Happy Thanksgiving! Here's how the Kentucky Wildcats are spending it

Good morning, and happy Thanksgiving from the KSR crew. With a basketball game last night and a big football game on Saturday, we’ve got some stuff in store for you today, but the content load will definitely be lighter than usual — and lighter than our Thanksgiving day plates!

The Kentucky basketball team is celebrating a 50-point win over Tennessee Tech this Thanksgiving. The players who live nearby will spend the day with the families, while the rest will be at Mark Pope’s house. The team has today off, and then it’s back to it on Friday and Saturday to get ready for No. 2 North Carolina.

We’ve got plenty of time to prepare (and worry?) about Tuesday’s game vs. the No. 16 Tar Heels. In the meantime, there is food to eat.

Trent Noah: Ham > Turkey

After scoring a career-high 16 points vs. Tennessee Tech, Trent Noah is looking forward to piling his plate high with ham in Harlan today.

“I’m going back home to eat and with my family, spend some time with them, and then my favorite, go-to dish? I feel like you can’t go wrong with any of it. I’m a ham guy, not a turkey guy, but nah, I’ll be eating a lot tomorrow, for sure.”

One item that won’t be on Noah’s plate?

“Those casseroles. Not a big casserole guy. Dude, they just be putting random stuff in it sometimes.”

Fellow Kentucky kid Malachi Moreno will also be home with his family today. When it’s his turn to load his plate, he’s reaching for the small stuff first.

“I want to say turkey, but that’s kind of basic, so I think the first thing I’ll put on there is definitely a roll, and then I’ll probably throw some mac and cheese. I’ll probably get the sides first, and then I’ll go for like the main course.”

Denzel Aberdeen doesn’t have time to trek back to Orlando, Florida, for today’s meal, so he’ll be one of many at Pope’s house.

“Definitely macaroni and turkey. My go-to. I can’t get my mom’s cooking because obviously, she’s back home. But definitely going to Coach Pope’s house and get some.”

Pope’s favorite side dish may surprise you, but the way he described it will not.

“I love with a passion, an incredible passion, green bean casserole,” Pope said on his radio show on Monday. “It’s gotta be the greatest part of Thanksgiving, green bean casserole. I’m not a big turkey fan. I don’t like the, what is it, the cranberry sauce? It’s not really my thing. I’m not really even that big a potatoes guy. I’m not really a big pumpkin pie guy. If you just gave me a plate of green bean casserole, I’m pretty satisfied.”

Happy Thanksgiving, #BBN 🦃 pic.twitter.com/OHLBiYq2mr

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) November 27, 2025

Andrija Jelavic’s first Thanksgiving

A native of Croatia, this will be Andrija Jelavic’s first Thanksgiving. He’s excited to experience the American tradition at Pope’s house.

“This will be my first Thanksgiving, but I think it’s gonna be cool. I’m excited. I’m gonna celebrate with some of these guys, and I will see, but I’m excited.”

Jelavic knows that turkey is the main dish, but he’s looking forward to trying the entire spread, including desserts.

“I mean, of course, I know the turkey, but I tried the turkey before there is a pumpkin pie. They said pumpkin pie. So yeah, I’ll definitely try pumpkin pie, but I will celebrate with our teammates and coaches. I’ll try anything that looks good on the table.”

While there is no Croatian equivalent to Thanksgiving, there are plenty of comfort foods. Jelavic’s favorite is sarma, stuffed cabbage rolls.

“When it’s winter back home, there is a food called sarma, and it’s like, it’s kind of meat, but it’s rolled in some vegetable. I don’t know how to explain, but it’s really, really tasty and we eat it during all the winter, when it’s cold, it’s like a special, special dish.”

Maybe today’s meal will inspire Jelavic to take some American favorites back to Croatia.

