KSR Gameday: Woo Pig Saturday

Good morning, Big Blue Nation. Who else has pork butt on the smoker to honor Kentucky’s smoking of the Hogs this afternoon? A freshly pulled barbeque pork sandwich with a side of homemade slaw will either be the perfect celebratory meal this evening or a mediocre consolation prize. All y’all are invited. But before we get to salivating too badly, Kentucky would be foolish to look ahead to what is for dinner before first taking care of business.

John Calipari called today’s rematch with Arkansas a trap game and for good reason. With Senior Day on Wednesday against Vanderbilt and a battle against a top-5 Tennessee team next Saturday, today’s matchup has the potential for thoughts like, “Ugh, we have to play Arkansas again,” especially coming off the emotional high of the thriller down in Starkville.

To further emphasize the natural feeling of lull, Kentucky has already beaten the Razorbacks down in Fayetteville in what was the team’s lowest-scoring win of the year. The Wildcats mustered just 63 points but managed to hold Arkansas to just 57 in what was a game of several lost bets placed on the over.

Arkansas enters today’s game losers in three of their last five games and just coughed one up to Vanderbilt at home on Wednesday. They will be looking to turn that around against the ‘Cats.

Despite all the makings of a trap game, this is the first contest in the third month of the calendar year. And as John Calipari also says, “This team is built for March.”

How to Watch & Listen

Arkansas (14-14, 5-10 SEC) vs. No. 16 Kentucky (20-8, 10-5 SEC)
1:30 p.m. ET | Saturday, March 2 | Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)

• TV: CBS (Brad Nessler, Jay Wright)
• Streaming: CBSSports.com
• Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online Radio: iHeart
• Satellite Radio: Sirius 158 or 191 and the SiriusXM App
• Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Kentucky enters the game against Arkansas as a heavy favorite

Kentucky opened as a 12.5-point favorite over the Razorbacks, according to our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook. It’s already been moved to -13.5. Arkansas has struggled to live up to the lofty expectations they set on themselves by beating Duke early in the season. As a result, they would have been a good team to fade, as they are just 11-17 against the spread (ATS) all season. Kentucky enters the game 16-12 ATS.

The total is set for 166.5 points, which feels a little high for a pair of teams who combined for just 120 points five short weeks ago. Then again, Kentucky is averaging 89.3 points in the nine games since their trip down to Fayetteville and Arkansas is averaging 84.8 points during that same time frame.

KenPom projects a final score of 91-76 while ESPN’s BPI only gives Arkansas a 6.9% chance to win at Rupp Arena.

The Tre Mitchell injury watch

This may be a potential trap game for Kentucky but Tre Mitchell is hoping his trap issues are finished. Mitchell missed the last four games with a shoulder injury but is getting better and better each day. According to John Calipari, if Mitchell can practice a few times this week, we may see him return against Arkansas.

Mitchell served as Mr. Reliable amidst instability among Kentucky’s frontcourt. Between injuries and eligibility issues, Mitchell had to be the Wildcats’ go-to big man and did a remarkable job transforming the 5-spot into the 3-point shooting playmaker fans only dreamed possible.

Now, he finds himself on the bench himself, sidelined with a nagging ailment as his teammates are the ones putting their stamp on the court. If Kentucky can get him back and healthy, his outside shooting ability will be the perfect change of pace from Adou Thiero’s athletic and dunking prowess. If he plays, it will be interesting to see how Calipari works him into the lineup.

As always, we will find out his availability shortly before tipoff.

Key things to watch for in today’s game

Reed Sheppard got all the accolades, deservingly so, on Tuesday, but DJ Wagner busting out of his shooting slump was a low-key huge positive for the ‘Cats. Wager was zero for his last 15 shots from behind the arc entering the game against Mississippi State, but he confidently knocked down two of his four 3-pointers and finished with 10 points. On ESPN GameDay, Jay Williams said Kentucky needed Wagner to knock down shots and that is exactly what he did. Now, with encouragement from the coaches, he will keep on shooting. His continued climb out of a temporary slump will be something to watch today.

While Wagner needs to make shots to stay on the floor, Big Z needs to play Big D. John Calipari told everyone’s favorite 7-foot-2 Croatian, “If you don’t play defense, you don’t play,” and Zvonimir Ivisic took that message to heart. He had four blocks against Alabama and three blocks against Mississippi State, and while rim protection isn’t the end-all-be-all for his role on defense, it helps. Look for him to continue to step up his defensive wherewithal against the Razorbacks.

WATCH: The Journey – Mississippi State

Sure, the ‘Cats play Arkansas today, but it is never too late to relive a little of the magic from Starkville on Tuesday. Reed Sheppard’s teammates knew that final shot was going in, much to the dismay of the home crowd.

So who better to tell the story of the road win than the kid from London himself? Watch below as Sheppard takes us inside Humphrey Coliseum to break it all down.

WATCH THIS TOO: Reed ruined their night, the Mississippi State montage

KSR’s videographer Steven Peake joined Jack Pilgrim to capture the road trip and dramatic win via moving pictures and mashed up all the footage into a fun-filled 12-minute montage. Go behind the scenes to see what it was like to experience Kentucky’s adrenaline-fueled victory over Mississippi State from the eyes of the folks in the Hump.

