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KSR Today: Kentucky VB in SEC Tournament Championship, TN Tech and Louisville prep

Tyler-Thompsonby: Tyler Thompson14 hours agoMrsTylerKSR

It’s two days before Thanksgiving, and we’re ears up in Kentucky sports news. Monday was a particularly busy one, as we heard from both Mark Stoops and Mark Pope, cheered the Kentucky Volleyball team on in the SEC Tournament semifinals, and tried not to be jealous of the teams playing in the Players Era Tournament in Las Vegas.

It doesn’t slow down at all today, as we prep for Kentucky vs. Texas in the SEC Tournament championship, Wednesday’s game vs. Tennessee Tech, the women’s team to start play in the Discover Puerto Rico Tournament, and of course, Saturday’s Governor’s Cup. Join me for a very busy rundown.

Kentucky Volleyball vs. Texas in SEC Tournament Championship

Let’s start with the best team on campus. Last night, Kentucky Volleyball took down the low-down dirty snitches at Tennessee 3-1 in the SEC Tournament semifinals in Savannah, Georgia. Tonight, they’ll face Texas in the championship match (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

Brooklyn DeLeye, Eva Hudson, and Molly Tuozzo led the Cats to victory, with DeLeye totaling 22 kills and 10 digs; Hudson finishing with 18 kills, four digs, and three blocks; and Tuozzo putting up a career-high 25 digs. Lizzie Carr added nine kills and a team-high five blocks. Kentucky swept Texas 3-0 in the regular-season match in Austin earlier this month. Can the Cats do it again with the SEC Tournament Championship on the line?

We’re so excited about that match that we’re holding a watch party at KSBar. Come cheer the Cats on with us.

Football Quick-Hitters from Monday

Next up: football. Mark Stoops held his final weekly press conference of the year on Monday. After the thrashing by Vanderbilt in Nashville, Stoops said his team is eager to turn the page to Louisville. A win would not only secure bowl eligibility but bring the Governor’s Cup back to Lexington after last year’s embarrassing loss to the Cards at Kroger Field.

“I’m a Kentuckian”: This game means a lot to people in the Commonwealth, including Stoops, who pointed out that he’s lived in Lexington longer than anywhere else since leaving Ohio at age 17. That doesn’t sound like a man getting ready to leave anytime soon.

Big injuries on both sides: Kentucky will have to beat Louisville without its biggest ass kicker. Stoops confirmed that Josh Kattus will miss the game, along with Kam Olds. No update on Terhyon Nichols and Alex Afari, who both missed the Vandy game. Louisville has its fair share of injuries, too. On Monday, Jeff Brohm announced that star wide receiver Chris Bell will miss the game. Whether that’s due to injury or opt out, we’ll never know, but I’m not complaining.

Cutter is back: Cutter Boley is the future, and Stoops confirmed that Kentucky’s talented young quarterback is all in for the 2026 season on his radio show. “He wants to be here, and we’ve just got to make sure we build a good team around him.”

Vince Marrow: This is the first Governor’s Cup with Vince Marrow on the other sideline. Stoops downplayed the impact that will have on the game, but we won’t. Anyone who willingly leaves Lexington to put on that bird with teeth logo doesn’t get mercy around here.

‘Crootin: There was a lot of future talk on Monday. Stoops said there are still some “irons in the fire” in high school recruiting, as Early Signing Day approaches (a week from tomorrow!). That said, he also said that the staff will focus its efforts on kids who “can help us win next year,” meaning JuCo or portal prospects.

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Coordinators, players after practice

Typically, we only hear from Bush Hamdan and members of the Kentucky offense after Tuesday’s practice, but since it’s a holiday week, both coordinators and players from their units will speak to reporters today. Check the site and YouTube Channel tonight for updates.

Basketball quick-hitters from Monday

Mark Pope held his first radio show of the season last night. Here are the highlights and a few other news items:

Injury updates: Pope said that Jaland Lowe (shoulder) is still day-to-day, but participated in “non-contact skill work” during Monday’s practice. Mo Dioubate (ankle) still has “a ways to go,” per Pope, so I wouldn’t bet on him playing tomorrow night. Quaintance continues to inch closer to his debut. Pope said the big man participated in “three-on-three drills, but just a snap punch drill” on Monday.

Down to No. 19 in AP Poll: The voters didn’t punish Kentucky as much as we thought they might for the loss to Michigan State. The Cats fell seven spots in the AP Poll and five spots in the Coaches Poll after the 17-point loss. Tomorrow’s game vs. Tennessee Tech won’t do much to move the needle (unless it’s a loss), but the measuring stick will be out next week when the Cats host No. 16 North Carolina and play No. 12 Gonzaga in Nashville.

John Pelphrey: Tomorrow night, former Cat John Pelphrey brings his Tennessee Tech squad to Rupp Arena, his first time back since he was Arkansas’ head coach (2007-11). He called into Pope’s radio show to talk about his homecoming and his days as a Wildcat playing under Eddie Sutton and Rick Pitino. It’s worth going back and listening if you missed it live.

