KSR Today: Valentine's Day, Getting Ready for Mississippi State

Good morning, friends, and Happy Valentine’s Day! Whether you view today as a Hallmark holiday; an opportunity to shower your loved one with flowers, chocolates, and a fancy meal; or simply Tuesday, I hope it’s a good one for you. Remember, you can always buy your own flowers, chocolates, and fancy meals. As Tom Haverford once said, “Treat yo’self.”

One thing today does not include is Kentucky Basketball. From now until the SEC Tournament, the Cats will play on Wednesdays and Saturdays, a one-day shift from our previous pattern. Tomorrow night’s game at Mississippi State is another big one, the first of four Quad 1 opportunities remaining. Right now, Kentucky is among the First Four Out in NCAA Tournament projections. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Cats must start winning games. Tomorrow’s a big one.

Let’s run through what you need to know to get your day rolling.

Calipari gives injury update, teases lineup changes

Last night on his call-in show, John Calipari said that Sahvir Wheeler and CJ Fredrick did not practice on Monday. Wheeler has been out the last two games with an ankle injury and Fredrick missed Saturday’s game at Georgia as he deals with a cracked rib he suffered after colliding with a cameraman during the Florida game. Their status for tomorrow’s game vs. Mississippi State remains unknown. Typically under Calipari, if you don’t practice the day before a game, you’re out. Calipari set the chances of Wheeler and Fredrick practicing today at “we’ll see.”

If Wheeler and/or Fredrick can’t go vs. the Bulldogs, Calipari teased a unique lineup that includes Jacob Toppin at the three-spot.

“We could play with one guard and you play Jacob [Toppin] at some three and let him flip over to that.”

Oh boy. Kentucky’s backcourt is clearly thin, but Calipari said he also has plans for the frontcourt. He said on Monday, he realized he needs to play Lance Ware and Ugonna Onyenso more. Ware hasn’t played since the Ole Miss game on Jan. 31 (2 mins), Onyenso the Texas A&M game on Jan. 21 (1 min).

Chin Coleman previews Mississippi State

The Cats take off for the wonderful land we call Starkville this afternoon; first, Kentucky assistant Chin Coleman will share his thoughts on the current state of the team and the Mississippi State Bulldogs with reporters at Memorial Coliseum. Check the site and YouTube Channel after lunch for updates.

Quick! Who coaches Mississippi State?

No, it is not Ben Howland. The current head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs is Chris Jans, who previously coached the New Mexico State Lobos. This is what he looks like:

We hope to bring you his comments on tomorrow night’s matchup today too. The Bulldogs are 17-8 this season, 5-7 in SEC play. They’ve won five straight, most recently knocking off Arkansas in Fayetteville 70-64. Gulp.

Current SEC Standings

Right now, Kentucky is tied with Missouri and Auburn for fourth in the SEC Standings. KenPom’s projected final standings have Kentucky, Auburn, and Florida tied at 10-8. Due to tiebreakers, that would leave Kentucky in fifth place in the SEC behind Alabama, Texas A&M, Tennessee, and Missouri. Still plenty of basketball to be played before then, but here is where things stand with six games remaining:

TEAM	CONFERENCE	GAMES BACK	OVERALL
Alabama	12-0	–	22-3
Texas A&M	10-2	2	18-7
Tennessee	8-4	4	19-6
Missouri	7-5	5	19-6
Auburn	7-5	5	17-8
Kentucky	7-5	5	16-9
Arkansas	6-6	6	17-8
Vanderbilt	6-6	6	13-12
Florida	6-6	6	13-12
Mississippi State	5-7	7	17-8
Georgia	5-7	7	15-10
Ole Miss	2-10	10	10-15
South Carolina	2-10	10	9-16
LSU	1-11	11	12-13

College Basketball on TV Today

No Kentucky Basketball today, but there are three SEC games on the docket, one that could impact Kentucky’s SEC Tournament seed. At 7 p.m., Auburn hosts Missouri. As I just told you, both teams are tied with Kentucky for fourth in the SEC standings.

TIME	AWAY	HOME	TIME / TV
6:30 PM	Vanderbilt	South Carolina	SECN
7:00 PM	Missouri	Auburn	ESPN2
7:00 PM	18 Creighton	24 Providence	FS1
7:00 PM	23 NC State	Syracuse	ACCN
8:30 PM	LSU	Georgia	SECN
9:00 PM	12 Kansas St.	Oklahoma	ESPNU
9:00 PM	5 Kansas	Oklahoma State	ESPN

Kentucky WBB loses to Ole Miss

The other basketball team on campus is also struggling. Last night, Kentucky WBB fell to Ole Miss 74-52, their second straight loss. Robyn Benton was the only Cat to finish in double figures with 15 points on 4-18 from the field, 0-5 from beyond the arc. As a team, Kentucky shot 15-57 (26%) from the field and 3-14 (21%) from 3-point range.

The Cats are now 10-14, 2-10 in SEC play, and have four games left this season. On Thursday, they’ll host Georgia at 7 p.m. at Memorial Coliseum, a game you can see on SEC Network+.

Join the conversation on KSR+

Yesterday was a busy one around these parts as we launched KSR+, KSR’s new premium sister site. You can read all about it here, but in a nutshell, KSR+ will offer bonus recruiting content and a message board for us to share our thoughts and interact with you guys in a new way. We’ve brought on Jacob Polacheck to solely write for KSR+ and Adam Luckett will also do some long-form pieces for KSR+ in addition to his current duties. The KSR you know and love will not change. Outside of Adam’s contributions, no KSR writers will write for KSR+, so if it’s not your jam, we get it. Your KSR experience will be the same as always. That said, all of our writers will be active on KSBoard, and based on day one, it’s gonna be an awesome ride.

If you’re interested in trying KSR+ out, we’re offering a great launch special. For only $10 until football season, you can take KSR+ for a test drive. Even better, get subscriptions for you and your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day — way better than chocolates or flowers, in my opinion.