KSR Today: Kentucky prepares to host Florida at Rupp Arena

The Kentucky Wildcats are down to just four home games remaining on the schedule before postseason play begins, with the next coming against the Florida Gators on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN.

What do you need to know about the Gators? Well, Florida enters the matchup with a 16-8 record overall and 6-5 record in conference play, a resume that includes one Quad 1 victory (Ohio State) and three Quad 2 wins (at South Carolina, vs. Mississippi State, vs. Oklahoma State). The Gators have, however, lost five of six Quad 1 matchups to go with one Quad 2 loss, one Quad 3 loss and one Quad 4 loss. They rank top-60 in the NET (47), KenPom (51), BPI (34), Sagarin (35) and KPI (60), but it’s a relatively unimpressive resume with minimal quality wins.

ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the edge to Kentucky with a 90.3% chance to win, with Barttorvik projecting the Wildcats as 11.5-point favorites with an 87% chance of coming out on top. Official odds will be released later today.

Game information can be found below:

When: Sat., Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. ET
Where: Rupp Arena (Lexington, KY)
TV: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: UK Sports Network with Tom Leach and Mike Pratt

Calipari, players preview Florida

What does John Calipari think of the head-to-head matchup? Will Jacob Toppin be available for the Wildcats when they take the floor tomorrow afternoon? The UK head coach and select players will speak to the media at noon ET to break it all down.

KSR will have all of the coverage you need right here on the website throughout the afternoon.

Big AnnounceMINTZ!

Davion Mintz’s French Bulldog Ghost has signed the first-ever college basketball NIL deal for a dog! Ghost is the Official SpokesDog of Richmond Road Veterinary Clinic in Lexington. Ghost likes the team at Richmond Road Vet Clinic – turns out all 5 doctors are Kentucky natives and all of them are CATS fans!  Plus, they are open 7 days a week so his dad can still take him even with how busy his basketball schedule is. Let’s make Ghost famous! Check out how Ghost made his decision in this video!

NIL bill passes in the Senate, moves to House

Speaking of NIL, the name, image, and likeness bill that led to testimonies from John Calipari and Mitch Barnhart was unanimously passed by the Kentucky Senate on Thursday.

Senate Bill 6, which allows student-athletes to earn NIL compensation, passed the Senate as amended 37-0. The bill, sponsored by Max Wise (R), Whitney Westerfield (R), and Morgan McGarvey (D), will now go to the House for another vote, followed by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signing off.

Beshear previously signed an executive order to allow NIL deals for student-athletes in Kentucky, which went into effect on July 1, 2021. It was seen as a temporary stopgap until permanent legislation was in place at the state or federal level.

The legislation aims to “provide protections for student-athletes seeking compensation through name, image, and likeness agreements or seeking an athlete agent,” a model bill in the eyes of Calipari.

“I think it’s a model bill,” Calipari said Wednesday. “I think other states are going to look at this bill and say, ‘Wow.’ … Kentucky basketball is the gold standard. It is. People are looking to us, what are we doing.”

Kentucky WBB comes up short vs. No. 1 South Carolina

Rhyne Howard and the Kentucky women’s basketball team wouldn’t go down without a fight against No. 1 South Carolina on Thursday. The Wildcats (9-11 overall, 2-8 in the SEC) fell by a final score of 59-50 against the Gamecocks (22-1, 10-1), but pushed to make a late comeback, scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter.

Howard scored 16 alone in that final frame, cutting the lead down to seven points after USC led by as many as 18 with under ten minutes to go. She would finish with 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals in the loss. Olivia Owens added seven points and three rebounds, while Jada Walker finished with six points, seven rebounds and four assists.

As a team, the Wildcats shot just 36% overall (19-53) and 26% from three (4-14), making that eight of nine straight games for UK that it failed to shoot at least 45% from the field.

Kentucky will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. ET, with the game broadcast live on SEC Network.

Kentucky softball opens the season with a win

How about a season-opening win for the Kentucky softball team? Taking on Wisconsin in the 2022 Northern Lights Southern Lights tournament in Leesburg, Florida, the Wildcats were able to pull off the 5-2 victory.

Miranda Stoddard led the way on the mound, allowing just five hits and two runs in a complete game for the Wildcats. At the plate, eight different players recorded hits for Kentucky, including a four-hit, three-run inning in the fourth to push the Cats ahead.

Kentucky will play four more games in Leesburg this weekend including a doubleheader this afternoon against Michigan State and Liberty. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m. ET in game one and 3 p.m. ET in game two.

KSR in an hour

As always, Matt Jones and the crew will be live from 10 a.m. to noon ET this morning on KSR. This time, though, they’ll be broadcasting live from Green River Distilling Company in Owensboro. Be sure to tune in.

Enjoy your Friday and Go Cats.