KSR Gameday: Put your Ls down, it's Kentucky vs. Louisville Day

It’s frigid outside, with snow on the ground in some parts of the Bluegrass, and we’re getting ready for a Kentucky vs. Louisville basketball game. Believe it or not, it’s not December. It’s November 11, Veterans’ Day and the earliest the rivalry game has ever been played; in fact, the two teams have only met once before in November, back in 1993. Early or not, the entire state is counting down to tipoff of the No. 9 Cats vs. the No. 12 Cards at the Yum Center (8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Kentucky leads the all-time series vs. Louisville 40-17, and 14-10 in the city of Louisville. The Cats have won three straight, including last year’s game at Rupp Arena, the first of the Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey eras. Lamont Butler scored 33 points to lead Kentucky to the 93-85 win. Otega Oweh and Brandon Garrison played a part in that victory, Oweh scoring 17 points and Garrison five, along with four rebounds, four assists, and a starring role in the scuffle that spilled into the Louisville bench and had to be broken up by Mark Pope, who accidentally put Pat Kelsey in a headlock in the process. It was the perfect start to the new chapter of the rivalry, which continues tonight.

Given the early date and everything else happening in the Kentucky sports world, this game could have snuck up on us. Louisville forward Kasean Pryor made sure that wasn’t the case when he guaranteed a win after the Cards’ game Thursday night and said “**** ’em” as he walked out of the media room. The Cats have taken the high road when asked about Pryor’s comments, vowing to let their play on the floor do the talking, but if you watch the videos, they’re licking their chops. Tonight should be a fun one at the Yum Center.

How long will it take Pryor and Garrison to end up in fisticuffs? How will the Cats slow down talented Louisville freshman Mikel Brown Jr.? Will Trent Noah be able to go after rolling his ankle last week — or rather, to what lengths will the Harlan native go to play against the rival Cards?

Just 12 hours until we find out. That gives you plenty of time to watch the hype video on loop.

Fighting for #BBN 😼#GoBigBlue🔵⚪️🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/1WiGXonZJo

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) November 10, 2025

How to Watch, Listen

It’s a busy, busy day. KSR the show is live from Bearno’s in Southern Indiana for our annual Kentucky vs. Louisville rivalry show, which sounds like the perfect way to get things started. The KSR Pregame Show will start at 5:30 p.m. ET. Two and a half hours later, it’s game time on ESPN.

• Tipoff: 8:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN (Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas)
• Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
• FM: 98.1 WBUL
• Online: iHeart Radio
• Sirius XM: 117 or 190
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow along on the KSR LIVE BLOG, which will start a few hours before tipoff, and join the conversation on KSBoard.

Take advantage of our KSR+ Introductory Offer to get bonus coverage of the Cats, including game threads, in-depth scouting reports, and the latest recruiting and roster intel. $1 for a week.

The Cats are the underdog

Homecourt advantage is usually worth 3-4 points to oddmakers. That’s why Louisville opened as a 2.5-point favorite on Bet MGM Monday. The total is set at 168.5 points, with Kentucky’s team total listed as 83.5 points compared to 86.5 for Louisville.

If you prefer computers, KenPom predicts an 84-83 Louisville win, giving the Cats a 49% chance of victory. BartTorvik also goes with a Kentucky loss, 85-79, with a 32% of pulling it off. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor is the most pessimistic, giving Kentucky only a 27.1% chance to win tonight.

I can’t wait to prove them all wrong.

Otega Oweh, Collin Chandler preview the game

After witnessing the rivalry for the first time last season, Otega Oweh and Collin Chandler are ready for more fireworks in round two. Tonight’s game is also Kentucky’s earliest true road game since Nov. 17, 2008, when the Cats played at North Carolina in the second game of the year. Oweh is excited to see how the team responds after easy wins over Nicholls and Valparaiso.

“In situations like that, you have just got to look at your teammates and look at the people who are going to work with you,” Oweh said. “Championship teams do well on the road.”

Hear more from Chandler and Oweh, Kentucky’s leading scorers so far this season, below.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

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Champions Blue Board of Governors Meeting

The Board of Governors for Champions Blue, the holding company that UK Athletics moved to earlier this year to provide flexibility in the revenue-sharing era, meets later this morning. In previous meetings, we heard plans for a potential new entertainment district outside Kroger Field, a new men’s basketball practice facility that could be part of it, and other projects the department is eyeing. We’ll also get to talk to Mitch Barnhart after it, so stay tuned to hear how UK’s athletic director feels about the current state of the football program and Mark Stoops as we hit the final stretch of the season.

