KSR's Kentucky open practice notes from Indianapolis, presented by Artsman

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Practice — Mar 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope during the NCAA tournament midwest regional practice day at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

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Artsman has partnered with Rupp Arena, proudly managed by Oak View Group, to release an exclusive collection commemorating the historic basketball court that the Wildcats played on from 2001-2024. Fans can pre-order limited-edition pieces starting today.

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Rejoice. Relive. Retell. Every glorious moment.

It’s the moment of truth, folks. We have boots on the ground in Indianapolis, the location of recent misery for Kentucky basketball, losing four straight dating back to 2018 while also inside Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time since 2015 when the Wildcats lost to Wisconsin in the Final Four. We’ll always have Aaron Harrison’s shots against Louisville and Michigan in the same building and there was a run of five wins in six tries in the city between 2014 and 2017, but it’s impossible to avoid the nightmares this city has given Big Blue Nation.

With a new era, though, comes a turning of the page. That was then and this is now, no choice but to burn some sage and exorcise those demons against the perfect opponent. I mean, it’s a chance to send Rick Barnes to his retirement village without a Final Four after taking three straight losses to Kentucky in a single season. There is truly nothing better — or worse, if things swing the other direction.

Only happy thoughts as we rewrite the Indianapolis story in Mark Pope’s first Sweet 16 appearance.

Steven Peake and I pulled into the parking garage and walked down to the lobby to find the same sofa I made my infamous “It’s a name-your-score game” proclamation on Sources Say after watching the Saint Peter’s open practice. What a dumb thing to do, absolutely moronic of me to put that into the world for the basketball gods to hear, punishment deserved. We learn from our mistakes around here.

We meet again, Indianapolis. pic.twitter.com/1AVlyH2lEH
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) March 27, 2025

Staring Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the face, we hopped on the media shuttle and made our way to Lucas Oil Stadium for Kentucky’s open practice — capped at 15 minutes for non-important people like us, mandated by the NCAA. Not the Wildcats’ fault, but definitely a buzzkill after getting a full 40 minutes in Milwaukee with fans allowed to attend, too.

The takeaways? It’s hard to come up with too many of them, but hey, we like to get creative here at KSR HQ.

Kentucky’s first look at a football stadium

The size difference was glaring right away, shuffling across the makeshift walkway in the curtained-off section while staring up at the banners and retired jerseys seemingly in outer space. Even with a bigger-than-most home venue in Rupp Arena, Lucas Oil Stadium feels massive.

Getting past the curtain and over to the elevated floor, the basketball feel came back — tall, but not quite cavernous. It took a minute for the players to get adjusted, but quickly made themselves right at home and went through their normal practice routine. As they put it after the session, it’s still a 94-foot floor with a 10-foot goal you have to put an orange ball through, no matter how different things look outside the court.

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It may be a bigger deal to the average fan in attendance than the players.

It’s really, really bright in there

When they talk about performing under the brightest lights the deeper you get into the NCAA Tournament, I’m not sure they meant that literally. Walking past the curtain on the floor, the first thing you notice is the blinding high beams pointed at the floor with darkness everywhere beyond, almost like a broadway stage preparing for a play.

It wasn’t just us media nerds that noticed.

“Can someone adjust the brightness? You need shades to shoot,” one staffer said as the Cats walked out.

Maybe it was the early start time? Either way, bring your sunglasses to Indianapolis.

How’d the Cats shoot?

We know about the grandiose setup and the unique sight lines inside the home of the Indianapolis Colts, but how did Kentucky shoot in the team’s first appearance on the floor? There was a clear adjustment to get rolling, the rim tight and rattly with some errant misfires early on before finding their groove.

The Cats were loose and comfortable, knocking down shot after shot to wrap up the open session — not a large sample size considering it was just 15 minutes, but there were plenty of makes to go around.

Certainly nothing concerning that jumped out before the chaos begins tomorrow.

Getting shots up inside Lucas Oil Stadium pic.twitter.com/R5f5HzTaSC
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) March 27, 2025

Mark Pope crashes a TikTok

Lamont Butler and Brandon Garrison were filming a TikTok before practice started, something involving Garrison getting into a three-point stance and Butler diving over his back. Why? I have no clue.

When Pope saw the cameras rolling, though, he made sure to crash the party.

The Cats have arrived. pic.twitter.com/davCzmurXr
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) March 27, 2025

Lots of stretching!

Annnnd, that’s about it, folks! After 10-ish minutes of shooting, the other five-ish were spent getting loose with some light jogging and stretching led by the training staff.

Open media portion has come to a close

Lots of good stretching! pic.twitter.com/4e8rkaXLZG
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) March 27, 2025

Another staffer joked that the real stuff was coming after the media got out of the building — understandable considering what’s on the line for Kentucky on Friday. A chance to sweep the Volunteers and end their season? That’s deserving of some top-secret stuff for their eyes only.

The rest of us get to see it tomorrow when the game tips off at 7:39 PM ET.