MBB single-game tickets on sale: The rest of Kentucky’s single-game tickets go on sale this afternoon at 5 p.m. ET on Ticketmaster. That includes the Bellarmine (Dec. 23), Missouri (Jan. 7), Texas (Jan. 21), Oklahoma (Feb. 4), and Georgia (Feb. 17) games. Primary inventory tickets for the Indiana, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Florida games are sold out.

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Andrija Jelavic, Trent Noah preview Tennessee Tech

Later this morning, we’ll get to hear what the Cats think of the Golden Eagles, who are 3-3 this season with losses to Western Kentucky, Charlotte, and West Georgia. Andrija Jelavic and Trent Noah will meet with reporters at 11 a.m. to talk about the matchup, which takes place tomorrow night at 7 p.m. ET (SEC Network). Check the site and YouTube Channel around lunch for a rundown of their comments.

Tennessee Tech odds

If our friends at BetMGM aren’t exhausted by Feast Week, we should get a line for tomorrow night’s game as well. KenPom predicts a 93-61 win over Tennessee Tech, which is No. 320 in its ratings. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Cats a 99% chance of victory.

College Basketball on TV today

Feast Week got off to an exciting start on Monday, with No. 15 Iowa State beating No. 14 St. John’s in the Players Era Festival, prompting Rick Pitino to snap at some reporters in the postgame press conference:

Later on that night, No. 12 Gonzaga beat No. 8 Alabama 95-85, a showdown of two future Kentucky opponents. The Cats face the Bulldogs a week from Friday in Nashville and the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 3 to open SEC play. Tonight, Gonzaga will play Maryland (9:30 p.m. ET, truTV), and Alabama will close the night vs. UNLV (11:59 p.m. ET, truTV).

The best games of the day in Vegas are No. 17 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Houston (6 p.m. ET, TNT) and No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 21 Auburn (8:30 p.m., TNT). Hopefully, TNT puts Bruce Pearl on the call for the latter so we can hear his take on his son Steven’s coaching. Bruce was pretty entertaining on Monday night, although I’m not sure Candace Parker appreciated him airing the dirty laundry on her dating life at Tennessee.

Here is the complete schedule for the Players Era Festival and all the other big games of the day. Again, it’d be awesome to see Kentucky as part of one of these events, but it doesn’t sound like it’s going to happen, sadly.

TimeTV / StreamingTeamsEventLocation
1:00 PMFS211 Michigan State vs East CarolinaFort Myers Tip-Off – Beach DivisionSuncoast Credit Union Arena — Fort Myers, FL
1:00 PMTNTRutgers vs Notre DamePlayers Era FestivalMGM Grand Garden Arena — Las Vegas, NV
2:00 PMtruTV15 Iowa State vs CreightonPlayers Era FestivalMichelob ULTRA Arena — Las Vegas, NV
2:30 PMESPN223 NC State vs Boise StateSouthwest Maui InvitationalLahaina Civic Center — Maui, HI
3:30 PMTNTSyracuse vs KansasPlayers Era FestivalMGM Grand Garden Arena — Las Vegas, NV
4:30 PMtruTV14 St. John’s vs BaylorPlayers Era FestivalMichelob ULTRA Arena — Las Vegas, NV
5:00 PMESPNSeton Hall vs USCSouthwest Maui InvitationalLahaina Civic Center — Maui, HI
6:00 PMTNT17 Tennessee vs 3 HoustonPlayers Era FestivalMGM Grand Garden Arena — Las Vegas, NV
6:00 PMFS1St. Bonaventure vs 16 North CarolinaFort Myers Tip-Off – Beach DivisionSuncoast Credit Union Arena — Fort Myers, FL
8:00 PMFS1Kansas State vs 25 IndianaSimon Skjodt Assembly Hall — Bloomington, IN
8:00 PMESPNWashington State vs Arizona StateSouthwest Maui InvitationalLahaina Civic Center — Maui, HI
8:00 PMSECN+Mississippi Valley State vs Texas A&MReed Arena — College Station, TX
8:00 PMSECN+South Carolina State vs MissouriMizzou Arena — Columbia, MO
8:30 PMTNT7 Michigan vs 21 AuburnPlayer Era FestivalMichelob ULTRA Arena — Las Vegas, NV
9:30 PMtruTVMaryland vs 12 GonzagaPlayer Era FestivalMGM Grand Garden Arena — Las Vegas, NV
9:30 PMCBSSNOle Miss vs IowaAcrisure ClassicAcrisure Arena — Palm Springs, CA
10:00 PMESPN18 UCLA vs CaliforniaMizzen+Main Empire ClassicChase Center — San Francisco, CA
10:30 PMESPN2Texas vs ChaminadeSouthwest Maui InvitationalLahaina Civic Center — Maui, HI
11:00 PMTNTSan Diego State vs OregonPlayers Era FestivalMichelob ULTRA Arena — Las Vegas, NV
11:59 PMtruTVUNLV vs 8 AlabamaPlayer Era FestivalMGM Grand Garden Arena — Las Vegas, NV

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2025-11-25