KSR Today: Kentucky basketball exhibitions, more Mississippi State prep

ZGeogheganKSR

Good morning, folks! Halloween is over. Time to bust out the Christmas trees. We’ve got a busy couple of days for Kentucky basketball coming up in Lexington.

It starts this morning with Kentucky women’s basketball, which hosts Kentucky State at 11:00 a.m. EST inside Rupp Arena for the lone exhibition of the preseason for Kyra Elzy’s squad. A day later on Thursday night, we’ll get another exhibition between Kentucky and Kentucky State, but this time on the men’s side.

Unfortunately, this morning’s women’s game will not be televised, but it will be featured on 630 AM WLAP and on the UK Sports Network. Tickets are free of charge (as is parking) for those who wish to check out the 2023-24 Kentucky women’s basketball squad in person for the first time. KSR will have our two new interns, Phoenix Stevens and Katie Hutchison, on-site to cover all the action. With the game not being on TV, you’ll want to follow them on X/Twitter, or follow along with their live updates over at KSBoard. They’ve got a preview of what to expect out of Kentucky during today’s game that you can read here.

Now, let’s dive into the rest of today’s top news and notes.

Coach O spoke with the media

On Tuesday morning, Kentucky men’s basketball associate coach Orlando Antigua spoke with the media for about 20 minutes to answer questions ahead of Thursday’s second and final exhibition. Antigua had plenty to say during his session too. Among the highlights: calling freshman DJ Wagner the team’s vocal leader so far, tossing out the idea of Jordan Burks and even Adou Thiero potentially playing at the five, and heaping plenty of praise on veteran big man Tre Mitchell. He also mentioned this team’s natural chemistry and how they all genuinely enjoy being around each other.

You can read more and hear everything else Coach O had to say below.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

New Sources Say dropped last night

For the second straight week, I hopped in the co-host chair alongside Go Big Country’s Shawn Smith to help run the Sources Say podcast. We touched on a little bit of everything in Tuesday’s episode, recapping Kentucky’s first exhibition win over Georgetown College and previewing what’s to come with this Thursday’s second exhibition. We also broke down a handful of the preseason exhibitions happening across the country (including Louisville’s loss to Kentucky Wesleyan), gave some recruiting updates, and answered fan questions.

I’ve enjoyed my time hanging out with Shawn. It’s fun to talk basketball for an hour straight. Jack Pilgrim will return to the host chair next week though. Hopefully, he can live up to the lofty standards I’ve left behind. Check out last night’s full episode below.

More Kentucky News and Views on the KSR YouTube Channel

Kentucky Sports Radio has expanded its coverage of the Wildcats in the most ridiculous manner possible on our YouTube Channel. Here you will be able to find interviews with coaches and players, as well as commentary from the KSR crew. From Rapid Reactions following big events to our lengthy lineup of live shows, subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel to stay up to date on everything happening around the Big Blue Nation.

Monday: Mark Stoops Press Conference & Rapid Reaction
Monday, 8 PM: KSR Football Podcast
Tuesday evening: Interviews with Liam Coen and the offense
Tuesday, 8 PM: Sources Say
Wednesday, 1 PM: Stoops’ comments from the SEC Teleconference
Wednesday evening: Interviews with Brad White and the defense
Wednesday, 8 PM: 11 Personnel
Thursday Afternoon: Pigskin Preview
Thursday evening: Final comments from Stoops after practice
Thursday, 8 PM: Point Kentucky, KSR’s new Volleyball Show
Friday night: Kroger KSR Game of the Week recap, highlights
Saturday: Postgame Press Conferences, Interviews, Rapid Reaction

Liam Coen, Kentucky offense preview MSU

This weekend, Kentucky football will head to Starkville in hopes of taking down Mississippi State on the road for the first time since 2008. As is the case during every week leading into a new game, we heard from head coach Mark Stoops first on Monday before getting treated to the offense on Tuesday.

Offensive coordinator Liam Coen took the podium first to talk about Mississippi State’s defense. Quarterback Devin Leary is coming off his best performance yet as a Wildcat, but the Bulldogs defense will look to knock him back off.

“It’s a paint in the butt. It is. It’s a pain in the butt,” Coen said about MSU’s defense. “I have a lot of respect for those guys, what they’ve done defensively over the last few years, playing against them two years ago. It’s a tough, weird defense that you don’t see every week. It’s almost just different structures every play.”

After Coen wrapped up, wide receivers coach Scott Woodward answered questions from the press before the players came out to do the same. We heard from tight end Jordan Dingle, but it was the wide receiver room that stole the show. Barion Brown, Dane Key, Tayvion Robinson, and Brandon White all celebrated Halloween in style by rocking their costumes to the media session.

Offensive coordiantor Liam Coen

Scott Woodward, Kentucky players

Who will play QB for Mississippi State?

That’s a great question and one we don’t have the answer to right now.

Mississippi State head coach Zach Arnett has three possible options he can turn to against Kentucky. Will Rogers was the starter at the beginning of the season, but he went down with an injury in early Oct. and has not returned to action, although he’s been on the sidelines the last two games. Instead, Arnett has turned to Mike Wright, who transferred from Vanderbilt. Now, he’s also considering utilizing true freshman quarterback Chris Parson.

“Yeah, I think there’s a chance,” Arnett told reporters about playing Parson. “I think it’s Monday and I don’t think it’s in my best interest to talk about the intricacies, all the specifics of the gameplan.”

For a full breakdown of what to expect from MSU, check out Adam Luckett’s Bio Blast here.

Kentucky men’s soccer picks up 3rd straight win

Kentucky men’s soccer was arguably the best team in all of college soccer last season before getting upset early in the NCAA Tournament. That postseason hangover carried into the 2023 season with a rough start to the schedule for the ‘Cats. At one point, they had gone well over a month without securing a win (although there were plenty of ties mixed in there).

But over the last three matches, the ‘Cats look like the ‘Cats of old. Kentucky rattled off back-to-back wins over No. 1 Marshall and No. 2 West Virginia last week before holding off Georgia Southern on Tuesday night for another victory. In the 52nd minute, freshman Isaiah Chisolm was able to find a charging Logan Dorsey for UK’s lone goal in a 1-0 win over the Eagles.

KSR’s Katelyn Perkins has a full recap here. Next up for Kentucky is the Sun Belt Conference Tournament where the five-seeded ‘Cats will take on four-seeded James Madison this Sunday.