KSR Today: A rematch at Arkansas, Kentucky WBB rolls Tide

It’s a weather nightmare in Kentucky this Friday morning, as flash flooding and high winds are whipping through the state, including the possibility of tornadoes. The heavy rain has already begun, with wind gusts up to 65 miles per hour expected during the day, the worst set to hit this afternoon — noon to 5 p.m. ET being the timeframe of greatest risk.

Schools across the state are closed, including Fayette, Jessamine, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison and Woodford Counties, among a long list of others. The complete list can be found here.

Above all else this morning and throughout the day, stay safe and keep up with the latest updates from your local news teams. It’s supposed to be an ugly one out there.

Kentucky prepares for rematch at Arkansas

One final game of the regular season before the Wildcats head to Nashville for the SEC Tournament, and it’s a big one. After Arkansas pulled off the road win inside Rupp Arena on February 7, an 88-73 blowout after steamrolling Kentucky in the second half, a rematch is set for Saturday.

The Wildcats are set to take on the Razorbacks down in Fayetteville tomorrow afternoon, an opportunity to get back in the win column after a frustrating loss to Vanderbilt on Senior Night this week. It’s also a chance to build the team’s NCAA Tournament resume, another Quad 1 opportunity on the road — a win would move UK to 6-7 in such matchups. Auburn (No. 36) and Michigan (No. 54) are also right on the cusp of Quad 1 status, giving the Wildcats an outside shot at eight such wins to close out the regular season.

Kentucky’s Team Sheet – March 3

• Quad 1: 5-7 (1 game left – at Arkansas)
• Quad 2: 5-0 (0 game left)
• Quad 3: 3-2 (0 games left)
• Quad 4: 6-1 (0 games left)

What do you need to know about the Razorbacks? Ricky Council IV leads the team in scoring at 16.6 points per game while shooting 45.9% from the field and 28.4% from three. Back from injury, freshman standout Nick Smith Jr. is second on the team with 12.8 points on 38.7% shooting, 33.3% from three and 81.1% at the line. Fellow five-star newcomer Anthony Black is right behind with 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.0 steals per contest.

As a team, Arkansas is averaging 74.7 points on 48.0% shooting, 32.1% from three and 69.2% at the line. It’ll be a battle of elite offense vs. elite defense, with the Razorbacks ranked No. 11 overall in defensive efficiency and the Wildcats ranked No. 16 in offensive efficiency.

What happened in the first matchup?

In one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, a battle of Burger Boys vs. Burger Boys, Arkansas managed to light up Kentucky for 88 points on 62.7% shooting and 44.4% from three. It was a second-half explosion that saw the Razorbacks go for 47 points after the break, shooting an absurd 72% from the field with Council and Black combining for 25 points. The former would lead the way with 20 points overall, the latter adding 19.

For Kentucky, Cason Wallace led the way with 24 points on 10-17 shooting to go with five assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 39 minutes. Chris Livingston added 13 points and five rebounds, while Jacob Toppin and Antonio Reeves added 11 points apiece.

It was the first game the Wildcats were without Sahvir Wheeler during his seven-game hiatus, set to become eight (and more) after undergoing a minor procedure Wednesday morning.

Viewing Info, Odds and Predictions

• Date: 2 p.m. ET, Saturday, March 4
• Location: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, AR)
• TV Channel: CBS
• Stream: CBS Sports, CBS Sports App
• Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens are on the call for UK Sports Network (630 WLAP, 840 WHAS)
• Odds: The official spread has not yet been released, but ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Kentucky just a 30.3% chance to pull off the road win. KenPom favors the home team, as well, giving the Wildcats a 35% chance to win while predicting a 75-70 final score in favor of the Razorbacks. Bart Torvik also likes Arkansas, predicting a 75-69 loss (+5.8) with a 28% chance for the UK to leave with the upset.

Bruiser Flint to preview Arkansas

The weather has thrown a wrench into the team’s travel plans down to Fayetteville. Associate head coach Bruiser Flint was originally scheduled to preview the matchup at 9 a.m. ET this morning in Lexington, but now, it will be a virtual interview at 1 p.m. ET.

How did the Wildcats respond in practice after losing at home to Vanderbilt? What is the latest on Cason Wallace’s ankle injury after the immediate reports were fairly positive? Will he be able to give it a go inside Bud Walton Arena?

KSR will have coverage on the site to follow throughout the day.

Eric Musselman, Anthony Black and Kamani Johnson preview Kentucky

While we wait for Kentucky’s media opportunity, Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman has already previewed the Wildcats, breaking down the matchup for a whopping 19 minutes on Thursday.

Razorbacks Anthony Black and Kamani Johnson also spoke with the media to preview the Senior Day rematch down in Fayetteville.

Kentucky WBB wins again in SEC Tournament

Something about March for Kyra Elzy and the Kentucky women’s basketball team.

After a historic title run in the SEC Tournament a year ago, the No. 14 seed Wildcats have created some magic in Greenville yet again, this time pulling off a stunning 71-58 win over the No. 6 seed Alabama Crimson Tide on Thursday. It’s the team’s second win of the tournament after defeating Florida 72-57 on Wednesday.

This comes after Kentucky lost seven consecutive matchups leading up to the conference tournament.

On the night, Jada Walker led the way with a career-high 24 points to go with seven assists and six steals, shooting 11-16 from the field and 2-2 from deep. As a team, the Wildcats shot an impressive 27-54 (50%) from the field and 5-14 (38%) from deep while dishing out 19 assists.

Will that magic continue? We’ll find out Friday evening when Kentucky takes on No. 3 seed Tennessee in the quarterfinals at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET, live on SEC Network.