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Game events.

The boys are already getting along, too.

“Can’t wait to get up in Lexington next year!”

The guys are ready to go at the @McDAAG 😼 pic.twitter.com/yIaJ0AuOoc

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) March 26, 2023

Below is the schedule for the next few days. As always, we’ll have plenty of coverage from Houston.

• Sunday:
  • McDAAG Girls and Boys Practices: 9:30-11:30 a.m. ET
• Monday:
  • McDAAG Girls and Boys Practices: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. ET
  • Media Day: 1 p.m.-5:30 p.m. ET
  • POWERADE Jam Fest: 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
• Tuesday:
  • McDonald’s All-American Games
    • Girls – 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
    • Boys – 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)