KSR Today: The annual Blue-White Game
Good morning, folks! With football on a bye this week, Kentucky men’s basketball is taking advantage of the open weekend by holding the program’s annual Blue-White Game scrimmage later tonight. After last year’s exhibition was held at Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville, this year’s game is headed north — or should I say Norse?
Northern Kentucky University’s Truist Arena will be the host site for the 2023 Blue-White Game, which is scheduled to tip off at 6:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network+. Tickets are still available through Ticketmaster for as low as $10 if you’re interested in making the trip up. All ticket revenue goes to the Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund and the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund.
If you can’t make the trip or watch it on TV, the KSR crew will have several boots on the ground to bring you immediate coverage. We’ll also have a live thread rolling over at KSBoard (new members can sign up for just one single dollar, by the way). If you want your first look at 7-foot-2 Croatian center Zvonimir Ivisic in action, then NKU is the place to be tonight.
Now, let’s dive into the rest of today’s news and notes.
Boogie Fland commits to Kentucky
The biggest news of Friday came shortly after 2:00 p.m. when five-star class of 2024 point guard Johnuel “Boogie” Fland announced his commitment to Kentucky over Indiana and Alabama. Considered the No. 15 overall prospect and top-ranked point guard in the senior class by On3, Fland made his decision in front of friends and family at his New York high school, Archbishop Stepinac.
“I chose Kentucky because of the history of success with the guards that have come through there,” Fland told On3’s Joe Tipton. “Coach Cal is going to challenge me to be the best version of myself. He didn’t promise me anything, playing time, shots, etc. He only promised me a chance to compete and fight! The first fight is with myself every day and I’m betting on me! BBN BABY, LET’S DO IT!”
Fland is Kentucky’s second class of 2024 commit. He joins four-star center Somto Cyril as the two future Wildcats in this cycle. UK now has the fifth-best 2024 recruiting class and the best in the SEC, per On3. KSR’s Brandon Ramsey has a Film Room breakdown of Fland’s game available that you can check out here.
Also, in his commitment video, Fland had NBA greats Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony give him shoutouts.
Welcome to the BBN, Boogie. You can read even more about what his commitment means for Kentucky both in the immediate future and down the road here.
Somto Cyril, Karter Knox vs. Boozer twins
For those who have a dual-screen setup in their living room, tonight is the night for you. An hour after the Blue-White Game tips off, you can check out the aforementioned Somto Cyril in action. He’ll team up alongside five-star ’24 wing Karter Knox (a major Kentucky target) for Overtime Elite’s Rod Wave Elite as they take on the Explorers out of Florida, which are headlined by the talented class of 2025 Boozer twins Cameron and Cayden.
Tipping off at 7:00 p.m. EST on OTE’s YouTube channel and through Amazon Prime, these two teams will battle it out as part of Overtime Elite’s preseason exhibitions.
Knox is down to a final four of Kentucky, Louisville, South Florida, and the G League. Meanwhile, Cameron and Cayden both hold scholarships from Kentucky and took surprise official visits to Lexington in September.
Top 10
- 1
CFP contenders
31 teams remain in contention
- 2
Hunter Heisman
Colorado star becomes betting favorite
- 3New
Klatt predicts CFP
FOX analyst has a new 12-team field
- 4Hot
Michigan loses QB
Carter Smith decommits from Wolverines
- 5
LSU DL back in 2025
Jacobian Guillory makes it official
Volleyball picks up 6th straight win
After an unexpectedly slow start to the 2023 season, Craig Skinner has his group rolling in the middle of conference play. On Friday night inside Rupp Arena, No. 20 Kentucky volleyball (8-7; 6-1 SEC) was powered by 14 kills from Megan Wilson as the Wildcats took down Mississippi State in a three-game sweep.
This win marked Kentucky’s sixth in a row and second consecutive sweep. UK also swept then-No. 10 Tennessee in Knoxville on Sunday. After beginning the year with a shockingly poor 2-7 record (mostly against ranked competition), the ‘Cats have finally found their groove. Kentucky had three players reach double-figures in scoring against Mississippi State. Along with Wilson’s 14 kills, Reagan Rutherford and Azhani Tealer both had 10 kills apiece.
KSR’s Hunter Mitchell has a full game recap from Friday night here. Next up for Kentucky is another top-10 opponent. The Wildcats will host No. 10 Arkansas on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST (SEC Network) with first place in the SEC on the line.
Kroger KSR Game(s) of the Week
In a first for this season, we elected to hold two Kroger KSR Game(s) of the Week as we inch closer and closer to postseason action. We had eyes all over the state on Friday night to soak in some high school football action, but we were especially locked in on games in Louisville and Taylor County.
In a top 25 matchup, KSR’s Daniel Hager saw No. 3 Male exact sweet revenge on No. 25 Bullitt East, which beat the Bulldogs twice last season, most notably in the 6A state championship. Male had little issue dealing with Bullitt East this time around, putting it on the Chargers from start to finish. Male came away with the easy 42-6 victory.
Not too far away in Taylor County, KSR’s Piper McCoun was treated to a much closer final score as Campbellsville took down Kentucky Country Day 21-13 in a battle of Class A unbeatens. Campbellsville improved to 9-0 with the win and is one of just two Class A teams that have yet to drop a game (Sayre; 9-0).
None of this would have been possible without our friends at Kroger though. So why don’t you stop by your local Kroger this morning to prepare for a weekend of Kentucky basketball, college football, and anything else your heart desires.
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