KSR Gameday: Kentucky goes for a roadkill at South Carolina
Kentucky is 2-1 in true road games this season, the lone loss taking place at Texas A&M ten days ago. Tonight, the Cats have a chance to reclaim their road warrior reputation against a surprisingly good South Carolina team in Columbia.
In Lamont Paris’ second season, the Gamecocks look like a totally different squad than the one that went 11-21 last year. They’ve already topped last year’s win total, with a 15-3 record, 3-2 in the SEC. After losing to Georgia at home on Tuesday, South Carolina bounced back with an impressive 13-point win at Arkansas. The Gamecocks are led by junior guard Meechie Johnson, who hit six threes en route to 26 points in South Carolina’s win over Kentucky in Rupp last season, and Wofford transfer BJ Mack, who has scored 16+ points in the last three games.
As is the case whenever Kentucky plays on the road, South Carolina is pulling out all the stops, calling for “Blackout Tuesday” in a nearly-sold-out Colonial Life Arena. Lamont Paris will have his very best quarter-zip on in hopes of pulling off another upset vs. the Cats. The Gamecocks are No. 62 in the NET Rankings, making this a Quad 1 game for Kentucky, the first of seven remaining on the schedule.
Notch a quality road win, spoil another t-shirt night, and get a little revenge for last year? Yes, please.
How to Watch, Listen
Another reason I’m excited about tonight? Tom Hart and Dane Bradshaw are on the call for the SEC Network, with Alyssa Lang providing sideline reports. Here’s how to see the game, or hear it if you’re unable to be in front of a TV.
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Dane Bradshaw, Alyssa Lang)
- Streaming: WatchESPN
- Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
- Online Radio: iHeart
- Satellite Radio: Sirius 81 and on the SiriusXM App
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Kentucky vs. South Carolina Odds on FanDuel
Kentucky opened as a 4.5-point favorite vs. South Carolina on FanDuel, with the total set at 156.5 points. That’s down slightly to Kentucky -4.0 and 155.5 points. The Cats’ team total is 79.5 points. South Carolina likes to slow things down but Kentucky has only failed to score 80 points once, in the loss to UNC Wilmington.
As many of you are likely aware, Kentucky did NOT cover the 13.5-point spread vs. Georgia on Saturday; however, the total has gone over in all but three games this season. That and over on Kentucky’s team total have been my favorite bets of the season.
Will Adou Thiero play?
Adou Thiero hasn’t played since the Louisville game on December 21 due to back problems. On Saturday, John Calipari said Thiero was working out again and tracking towards a return. Thanks to this photo Calipari shared of the team with Congressman Andy Barr and his children, we know that Thiero was at least present at yesterday’s practice, another promising sign. Kentucky has not played a single game at full strength this season.
South Carolina will be shorthanded tonight. Myles Stute, a transfer from Vanderbilt who is one of the Gamecocks’ best three-point shooters, is out with a shoulder injury he suffered vs. Georgia a week ago.
How will Big Z follow up his thrilling debut?
Zvonimir Ivisic‘s debut on Saturday was a Disney movie. In his first game after being cleared, Big Z surprised us all, putting up 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, and 2 steals in just 16 minutes off the bench. Watching Ivisic run the floor, dish the ball to his teammates, and swish threes was so thrilling he’s already listed in the top 10 of a new NBA Mock Draft.
How will Big Z follow that up? It feels silly to say this after what we just witnessed, but it might be best to keep expectations for tonight in check. In previewing tonight’s game vs. South Carolina, assistant coach Chin Coleman said Ivisic is still learning about Kentucky’s system, although the staff expects him to be fully up to speed soon.
“He’s got to work on a lot. He hasn’t played. He’s only played one game. He doesn’t completely understand what we’re doing,” Coleman said. “He’s got a lot to catch up to quickly, but Z is a very highly intelligent basketball player. We don’t think that it’ll be a slow process in terms of him learning what we do, what we’re doing, and what we’re trying to get accomplished offensively and defensively. We think that he’ll be able to pick it up rather quickly.”
Imagine BBN if Big Z comes out and hits FIVE three-pointers tonight in Columbia.
“Clash of two different styles”
After talking about Big Z, Coleman also previewed the Gamecocks, who are one of the slowest teams in college basketball in terms of adjusted tempo, ranking 347th out of the 362 teams in Division I. Contrast that with Kentucky, which ranks ninth.
“This is like a boxing match. A clash of two different styles. We want to play ultra-fast. I won’t say that they want to walk it up at a snail’s pace but they want to milk the clock a little bit and probably get a shot attempt up at the lower half of the shot clock and we want to score in the first seven seconds of the shot clock.”
Hear how Chin believes Big Z will fit into the rotation, Tre Mitchell, three-time SEC Freshman of the Week DJ Wagner, and Kentucky’s ceiling below.
Liam Coen Watch continues?
Yesterday, we got good news and bad on the Liam Coen front. In good news, the Chicago Bears hired an offensive coordinator, Shane Waldron, ending speculation Coen will head to the Windy City. That said, there are other intriguing openings, like the one in Nashville. The Tennessee Titans hired Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan as their new head coach. Could Callahan reunite rookie quarterback Will Levis with his former OC Liam Coen? That’s something we’re keeping an eye on. The Bengals reportedly already have plans to promote quarterback coach Dan Pitcher to offensive coordinator, so Cincinnati is likely off the table.
KAT scored 62 points last night
In BBNBA news, Karl-Anthony Towns scored a Minnesota Timberwolves franchise-record 62 points last night in a 128-125 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, topping his previous career high of 60. Karl had 44 points in the first half and ten three-pointers overall but only went 2-10 from the floor in the fourth quarter. He also missed a desperation three on the final possession.
“Having a night like that on a loss doesn’t feel very good or historic,” Karl said afterward. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch put it much more harshly, calling the game an “absolute disgusting performance of defense and immature basketball” and accusing KAT of “hunting a big number.” As a big Karl fan, boo to those comments by Chris Finch.
Amazingly, Karl’s stat line wasn’t the most impressive in the NBA last night. Joel Embiid scored 70 points for the Philadelphia 76ers in their win over the San Antonio Spurs, making Embiied and Towns the fourth pair of NBA players to each score at least 60 points on the same day, all on the 18-year anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game.
College Basketball on TV today
Kentucky vs. South Carolina is one of only two SEC games today. Missouri vs. Texas A&M follows the Cats vs. the Gamecocks on SEC Network.
- 6:30 PM (ESPN+): No. 16 Dayton vs. La Salle
- 7:00 PM (SECN): No. 6 Kentucky vs. South Carolina
- 7:00 PM (ESPN): Texas vs. No. 11 Oklahoma
- 7:00 PM (ACCN): No. 12 Duke vs. Louisville
- 7:00 PM (BTN): No. 13 Wisconsin vs. Minnesota
- 8:30 PM (FS1): Xavier vs. Creighton
- 9:00 PM (SECN): Missouri vs. Texas A&M
- 9:00 PM (Peacock): Michigan vs. No. 2 Purdue
- 9:00 PM (BIG12/ESPN+): No. 4 Houston vs. No. 21 BYU
I’ll be cheering for Michigan after seeing Purdue’s social media team try to steal Big Z’s nickname for Zach Edey.
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