KSR Today: One month left in the regular season
Good morning, friends, and welcome to a new week. We’ve got less than a month left in the regular season and your No. 5 Kentucky Wildcats are 19-4 with a firm hold on second place in the SEC and a potential No. 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament within grasp. That makes this Monday better than most, right?
We’ll get to see the Cats back in action tomorrow night at 7 p.m. ET at South Carolina. Until then, we’ve got plenty to keep you busy. Here’s today’s rundown.
How high will Kentucky climb in the rankings?
The Cats are currently No. 5 in the AP Poll, No. 7 in the Coaches Poll. Considering No. 3/4 UCLA lost two games this past week (No. 7 Arizona, Arizona State) while Kentucky held court, there’s room to move up. The new AP Poll drops around noon ET, the Coaches Poll shortly thereafter. We’ll bring you all the latest, but only if you share your prediction in the comments.
For what it’s worth, Kentucky is No. 3 in Gary Parrish’s daily rankings behind Auburn and Gonzaga. Same in Jeff Borzello’s power rankings for ESPN.
“On a neutral court, I’m not sure I’m taking anyone over Kentucky right now,” Borzello writes. “The Wildcats are playing at an elite, elite level and have shown a couple times over the last few weeks — at Texas A&M, at Alabama — that they can win when shots aren’t falling and their offense isn’t clicking for 40 minutes. It’s also remarkably impressive, the number of different ways John Calipari’s group can match up with opponents.”
Here’s a rundown of where the Cats stand in the various computer models as of Sunday night:
- KenPom: No. 3
- Sagarin: No. 6
- BartTorvik: No. 3
- NET: No. 4
I’ll have a thorough rundown of the NET rankings and Kentucky’s team sheet for you later this morning. Spoiler: it’s looking good with room to grow. In the latest Bracketology, Lunardi has the Cats as a two-seed and the No. 6 overall team, meaning a one-seed is still in reach.
Jai Lucas and Daimion Collins preview South Carolina
Since the Cats are traveling to Columbia later today, John Calipari’s radio show will be on Wednesday this week instead of Monday. Don’t worry; Jai Lucas and Daimion Collins, fresh off his breakthrough performance vs. Alabama, will preview Kentucky’s clash with the South Carolina Gamecocks later this morning. Check the site around lunch for highlights.
Current SEC Standings
With Saturday’s win, Kentucky maintains sole possession of second place in the SEC. If the SEC Tournament started today, that would mean a Friday 6 p.m. ET tipoff in the quarterfinals. Lots of basketball to play, but here’s a look at the conference standings:
| TEAM | CONFERENCE | GAMES BACK | OVERALL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn | 10-0 | – | 22-1 |
| Kentucky | 8-2 | 2 | 19-4 |
| Arkansas | 7-3 | 3 | 18-5 |
| Tennessee | 7-3 | 3 | 16-6 |
| Mississippi State | 5-4 | 4.5 | 14-8 |
| Florida | 5-5 | 5 | 15-8 |
| LSU | 4-6 | 6 | 16-7 |
| Texas A&M | 4-6 | 6 | 15-8 |
| Alabama | 4-6 | 6 | 14-9 |
| South Carolina | 4-6 | 6 | 13-9 |
| Vanderbilt | 4-6 | 6 | 12-10 |
| Missouri | 3-6 | 6.5 | 9-13 |
| Ole Miss | 3-7 | 7 | 12-11 |
| Georgia | 1-9 | 9 | 6-17 |
One last look back at the Alabama win
This crazy dunk by Jacob Toppin in warm-ups didn’t make the cut but deserves your time and attention:
Kentucky WBB dropped another game
It was not a good Sunday for the Kentucky Women’s Basketball team. After a week off, Kyra Elzy’s squad dropped their third straight, falling to Texas A&M 73-64 in overtime in Memorial Coliseum. Kentucky WBB is now 9-10, 2-7 in SEC play, which is 13th in the league standings. They host No. 1 South Carolina (gulp) Thursday night.
A group of Louisville fans want Tom Jurich back
If you’re looking for a laugh this morning, search #BringJurichHome on Twitter.
Give me Rich Brooks’ life
Papaw Brooks continues to crush retirement. Yesterday, he got in a round of golf, shared the win on social media, and celebrated with a cocktail.
College Basketball/Olympics on TV tonight
Only three Top 25 college basketball games tonight:
- 7:00 PM (ESPN): Virginia vs. No. 9 Duke
- 9:00 PM (FS1): No. 7 Arizona vs. Arizona State
- 9:00 PM (ESPN): No. 10 Kansas. vs. No. 23 Texas
Of course, the Winter Olympics are also underway. Here’s NBC’s schedule for tonight’s primetime coverage:
- 8:00 PM: Short Track – Women’s 500m Final
- 8:30 PM: Speed Skating – Women’s 1500m
- 9:00 PM: Freestyle Skiing – Women’s Big Air Final
- 10:05 PM: Alpine Skiing – Men’s Super G
- 11:00 PM: Figure Skaing – Men’s Short Program, Groups 4, 5
If you want to spend your day watching the games too, luge and curling are on USA starting now, and biathlon and ski jumping start on NBC at 2 p.m. Tonight, Team USA takes on Canada in women’s hockey starting at 10:45 p.m. on USA. As someone who watched a LOT of Olympic coverage this weekend, there’s a very good chance I’ll have biathlon on in the background this afternoon.
KSR Preshow starts now, KSR in an hour
Matt and the gang will be back on the airwaves at 10 a.m. ET to recap the win at Alabama and look ahead to another fun week. Shannon the Dude and Billy Rutledge tip things off with the KSR Preshow starting now on 630 WLAP or iHeart Radio.
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