Kentucky vs. Tennessee Tech Postgame Coverage

Did you miss last night’s game because you were prepping? Here’s a rundown of our coverage:

• Recap
• Takeaways
• Cats stuff the stat sheet on Thanksgiving Eve
• Walker Horn provides the highlight of the night (season?)
• Walker Horn’s teammates react
• Trent Noah has a career night
• Trent Noah and John Pelphrey’s 606 connection
• Malachi Moreno motivated by starting role
• Kentucky finds its “Jenga moment”
• Assist to Turnover Ratio was a key to success

Mark Pope and the Unforgettables’ Postgame Press Conference

Rapid Reaction

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Thanksgiving Sports on TV Schedule

NFL will obviously rule the day, but there’s a lot of good college hoops on TV today, too. A former Kentucky foe, No. 11 Michigan State, plays Kentucky’s next opponent, No. 16 North Carolina, in the Fort Myers Tip-Off on FOX at 4 p.m. Later tonight, No. 4 Duke squares off vs. No. 22 Arkansas in the CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic in Chicago.

Michigan won the Players Era Festival on Wednesday after beating Gonzaga by 40. I’m still fuzzy on the rules with that event, but the consolation games (Oregon vs. Creighton, UNLV vs. Rutgers) take place today.

National Dog Show – Noon ET (NBC, Peacock)

You can actually get your day started by watching Tyrese Maxey lead some dogs through an agility course at the National Dog Show, which follows the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC and Peacock. The dog show is already a Thanksgiving tradition in our house. Now that a former Cat is taking part (even if in an exhibition)? Bring it on.

Tyrese Maxey is a man of many talents!

Catch him as a dog trainer on the National Dog Show Thanksgiving Day at 12pm ET on NBC and Peacock. pic.twitter.com/gH0oJJnwjD

— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) November 26, 2025

NFL

Time (ET)	TV	Teams
1:00 PM	FOX	Green Bay at Detroit
4:30 PM	CBS / Paramount+	Kansas City at Dallas
8:20 PM	NBC / Peacock	Cincinnati at Baltimore

College Basketball

Time (ET)	TV	Teams	Event	Location
12:00 PM	ESPN	No. 24 Vanderbilt vs. VCU	Battle 4 Atlantis	Imperial Arena, Nassau, Bahamas
2:00 PM	truTV	Oregon vs. Creighton	Players Era Festival	Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, NV
2:30 PM	ESPN	Virginia Tech vs. Saint Mary’s	Battle 4 Atlantis	Imperial Arena, Nassau, Bahamas
3:00 PM	FS1	TCU vs. No. 10 Florida	Rady Children’s Invitational	Jenny Craig Pavilion, San Diego, CA
4:30 PM	FOX	No. 16 North Carolina vs. No. 11 Michigan State	Fort Myers Tip-Off – Beach Division	Suncoast Credit Union Arena, Fort Myers, FL
4:30 PM	truTV	UNLV vs. Rutgers	Players Era Festival	Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas, NV
4:30 PM	CBSSN	Washington vs. Nevada	Acrisure Invitational	Acrisure Arena, Palm Springs, CA
5:00 PM	ESPN	No. 9 BYU vs. Miami	ESPN Events Invitational – Magic Bracket	State Farm Field House, Kissimmee, FL
5:30 PM	ESPN2	Western Kentucky vs. South Florida	Battle 4 Atlantis	Imperial Arena, Nassau, Bahamas
5:30 PM	FS1	Wisconsin vs. Providence	Rady Children’s Invitational	Jenny Craig Pavilion, San Diego, CA
7:00 PM	CBSSN	Santa Clara vs. Saint Louis	Acrisure Invitational	Acrisure Arena, Palm Springs, CA
7:30 PM	ESPN2	Georgetown vs. Dayton	ESPN Events Invitational	State Farm Field House, Kissimmee, FL
8:00 PM	CBS	No. 4 Duke vs. No. 22 Arkansas	CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic	United Center, Chicago, IL
8:00 PM	ESPNU	Colorado State vs. Wichita State	Battle 4 Atlantis	Imperial Arena, Nassau, Bahamas
9:30 PM	CBSSN	Stanford vs. Minnesota	Acrisure Invitational	Acrisure Arena, Palm Springs, CA
10:30 PM	BTN	Oklahoma State vs. Northwestern	CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic	United Center, Chicago, IL

Sources Say at 10 a.m. ET

Jack Pilgrim and Shawn Smith are taking time out of their busy holidays to talk some hoops. Tune in for a Thanksgiving edition of Sources Say at 10 a.m. ET on the KSR YouTube Channel. The guys will recap the win over Tennessee Tech and look ahead to two top-15 matchups next week.