KSR Today: WBB going for 3rd straight win; Liam Coen watch continues

Good morning, folks! We’re just a couple of days away from Kentucky’s rematch against Alabama inside of Rupp Arena. We heard from head coach John Calipari last night, who didn’t do much in way of providing injury updates, but did touch on what went wrong in Tuesday’s loss to Tennessee and why opposing teams are playing UK so physically as of late. You can hear everything he had to say with Tom Leach by clicking the link here. Cal even talked about his cameo on the show Billions, which recently aired on Showtime, if that’s something of interest to you.

No. 25 Alabama (17-9) @ No. 4 Kentucky (21-5)
Saturday, February 19 at 1:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)
Lexington, KY (Rupp Arena)

Now let’s dive into the news and notes you need to know to make this gloomy Thursday a great one.

Kentucky WBB preview

For the third time in four days, Kentucky Women’s Basketball will be back in action later tonight. It will also mark a shot at revenge for the ‘Cats, who will face a Vanderbilt squad that beat them by eight down in Nashville a few weeks ago. UK can extend its win streak to three games with a victory, which would be the longest of the season since early December.

Despite being listed outside of NCAA Tournament projections, Kentucky is playing its best basketball of the season down the stretch. Making the postseason will still be tough and will likely require UK to win the SEC Tournament for the first time since 1982. But with only four games left on the regular-season schedule, there’s nothing left to lose for this group. Now finally healthy for what feels like the first time in two months, Kentucky is hitting its stride.

Grant Grubbs will be by later today for a full preview. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST inside of Memorial Coliseum on the SEC Network+.

Alabama avoids Mississippi State’s upset bid

Kentucky’s rematch against Alabama this weekend just got a bit more exciting. The No. 25 Crimson Tide managed to avoid an upset bid by Mississippi State on Wednesday night, which will set up a showdown between two legitimate top 25 squads.

Bama was led by 21 points and eight assists from Jahvon Quinerley, who helped turn a four-point hole down the stretch into a five-point win. Even with head coach Nate Oats picking up two technical fouls and subsequently getting ejected, the Tide gutted out a tough win at home.

Nate Oats ejected. He appears to say something in our direction at the end of the video. pic.twitter.com/uIvpKzM2sb

— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) February 17, 2022

Liam Coen rumors continue to swirl

Kentucky fans need to prepare themselves for the real possibility that Liam Coen takes a job with the Los Angeles Rams. The BBN has officially been on Coen Watch for a few days now as multiple outlets have reported him as a legit candidate for the Rams’ offensive coordinator position. Unfortunately, that scuttlebutt is only getting louder.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Wednesday night that there is a “very real possibility” that Coen joins head coach Sean McVay in L.A.

Univ. of Kentucky preparing for ‘very real possibility it loses OC Liam Coen to #Rams, per source. Coen has turned down college jobs and a pro job to stay at UK, but chance to return to LAR, work with Sean McVay will be enticing. Still has to be offered job but is firmly in mix

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 17, 2022

Despite some rumblings that McVay might be on the way out and seeking retirement, an NFL OC job could be too much to turn down regardless of who’s in charge. That being said, Fowler adds that Coen has already turned down college jobs and one NFL job. KSR’s Matt Jones reports that Coen turned down the OC position with the New Orleans Saints.

ESPN reporter says Coen already turned down a pro OC job so far this year. I have heard it was the Saints https://t.co/05U4FN6tQn

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) February 17, 2022

Nothing left to do at this point except to wait.

Anthony Davis just can’t stay healthy

For the 89th time in his NBA career, Anthony Davis went down an awkward ankle injury. Only this one looked like it could have ended up far worse than it actually did.

Davis landed awkwardly on his ankle during the Los Angeles Lakers 106-101 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, nearly folding it in half due to the force with which he was coming down from his jump. The video can be found right here for those brave enough to stomach it.

And yet somehow, someway, Davis’ X-Rays came back negative, according to multiple reports — a borderline miracle considering his reaction at the moment. The injury has simply been labeled as an ankle sprain. Luckily, the All-Star break starts tomorrow and gives teams a week off from games, so the timing couldn’t be better. Davis will be re-evaluated after the break where his status will be determined moving forward.

Despite last night’s win, the Lakers are still just 27-31 on the season, but good enough to sit in a position to secure a play-in seed for the second consecutive year.

Let’s all forgive this unlucky Kentucky fan

Remember the Kentucky fan spotted wearing a Tennessee t-shirt during the closing seconds of Tuesday’s game down in Knoxville? Well, KSR’s Drew Franklin needed an explanation in the worst way possible, so he caught up with the “fan” in question, Baxter Jackson, who actually turned out to be a great guy and not someone we should collectively burn at the stake.

Check out the whole interview as Jackson describes the untimely bet that led to him sporting that ugly orange.

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That’s all the news I have for you to start your Thursday. Tune into KSR in an hour to hear from Matt Jones and the rest of the crew.