KSR GAMEDAY: Kentucky comes back home to take on USC Upstate for third consecutive year

Is Kentucky vs. USC Upstate an annual tradition? It’s certainly starting to seem like it, the Cats and Spartans now playing for a third consecutive season. In 2023-24 under Kyra Elzy, Kentucky won 82-54. Last season, it was a 98-43 dub in Kenny Brooks’ first game as head coach.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup.

Bio Blast

Last season, USC Upstate went just 9-21 overall and 6-10 in conference play. They started the year 3-13 before finally getting a win over UNC Asheville for their first conference win. Head coach Jason Williams enters his fourth season leading the program.

Under Williams, USC Upstate has had its best seasons since becoming a D-I program in 2007. In 2024, they made the WNIT and earning the two-seed in the Big South Tournament. That year, they made the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time in program history.

The Spartans are 1-2 thus far in 2025-26 with losses to Clemson and most recently Georgia. Kentucky is the third and final Power 4 opponent that USC Upstate will face this season. They do, however, play Marshall and Morehead State on Nov. 21st and 22nd, both of which are on Kentucky’s schedule (and of course, they already played Morehead State).

Scouting Report

USC Upstate returns sophomore Cassie Gallagher, who was last year’s Big South Freshman of the Year. Through three games this season, the 5-foot-11 guard is averaging 13 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. It’s also worthy to note that she is 7-13 from three-point range on the year.

Aubrie Kierscht is also shooting 50% on the season from beyond the arc, averaging 8.3 points and two rebounds per game. The team as a whole is pretty decent when it comes to cashing in from deep, knocking down 36.4% of their three-pointers as a unit.

The Spartans run a pretty lengthy rotation with 11 players on their roster logging north of 13 minutes per game. There’s three more players who all get at least four minutes per game. It’ll be interesting to see how fresh their legs are throughout the game and how that’ll affect Kentucky.

USC Upstate Spartans Roster

Projected Kentucky Starters

#5 – Tonie Morgan

5-FOOT-8 – GUARD – SENIOR

9.7 PPG – 7.3 APG – 1.7 RPG

#0 – Jordan Obi

6-FOOT-1 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT

10.7 PPG – 8.3 RPG – 2 APG

#32 – Amelia Hassett

6-FOOT-4 – FORWARD – SENIOR

11.7 PPG – 6.7 RPG – 2.7 BPG

#7 – Teonni Key

6-FOOT-5 – FORWARD – SENIOR

12 PPG – 7 RPG – 2 BPG

#13 – Clara Strack

6-FOOT-5 – CENTER – JUNIOR

17 PPG – 11 RPG – 3.3 BPG

Phoenix’s Prediction

Score: 91-45, Kentucky

MVP: Teonni Key

Considering Georgia beat this USC Upstate team by 34 on Monday, Kentucky shouldn’t struggle with them too much either. Last season, Kentucky won this game by 55, and I expect a somewhat similar result this time around. Teonni Key had her first real big outing of the season against Buffalo, and her momentum from that win will carry over into another one on Wednesday.

How to Watch/Listen

Location	Tipoff	TV	Radio	Live Stats
Historic Memorial Coliseum (Lexington, KY)	6:30 p.m. ET	SEC Network+ (Maggie Davis, Christi Thomas)	630 WLAP, 790 WKRD, SiriusXM Channel 380 (Darren Headrick)	StatBroadcast

Follow Along with KSR’s LIVE BLOG

Unable to watch the game? Don’t worry — we’ll be providing real-time updates throughout to keep you informed on the action. Follow along with KSR’s LIVE BLOG, which will get rolling on the website an hour before the game starts.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during tonight’s game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).