KSR Today: A good night at the McDAAG, rough night on the diamond
Good morning, friends, and congratulations on making it halfway through your week. Friday will be here before you know it. Let’s push through with a rundown of what’s happening in the Big Blue Nation and beyond.
McDonald’s All-American Game recap
Kentucky’s signees Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace took part in the McDonald’s All-American Game last night and looked impressive. Livingston finished with 13 points (5-9 FG, 2-4 3PT FG), 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in 22 minutes. Wallace turned in 7 points (3-10 FG, 1-2 3PT), 6 assists, and 5 rebounds in 21 minutes. Livingston and the East Team won over Wallace and the West Team 105-81. Future Duke Blue Devil Dariq Whitehead won MVP, but CBS Sports’ Kevin Flaherty believes Livingston would have been in the running if not for an off-night from the free-throw line (1-7).
The McDonald’s All-American Game is known mostly for its offense. But any Wildcat fans watching had to be encouraged by the defensive aptitude shown by Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston. Both players approached that side with intensity, and while Livingston might have had the better overall day (and his team won), Wallace’s intangibles and work on that end make him a valuable addition.
The Nos. 7 (Livingston) and 8 (Wallace) prospects in the 247Sports Composite may need to plug in immediately on the wings for Kellan Grady and the likely-to-depart TyTy Washington. And a willingness to grind defensively has always been a key to the door of John Calipari’s playing time.
Only an off night at the free throw line (1-for-7) likely kept Livingston from the game’s MVP award, as he scored 13 points and added six rebounds, five assists and blocked a shot. And while Wallace had a 3-for-10 night from the field limited Wallace’s own score, he still had seven points, five rebounds, six assists and a steal.
Kevin Flaherty, CBS Sports
We’ll have more coverage of the game as the morning rolls on, but here’s a good clip of Livingston finishing in the rim:
Jack Pilgrim and Zack Geoghegan live-blogged the game last night and shared some interesting roster scoop, so if you’re willing to scroll, go back and check the replay.
Don’t miss our Spring Practice coverage
Yesterday, the football team opened the doors to the Nutter Field House and invited the media to watch practice. Nick Roush, Adam Luckett, and Drew Franklin all attended on our behalf and if you haven’t yet, I encourage you to read their coverage. Roush went in-depth on the defense’s performance, while Luckett tackled the offense. If audio is more your medium, they also recorded a new episode of 11 Personnel just for the occasion.
Here are the offense’s comments afterward:
OC Rich Scangarello
WR DeMarcus Harris
RB JuTahn McClain
OL Jeremy Flax
The football crew will be back on campus tomorrow to hear from Brad White and the defense, along with Kentucky’s Pro Day participants. Pro Day takes place Friday beginning at 11 a.m. at Nutter Field House. Eleven players will participate, including former Kentucky Wildcat Terry Wilson:
- Josh Ali
- Yusuf Corker
- Luke Fortner
- Darian Kinnard
- Marquan McCall
- Quandre Mosely
- Josh Paschal
- Justin Rigg
- Wan’Dale Robinson
- Dare Rosenthal
- Terry Wilson
Baseball falls to Eastern Kentucky
Coming off a huge series victory over No. 14 Georgia, the Kentucky Baseball team stumbled on Tuesday night. The Bat Cats lost to Eastern Kentucky 6-3 to fall to 17-9 on the season. Eric Decker’s got the recap if you want to relive the pain, but in short, it was a rough night for sophomore pitcher Seth Logue, who allowed four runs on three hits, walking a pair and throwing 62 pitches in 2.2 innings. His ERA sits at 6.49 after the loss.
Kentucky will look to get back on track this weekend vs. No. 9 Ole Miss. First pitch is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Kentucky Proud Park. It will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
Softball lost, too
It was a rough night for the Kentucky Softball team too. The No. 8 ranked squad was shut out for only the second time this season, losing to Ohio State 3-0. The Cats had only four hits and left six runners on base, five in scoring position. Kentucky will hit the road this weekend for a series vs. LSU, which starts Friday night at 7 p.m. in Baton Rouge. You can watch that on SEC Network+ too.
In good softball news, senior outfielder Renee Abernathy was named SEC Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday, the first such honor of her career. Abernathy hit .500 on the week with 12 RBI, six hits and five runs scored. Coming in to last night’s game, she had hit home runs in four straight games.
Freaking laser beams
The World Cup qualifiers have been wild. One of the craziest moments took place yesterday during Egypt vs. Senegal, where Senegal fans used laser pointers to distract the Egyptians, most notably Mohamed Salah during a penalty shootout. As a result, Senegal won, knocking Egypt out of the World Cup.
The World Cup draw is Friday at Noon ET, 7 p.m. local time in Doha, Qatar. The United States is in a great position to clinch its spot vs. Costa Rica tonight. Essentially, the USMNT can lose by five goals or fewer against Costa Rica tonight and still qualify on goal differential. You can see the match on Paramount+ at 9:05 p.m. ET.
Tiger at the Masters??
The only thing that can lift me up after a depressing March Madness is the Masters, and there is growing speculation Tiger Woods may compete next week in Augusta.
Please, oh please. Time for @GCTigerTracker to come out of retirement.
Who up, Asheville?
My husband and I had planned on being in New Orleans for the Final Four this weekend but that’s obviously not happening, so instead, we’re heading to Asheville. I’ve stopped through the lovely mountain town various times on the way to Davidson or the beach, but I’ve never done a proper weekend getaway. As beer lovers, we’ve got plenty of breweries on our list, but let me know if you’ve got a favorite (West Coast IPAs are my jam). We’re also planning some hikes and may check out the grounds at the Biltmore. Other than that, we’ll be doing our best to avoid basketball, so send along your recs.
KSR in one hour, hopefully without technical difficulties
If you missed yesterday’s show, well, you missed one for the archives. Matt, Ryan, and Drew’s equipment failed throughout the two hours, making for a frustrating yet entertaining two hours of radio.
Fingers crossed it works today.
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