KSR Today: Wheeler Watch, Jai Lucas Q&A, New Top 25, Plenty More

Good morning. Are you ready for a busy day? If not, get ready because it is another Gameday Eve for Kentucky Basketball, plus Championship Monday in football.

Later tonight, we will close the book on the 2021 college football season with the crowning of a new national champion. Georgia and Alabama will kickoff the College Football Playoff National Championship at 8 p.m. with the Dawgs currently laying 2.5 to Nick Saban.

Also of importance, your University of Kentucky Wildcats return to the basketball floor tomorrow night at Vanderbilt. KSR will start getting you ready for that one and more with these Monday morning things to know.

Have a good week. Love you.

Sahvir Wheeler’s availability to be decided today

Kentucky’s All-SEC point guard missed Saturday’s game against Georgia with a neck strain he suffered early at LSU in the middle of last week. Wheeler was dressed in street clothes for the game against his former team over the weekend. Some positive news, he survived a friendly neck-breaker from his old coach, Tom Crean, before the game. Crean is so weird.

via GIPHY

After Saturday’s game, John Calipari was asked about Wheeler’s playing status moving forward and if the neck injury could keep him out of Tuesday’s game at Vanderbilt. Calipari replied, “If he practices on Monday, he will be available for the game on Tuesday. If he practices Monday, he will be.”

Today is Monday so we’ll stay tuned.

Jai Lucas to preview the Vandy trip

Coming up later this morning, Kentucky Basketball assistant coach Jai Lucas will sit in front of the Coke can and the microphone to preview the Vanderbilt game. Lucas and one Kentucky player to be named later are scheduled to log into Zoom and chat with us nerds in a couple of hours and you can follow both conversations here on Kentucky-Sports-Radio-dot-com.

New college basketball rankings

Around lunchtime, look for the updates to the AP and USA Today coaches’ polls in college basketball. Kentucky currently ranks T-16 and 13th in the Top 25s, but expect a big shake-up in the polls’ teens this week. AP No. 13 Ohio State, No. 14 Texas, No. 15 Alabama, No. 16s Kentucky and Providence, and No. 18 Tennessee all suffered losses last week. Kentucky’s maybe the least worrisome of the bunch.

Who knows, the AP poll could rank a potato in the Top 25 with the way it has been operating this season.

Washington seeking a third straight SEC award

TyTy Washington has two straight SEC Freshman of the Week awards and three in total on the season. With a school-record 17 assists against Georgia, he’s likely to add another SEC trophy, maybe the Player of the Week this time?

The new honorees will be announced later today.

Kentucky Women’s Basketball lost big at South Carolina

Kyra Elzy’s 21st-ranked Wildcats returned to action on Sunday for the second SEC game of the season and only the third game since December 12. Kentucky traveled to South Carolina to challenge the No. 1 Gamecocks on their own floor, but Carolina’s size was too much to overcome and it resulted in a 20-point loss for the Cats.

Rhyne Howard was held to nine points in the defeat, Robyn Benton had a team-high 11, and Jazmine Massengill, Dre’una Edwards, and Treasure Hunt each chipped in 10 points for Kentucky. Meanwhile, South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston put up 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 15 rebounds, alongside a game-high 19 from Zia Cooke.

UK’s women return home Thursday night against Mississippi State.

Kentucky Football Roster Watch

Kentucky Football has its rod in the transfer portal and could reel in a big fish at any moment. If a bite is to come, today is likely the day because today is the first day of classes on Kentucky’s campus and Mark Stoops will need to get any new guys in school for the spring semester.

One portal player to watch is Darrion Henry-Young, the defensive lineman leaving Ohio State. Henry-Young was the No. 2 player in Ohio in the Class of 2020 and he spent the weekend in Lexington with two fellow Ohioans, Vince Marrow and JuTahn McClain.

Hope my brotha come join to the #BBN💯🐾 Do yal thing! pic.twitter.com/lnpjzqjNTJ

— JuTahn McClain (@JuTahn) January 8, 2022

Also, good luck to all University of Kentucky students on their first day of a new semester. I wish I had a time machine to go back to some of mine.

We have an NFL Playoff bracket

The National Football League’s regular season wrapped up Sunday night with one of the games of the year between the Chargers and Raiders in Las Vegas. In a bizarre turn of events, the outcomes from the day games made it to where the two teams could’ve tied and both gotten in the postseason, but L.A. and Vegas decided to play it out for the fans and the TV ratings rather than kneeling for 60 minutes for two playoff tickets. In the end, the game went to overtime in dramatic fashion and almost ended in a tie anyway, but the Raiders kicked a field goal as time expired to clinch a spot and send the Chargers home for the year. They should’ve just agreed to tie.

The Playoffs look like this:

The 2021 #NFLPlayoffs are set! pic.twitter.com/Bv3d34ALBL

— NFL (@NFL) January 10, 2022

Titan Up and I’ll see you in two weeks, Nashville.

Rest in peace, Bob Saget

By now you probably know, America’s dad, Bob Saget, passed away Sunday at 65 years old. Many of us grew up with Saget as Danny Tanner and as the host of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” or appreciated Saget for his comedy beyond “Full House.” However you got your Bob Saget, he is responsible for millions of laughs, and we’re all saddened by his passing.

"I dunno where I'll see you next- on the show, on a tape or in front of your home, but I have to say take care of yourself."

Bob Saget with a final farewell. #bobsaget #rip pic.twitter.com/n3BbnqTBgD

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) January 10, 2022

Tune in to KSR at 10 a.m.

Matt Jones and Ryan Lemond will recap the weekend on the upcoming Monday edition of Kentucky Sports Radio the radio show. Shannon The Dude is back from vacation to join them, although, nobody loved Bob Saget like Shannon so he’ll be a little down.

Tune in.