It’s Offense Day at Football Practice

Basketball’s got the spotlight today, but over at the Joe Craft Football Training Center, preparations continue for Saturday’s game vs. Tennessee Tech. Spirits are high around the football program following the wins over Florida and Auburn. We’ll hear from Bush Hamdan and members of the offense after practice later today. Until then, catch up on a newsy football Monday.

— Stoops, Cutter Boley talk about Cats’ resiliency: Kentucky’s quarterback doubled down on his support for Mark Stoops on SEC This Morning. Stoops said he appreciates Boley’s comments, even if they’re not necessary.

“I’ll tell you this, you remember I said it a long time ago in here, they do not have to worry about me. I will not flinch ever, and I’ll be fine. And I want to win for them, and they want to win for us, all of us.”

— Stoops responds to Calzada video, calls out trolls: Stoops acknowledged the viral video of Calzada and said he’s holding him accountable; however, he also defended his players against criticism from trolls, saying “there is no place for that” in college sports.

— Jordan Lovett, Sam Greene out for the season: Stoops announced that both defensive starters will miss the season after suffering injuries vs. Florida that will require surgery.

— Cutter Boley, Daveren Rayner win SEC POTW awards: Boley was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the 2nd week in a row, while Rayner was named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week.

— Vandy game time set: The Cats vs. the Commodores in Nashville on Nov. 22 will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT/3:30 p.m. ET on either ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2. The TV network will be set after this weekend’s games.

For more football talk, I’ll direct you to the latest KSR Football Podcast. Will the Cats go bowling? The crew breaks it down.

Want more Kentucky football intel? Join KSR Plus for access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.

College Basketball on TV Today

There are several good basketball games on tonight to keep you entertained before and after the Cats vs. the Cards, which is one of three ranked vs. ranked matchups. No. 23 Creighton vs. No. 19 Gonzaga follows our game on ESPN if you want to keep the TV on to scout the Bulldogs for next month’s game in Nashville.

Time (ET)	Game	TV / Streaming
6:30 PM	Wake Forest vs #6 Michigan	FS1
7:00 PM	#4 Duke at Army	CBSSN
7:00 PM	Florida State at #10 Florida	SEC Network
7:00 PM	Radford at #18 North Carolina	ACC Network
8:00 PM	#9 Kentucky at #12 Louisville	ESPN
8:00 PM	Central Arkansas at #21 Arkansas	SECN+
8:00 PM	Wofford at #22 Auburn	SECN+
8:00 PM	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi at #25 Kansas	ESPN+
8:00 PM	Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Oklahoma	SECN+
8:30 PM	#11 Texas Tech at #14 Illinois	FS1
8:30 PM	Ball State at #24 Wisconsin	BTN
9:00 PM	Memphis at Ole Miss	SEC Network
9:00 PM	Northern Arizona at #5 Arizona	ESPN+
9:00 PM	Delaware at #7 BYU	CBSSN
10:00 PM	#23 Creighton at #19 Gonzaga	ESPN

Lock in for the 2025 Kentucky Basketball season with KSR Plus! We’re giving you behind-the-scenes intel you won’t find anywhere else. Join the most vibrant online community in the BBN during Mark Pope’s second season.

A big KSBar special for a big game

We’re holding a big watch party tonight at KSBar, where, if you buy an Ale-8 slushy drink, you can take home a very cool Maker’s Mark blue wax-dipped glass. Let Ryan Lemond tell you about it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by KSBar and Grille (@ksbarandgrille)

Rest in Peace, Donna Combs

Without Oscar Combs, Kentucky Sports Radio would not exist. The founder of The Cats Pause is mourning the death of his beloved wife, Donna, who passed away from cancer on Monday. She had only been diagnosed 11 days prior.

Donna Combs helped Oscar run The Cats Pause, which paved the way for sites like this one. Outside of a Kentucky game day, the best day of the week for me growing up was when The Cats Pause arrived in the mail. My father even got me my own subscription when I went to college. The impact it had on so many of us is obvious, so we owe Oscar and Donna so much. Our love goes out to the Combs during this very difficult time.

11 days ago, Donna was diagnosed with cancer. Since then, I have spent every day and night at her Central Baptist Hospital bedside, holding her hand until cancer won out today. Most of you know her as my wife, but she ran business side of TCP with me. Here’s my favorite picture. pic.twitter.com/WTDjRGybV7

— Oscar Combs (@wildcatnews) November 10, 2025

I’ll leave you with Steven Peake’s look at the Kentucky vs. Louisville rivalry, the perfect thing to get you in the mood for tonight. You should watch that one on loop, too.