KSR Today: More preseason hoops plus Louisville's punishment
Good morning, folks! Get ready for a busy Thursday on this here website. Not only does the Kentucky men’s basketball team return to Rupp Arena for the second of its two preseason exhibitions, but we’ll also learn the final ruling on the University of Louisville’s “pay-for-play” scandal from five years ago. Louisville faces one Level I violation and six Level II violations for alleged recruiting infractions, including offering $100,000 for five-star prospect Brian Bowen through Adidas. Former head coach Rick Pitino faces a Level II charge in the case.
Unfortunately, it sounds like Louisville is expected to receive a laughable minor slap on the wrist. Matt Norlander of CBS Sports broke news early Thursday morning that the ruling for UL is expected to be as follows: “No postseason ban, $5,000 fine, small reduction in recruiting days and two years of probation.” It would appear that Pitino and former head coach Chris Mack have avoided punishment.
An official announcement is expected to come in around 10:00 a.m. EST, conveniently around the time Matt Jones and the rest of the crew go live on the radio… What I’m getting at is you’ll definitely want to be tuned into KSR this morning.
Kentucky MBB takes on Kentucky State
But back to the basketball. After an uninspiring 56-38 win over Divison II Missouri Western State on Sunday, the Wildcats will take the court again Thursday night against an in-state opponent, the Division II Kentucky State Thorobreds. This will be the final exhibition game for UK before the regular season begins on Monday, Nov. 7 against Howard.
Kentucky should cruise once again against Kentucky State, but it’ll come with a cool storyline along the way. Freshman wing Chris Livingston has a twin brother, Cordell, who is a freshman at Kentucky State. Jack Pilgrim has an excellent feature on the relationship between the two and what it’ll be like to share the floor together once again. You can read that here.
Tonight’s tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST and will be broadcast live on the SEC Network+. Can Kentucky break 60 points this time?
Kentucky WBB won its lone exhibition
Speaking of Kentucky basketball exhibition games, the women’s basketball team played its lone preseason event of the year. UK hosted Pikeville in Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday night as the ‘Cats breezed to a comfortable 93-45 blowout win. Amid so many spectacular performances, Ajae Petty stood out. The 6-foot-3 LSU transfer led the team with 15 points, six rebounds, and four steals in 21 minutes. Petty shot 7-10 from the field and posted a plus/minus of +26.
As a whole, Kentucky wasn’t anywhere near perfect, yet still came away with the 48-point victory. UK did shoot 48.3 percent overall from the floor but went just 3-13 from distance and turned the ball over 13 times. Still, it was an excellent first look at the new-look ‘Cats. Robyn Benton and Jada Walker were as steady as ever while Oregon transfer Maddie Scherr looks the part of a potential star.
Check out Grant Grubbs’ full recap here.
Oscar, Sahvir named First Team All-SEC
The coaches have spoken and two Kentucky Wildcats are expected to be among the best in the SEC this season. Seniors Oscar Tshiebwe and Sahvir Wheeler were voted Preseason First Team All-SEC by the league’s 14 coaches on Wednesday. They are Kentucky’s only representatives on the two teams, which have a minimum of eight players each.
Oscar and Wheeler were also voted Preseason First Team All-SEC by the media and are on watch lists for awards at their respective positions (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for Oscar, Bob Cousy Award for Wheeler).
First Team All-SEC
- Jahvon Quinerly, Alabama
- Nick Smith Jr., Arkansas
- Colin Castleton, Florida
- Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
- Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky
- Tolu Smith, Mississippi State
- Kobe Brown, Missouri
- Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee
- Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
Second Team All-SEC
- Brandon Miller, Alabama
- Wendell Green Jr., Auburn
- K.D. Johnson, Auburn
- Kario Oquendo, Georgia
- KJ Williams, LSU
- Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss
- Josiah-Jordan James, Tennessee
- Henry Coleman III, Texas A&M
Check out Tyler Herro’s game-winner
With the game tied at 107 and precious seconds coming off the clock, Tyler Herro put the Miami Heat on his shoulders. The former Wildcat buried a very contested 3-pointer with just 1.8 seconds left to down the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. Herro pump fakes on his initial shot to get his defender in the air, then finds himself enough space to get off the game-winning look.
Cash.
The clutch shot put the cap on an excellent overall night for Herro. The NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year finished with a game-high 26 points on 12-21 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds and three blocks in nearly 38 minutes of action.
Kentucky defense previews Missouri
After giving up 44 points to the Tennessee offense last weekend, Kentucky’s defense will look to return to form on Saturday against the Missouri Tigers.
Led by defensive coordinator Brad White, the UK defense spoke with reporters on Wednesday after practice to discuss the upcoming road matchup. Coach White was joined by a pair of inside linebackers, junior D’Eryk Jackson and sophomore Trevin Wallace, who will take over plenty of responsibilities for the injured Jacquez Jones and DeAndre Square. Check out Adam Luckett’s breakdown of Wednesday’s press conference here.
Listen below to hear from Coach White, Jackson, and Wallace. Kentucky will take on the Tigers this Saturday in Columbia, MO at noon EST on the SEC Network.
Volleyball rattles off 3rd straight sweep
No. 20 Kentucky volleyball is heating up at the right time of the season as the Wildcats secured its third consecutive sweep on Wednesday night in Athens, GA. UK made easy work of the Georgia Bulldogs when you look at the final score, but the contest was actually quite evenly matched. However, the ‘Cats found a way to seal off the Bulldogs in the first two sets before comfortably winning the third.
Kentucky (15-6; 10-2 SEC) has now won 10 of its last 11 outings and is on a four-game win streak. Up next is a matchup against Mississippi State next Friday, Nov. 11 at 9:00 p.m. EST in Starkville, MS. Check out Ian Alvano’s full recap from Wednesday night right here.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard