KSR Gameday: Kentucky takes on Georgia in round two
Good morning, folks! It’s gameday here at KSR headquarters. In just a few hours, the Kentucky Wildcats (16-8; 7-4) will take on the Georgia Bulldogs (14-10; 4-7) down in Athens at noon EST on ESPN. This will be the second matchup between these two this season after Kentucky smacked Georgia 85-71 in Rupp Arena just a few weeks ago. The Bulldogs will be out for revenge while the Wildcats desperately need this win to keep NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
Georgia rolls out a deep rotation of about nine players, although only two average double-figures in scoring. Point guard Terry Roberts (who is questionable with an injury but is averaging over 16 PPG during SEC play) along with shooting guard Kario Oquendo (11.2 PPG in SEC) lead the way for the ‘Dogs. As a team, UGA ranks 12th during SEC action in field goal percentage at 39.5 percent and isn’t much better from three-point range at just 31.0 percent.
The stage is set for Kentucky to avenge Tuesday’s loss against Arkansas with a big win this afternoon.
CJ Fredrick OUT with cracked rib
Kentucky guard CJ Fredrick has been diagnosed with a cracked rib and will miss the team’s matchup at Georgia, sources tell KSR.
The senior sharpshooter suffered the injury on an and-one finish vs. Florida last Saturday, hitting a cameraman on his way down to the floor. Fredrick stayed in the game and then played through the injury in Kentucky’s home loss vs. Arkansas on Tuesday.
The senior guard is officially listed as day-to-day and will be reevaluated moving forward based on pain tolerance. Even if not fully healed, the plan is for Fredrick to play through the injury at some point before the season’s end, sources tell KSR.
Status of Georgia PG Terry Roberts uncertain
Friday afternoon, Georgia head coach Mike White (that still feels weird to say) said that Bulldogs leading scorer Terry Roberts returned to practice after suffering a concussion earlier this month and that he was still listed as day-to-day. With just a few more hours until tipoff, Roberts’ status remains uncertain, but he’s trending in the right direction for a comeback after sitting out the previous two games with the head injury.
Roberts averages a team-high 15 points per game for Georgia through 21 games played this season. The last time these two teams played, Roberts dropped 21 points on Kentucky in Rupp Arena on 7-17 shooting that included a 3-8 clip from beyond the arc.
How to Watch, Listen
Kentucky and Georgia will be on ESPN and you’ll never believe who is going to have the headset on court-side. That’s right Jimmy Dykes is BACK. He’ll sit next to Rich Hollenberg for the noon tip-off. More details on how you can catch today’s game.
- TV: ESPN
- Stream: WatchESPN, ESPN+
- Local Radio: 630 WLAP, 840 WHAS, UK Sports Network
- Online: iHeart
- Satellite Radio: Sirius 85 or 190, SXM app 961
The KSR crew will get you ready for the matchup with the KSR Pregame Show, which airs LIVE from KSBar and Grille at 9:30 a.m. on 630 WLAP, 840 WHAS, or iHeart Radio. Drew Franklin and Ryan Lemond are holding down the fort in Matt Jones’ absence. KSBar and Grille opens for business beginning at 11 a.m.
Vegas, Computers
Kentucky opened as an 8-point favorite when the line was released Friday night and has moved down only slightly to a 7.5-point favorite as of Saturday morning with a total of 141.5.
Looking at the computer predictions, KenPom gives Kentucky a 65 percent chance at locking up the win (73-69) while BartTorvik is slightly lower on the ‘Cats with a 59 percent chance to beat Georgia (72-70). ESPN’s Matchup Predictor is much higher on UK in this matchup than most with a 73.4 percent chance at the win.
Statistical Comparison
Jacob Toppin, Antonio Reeves preview Georgia
To preview what lies ahead for this afternoon tilt, seniors Jacob Toppin and Antonio Reeves spoke with reporters on Friday morning to break down the matchup and plenty of other topics. They touched on everything from zone defense, getting Oscar Tshiebwe back on track, and what to expect out of the Bulldogs in round two.
- Kentucky preparing for first punch from Georgia in Athens
- Kentucky ready for early morning, noon game at Georgia
- Another matchup against Georgia is exactly what Oscar Tshiebwe needs
- Mixing in more zone could help solve Kentucky’s defensive issues
Updated SEC standings
| TEAM | CONFERENCE | GAMES BACK | OVERALL |
| Alabama | 11-0 | — | 21-3 |
| Texas A&M | 9-2 | 2 | 17-7 |
| Tennessee | 8-3 | 3 | 19-5 |
| Auburn | 7-4 | 4 | 17-7 |
| Kentucky | 7-4 | 4 | 16-8 |
| Missouri | 6-5 | 5 | 18-6 |
| Arkansas | 6-5 | 5 | 17-7 |
| Florida | 6-5 | 5 | 13-11 |
| Vanderbilt | 5-6 | 6 | 12-12 |
| Mississippi State | 4-7 | 7 | 16-8 |
| Georgia | 4-7 | 7 | 14-10 |
| Ole Miss | 2-9 | 9 | 10-14 |
| LSU | 1-10 | 10 | 12-12 |
| South Carolina | 1-10 | 10 | 8-16 |
College Basketball on TV today
| TIME | AWAY | HOME | TV |
| 12:00 | Kentucky | Georgia | ESPN |
| 12:00 | West Virginia | No. 5 Texas | ESPN2 |
| 12:00 | No. 10 Marquette | Georgetown | FS1 |
| 12:00 | No. 20 Providence | St. John’s | FOX |
| 12:00 | No. 22 NC State | Boston College | ACCNX |
| 1:00 | No. 9 Kansas | Oklahoma | CBS |
| 2:00 | No. 3 Alabama | Auburn | ESPN |
| 2:00 | No. 21 UConn | No. 23 Creighton | FOX |
| 2:00 | No. 24 Rutgers | Illinois | FS1 |
| 4:00 | Duke | No. 8 Virginia | ESPN |
| 4:00 | No. 14 Baylor | No. 17 TCU | ESPN2 |
| 4:00 | UNLV | No. 25 San Diego State | FOX |
| 6:00 | Missouri | No. 6 Tennessee | SECN |
| 6:00 | Oklahoma State | No. 11 Iowa State | ESPN2 |
| 6:00 | No. 15 Saint Mary’s | Portland | CBSSN |
| 6:00 | No. 18 Indiana | Michigan | ESPN |
| 7:00 | No. 12 Kansas State | Texas Tech | BIG12/ESPN+ |
| 7:00 | Louisville | No. 19 Miami (FL) | ACCN |
| 8:00 | No. 4 Arizona | Stanford | ESPN2 |
| 10:00 | No. 7 UCLA | Oregon | ESPN |
| 10:00 | BYU | No. 16 Gonzaga | ESPN2 |
Kentucky softball sweeps Opening Day
Down at the 2023 NFCA Lead-Off Classic in Clearwater, FL, it was a clean start to the 2023 season for No. 17 Kentucky softball on Friday as the Wildcats went 2-0 on the day, beating St. John’s and Louisville by a combined score of 22-4 with neither contest going further than five innings. UK hit six home runs throughout the day, including a walk-off bomb from freshman Karissa Hamilton in game two.
Up next is another two-game slate for Saturday before one more game closes out the event on Sunday. Kentucky is set to take on Pittsburgh (4:00 p.m. EST) and Southern University (6:30 p.m. EST) later today. KSR’s Katelyn Perkins has a recap from yesterday’s games that you can read here.
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