KSR Gameday: Kentucky gets ready for an afternoon crashing with the Tide

Good morning, Kentucky fans. I don’t know about you, but my body has not fully recovered from staring at the ceiling sleeplessly all Wednesday night wondering how in the world Kentucky managed to lose to LSU. Even though my typical mood turnaround time for a regular season game is about 24 hours, it is as if my brain still hasn’t reached the acceptance stage of grief, after wallowing for an extended period in the anger and depression phases.

But somehow, time has warped from Wednesday night to Saturday morning and it is gameday once again. Time to snap out of it. More than that, it is time to send the Crimson Tide crashing back to Alabama.

Kentucky’s Track and Field team is participating in the SEC Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas this weekend, but all eyes will be on the track meet set for today at 4:00 p.m. in Rupp Arena.

Alabama and Kentucky are first and third in the country in points per game, respectively, and both teams are the lowest-ranked teams in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll when it comes to defensive efficiency. The Wildcats rank 134th in the country while the Tide come in at 177th.

Alabama head coach, Nate Oats said, “First team to 100 wins,” and he might be right. Then again, a team could score 100 and still lose in this one.

Personally, I don’t care if the ‘Cats slug one out in the 70s, as long as they win and shed the sting from Wednesday’s brutal loss. And hey, if nothing else, the Firecrackers will be sure to put in an incredible show at the half, and former NFL star, Dez Bryant, thinks Kentucky is going to Final Four. The vibes are getting better by the minute.

The Broadcast

No. 17 Kentucky (18-8) vs No. 13 Alabama (19-7)
4:00 p.m. ET | Saturday, Feb. 24 | Rupp Arena

• TV: CBS (Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery)
• Streaming: Paramount+
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 106 or 190 and the SXM app
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

The Odds

The Las Vegas oddsmakers have handicapped the SEC duel and unveiled a point spread. Kentucky opened as a 1.5-point favorite (+100) on FanDuel. KenPom has a score projection of 90-88 in favor of Alabama, while ESPN’s BPI gives the Crimson Tide a 61.8% winning percentage.

The total is set for 179.5, the highest over/under in college basketball since 2019, but for good reason. ‘Bama is averaging 102.3 points per game in the last three games, and Kentucky is third in the nation with 87.6 points per game this season.

The Crimson Tide are 16-9-1 Against the Spread (ATS) this season. In their last eight games, they are 6-2 ATS and 6-2 in overs. Kentucky was an over team for most of the year, but under bets have cashed in three consecutive games.

I never bet that much on Kentucky games, but I’ve had to abandon the practice altogether lately. My fingernails are gnawed off enough as it is.

The Storylines

Aside from the high-scoring potential for this game, one key element to keep an eye on this afternoon is injuries. Kentucky has played a whopping 24 minutes this season with every player available to them, as Tre Mitchell exited the Ole Miss game with a sprained trapezius and couldn’t go the last two games.

For what it is worth, on Friday’s radio show, Ryan “Scoop” Lemond said he’s hearing Mitchell is a game-time decision going into today’s matchup.

If you think you are frustrated with the excessive amount of injuries this season, the players are shaking their fists in the general direction of imaginary deities. Adou Thiero talked about the curse the basketball gods have cast down upon this team.

“It’s kind of crazy. It’s like the basketball gods don’t want to see us all play together because they just know what’s gonna happen if we all play together,” he said. “The time is coming, hopefully soon, that we’ll have our whole team.”

While Kentucky may or may not be at full strength, Alabama will be short-handed themselves. On Thursday, the SEC suspended Alabama big Mohamed Wague for his excessive elbow in the win over Florida on Wednesday. Not to be confused with the delicious quality of beef, Wague is a West Virginia big man transfer averaging four points and 2.8 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game.

Additionally, Cal State Fullerton transfer Latrell Wrightsell had played in every game for the Crimson Tide this season until missing Wednesday’s contest against Florida with a head injury. After the game, Oats said the guard, who has started the last seven games and leads the team in 3-point field goal percentage, is day-to-day.

Date set for Kentucky football spring game

Start making your tailgate plans now. Kentucky football officially has a date locked in for the Blue-White spring game in 2024. The Big Blue Nation will have a busy day in the Bluegrass on the second Saturday in April.

Mark Stoops and his 12th team at Kentucky will hit the turf at Kroger Field to play in front of the Big Blue Nation on Saturday, April 13 at 1:00 p.m. If you can’t make it, the Worldwide Leader will stream the game on ESPN+.

“Fans can choose to sit where they would like within the lower bowl, and the upper decks won’t open unless the lower bowl fills. All standard seating will be open and general admission, except for Sections 25-27 (Club Level), Loge Level, and specific seating blocks designated for the football program,” UK said in a release.

Kentucky Baseball opens Round Rock Classic with Loss to Washington State

Kentucky Baseball mustered just two hits as they suffered their first loss of the season to Washington State 6-4 Friday night.

Kentucky’s top three batters (Nick Lopez, Ryan Nicholson, and Devin Burkes) were a combined 0-12 at the plate. Burkes, however, was hit by a pitch on three occasions.

The Kentucky and Washington State pitching staffs combined to hit nine batters, which set a new Round Rock Classic record.

Washington State RHP Grant Taylor gave up 10 hits and five earned runs to Utah Tech in their season opener last Friday night. Taylor however was a completely different pitcher against the Cats, giving up just one hit and one earned run in 6.0 innings. He didn’t allow a hit over his final 5.0 innings on the mound.

Redshirt sophomore RHP Travis Smith made his second start of the season for Kentucky, allowing six hits and three earned runs in 5.0 innings.

Kentucky falls to 4-1 on the year.

Want more coverage of the Cats? Join the KSR Club

KSR has been delivering UK Sports news in the most ridiculous manner for almost two decades. Now, you can get even more coverage of the Cats with KSR+. With the transfer portal opening and the coaching carousel spinning, now is the perfect time to join our online community. Subscribe now for premium articles, in-depth scouting reports, inside intel, bonus recruiting coverage, and access to KSBoard, our message board featuring thousands of Kentucky fans around the globe. Just $1 gets you one month of access. Come join the club.