But wait, there’s even more Reed Sheppard content

Reed Sheppard has been Kentucky’s poster boy all season, but after scoring 32 points and the game-winner Tuesday night, love for the insta-legend is pouring in nationally.

Both Kyle Tucker from the Athletic and Matt Norlander of CBS Sports wrote feature articles on the 18-year-old, who was seemingly manufactured in a lab to be a Kentucky basketball star. They include great quotes from Jeff and Stacey and even a few throwback pictures of Reed as a kid. In short, they are worth your time.

• Reed Sheppard has on Kentucky fans’ hearts; the whole state is connected to him | Kyle Tucker, The Athletic
• Her name, her game: How Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard was made in his mother’s image 30 years after her UK career | Matt Norlander, CBS Sports

And of course, let us not forget about KentuckySportsRadio.com’s fearless leader’s deep dive into the Sheppards from back in November:

• The Reed in Reed Sheppard: Stacey’s Story | Tyler Thompson, KSR

While all of these are great, if short novels on individual players are not your thing (or even if they are), you can always check out the short post I wrote about Sheppard attaining the second-most blocks by a guard in Kentucky history.

Kentucky Baseball holds off Lipscomb in series opener

In what was a wet and dreary game, Kentucky held off Lipscomb 7-4 to take the series opener at Kentucky Proud Park.

The Wildcat offense came back to life on Friday, totaling seven runs on 10 hits. Their team batting average jumped up six points, from .243 to .249. Devin Burkes led the way at the plate, going 3-4 with three singles and three RBI.

All four Lipscomb runs were charged to RHP Travis Smith, as the Kentucky bullpen was dominant in relief. RHP Cam O’Brien, RHP Trey Pooser, and LHP Jackson Nove combined to pitch the final 5.1 innings, giving up just one hit and no earned runs.

The Wildcat bullpen has not allowed a run in 12 consecutive innings. Kentucky improves to 8-1 on the season.

Yahtzee! Kentucky lands 2025 3-star running back Isaiah West

How about a casual and unexpected Yahtzee!? Isaiah West, a three-star running back in the class of 2025, has committed to Kentucky.

West is a 5-foot-11, 210-pound tailback, out of Philadelphia. He is the nation’s No. 704 overall prospect, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. On3 ranks West as the No. 28 running back and the No. 11 best player in Pennsylvania.

“I’m a three-down back,” West said. “I can catch the ball out of the backfield, I can run the whole route tree, I can run past you, I can run through you, and I’m a willing blocker. I’m not going to let anybody touch the quarterback.”

West plans to enroll at Kentucky in December of 2024 in order to get a head start on his college career.

“I’m excited to get to work,” West said. “I can’t wait to see how this journey unfolds.”

For a deeper dive into what West brings to the Kentucky run game, KSR’s Adam Luckett breaks the WIldcats’ latest commitment down in the film room.

Kentucky players are showing out at the NFL Combine

KSR is wrapping up its coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Before making a return to the Bluegrass, Nick Roush and Adam Luckett shared their experience at the Indiana Convention Center on 11 Personnel. There was much to discuss, including:

• Buzz for Ray Davis
• Trevin Wallace posts strong testing numbers
• Andru Phillips’ strong testing numbers might make him a second-round pick
• The good, bad, and ugly from the combine

Have a listen:

Rules changes in college football could help Kentucky’s offense

Kentucky did a lot of things well on the football field in 2023, but snapping the ball with much time to spare on the play clock was not one of them. The offense ran fewer plays per game than any team in all of college football for the last decade, but that could all change this season.

With a freshly-minted, no-huddle-minded Bush Hamdan at the helm, the Wildcats were likely better suited to be way more efficient, but Yahoo! Sports reports the NCAA Rules Committee will allow helmet communication this year for the first time. Essentially, this cuts out the middleman.

No longer will the offensive coordinator have to verbalize the call to a coach on the sideline who will then have to relay the call into the huddle. Now, The OC will have a direct line into the quarterback’s ear for easy communication. This should further speed up the playcalling and keep opponents on their heels.

The other rumored rule changes include a two-minute warning and the use of tablets on the sidelines. For better or worse, all these changes would make college football align more with the ways of the NFL.

Kyra Elzy feels she will be back as WBB head coach

After winning the SEC Tournament back in 2022, Kyra Elzy received a contract extension that would keep her at Kentucky through the 2026-27 season. However, after losing to Ole Miss on Thursday, the Kentucky women’s basketball program fell to 11-18 (4-11 SEC) and will finish under 0.500 once again.

Of course, after such a drastic downfall, fans have been asking, “Will Kyra Elzy be back next season?” After Thursday’s aforementioned loss, Elzy commented on exactly that.

“I believe I am going to be back here. No one has told me any different. So, until then, my job is to coach this team and get us ready. Heading into the postseason, that is where my mind is. I’m sure I will meet with administration after the season, but as for right now, I am the head coach here and I’m going to put my head down and grind and continue to work.”

Kyra Elzy | KSR

It is hard to expect Elzy to say anything else, but her seat is invariably getting hotter with each loss. If Kentucky were to relieve Elzy of her duties, it would cost the university over $2.5 million through 2027.

Boogie and John Wall nostalgia is the best nostalgia

To finish off in a lighter mode, here are John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins talking about Kentucky. It. Is. Beautiful.

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