KSR Today: Preparing For Vandy And Other Monday Things

Good morning to Big Blue Nation and congratulations to KSR’s followers who are fans of the Bengals, Chiefs, Eagles, or 49ers–the four teams that will play for the two open Super Bowl spots next weekend. Yesterday, the Bengals and Niners punched their championship-round tickets with a win at Buffalo and against Dallas, the day after Kansas City and Philadelphia protected their No. 1 seeds and homefield advantages against the Jaguars and Giants.

So next Sunday, it is Eagles-49ers to represent the NFC at the Super Bowl before Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC Championship. The Eagles are laying a point and a half in the 3 pm game; the Bengals getting a field goal in the nightcap.

Now for your Monday morning things to know in collegiate sports.

Chin Coleman to preview Kentucky’s Vanderbilt trip

Coming up before your Monday lunch break, Kentucky assistant coach Chin Coleman will hold a press conference in Lexington to preview the Wildcats’ trip to Nashville to play Vanderbilt. Coleman will speak on behalf of the team with comments about Saturday’s win versus Texas A&M in Lexington and what he expects out of the Commodores in Memorial Gym tomorrow night.

To hear all Coleman has to say, check back here when you’re bored at your desk later this afternoon. We’ll make sure you’re informed.

John Calipari’s call-in show is later this week

To hear from the head coach, Kentucky Basketball fans must wait until Wednesday evening when John Calipari makes his weekly appearance on his coach’s radio show. On a two-day delay from its regularly-scheduled time (likely for travel reasons), Calipari is expected to sit down with Tom Leach at 6 pm Wednesday night for a conversation about the Wildcats, plus phone calls from Bob in Jamestown and others.

A new No. 1 and No. 2 in the Top 25?

Around noon today, the Associated Press will release its new ranking of the best teams in college basketball to reflect the last seven days’ results, including top-ranked Houston and second-ranked Kansas losing games over the weekend.

Will those losses move Purdue back to the top? Will Kentucky receive any votes? We’ll find out today. The Wildcats did not receive any votes in last week’s AP.

New NET Rankings coming out of the weekend

Over in the NET, Kentucky Basketball heads into the new week ranked 39th among its peers with a 1-5 record in Quad 1 games, along with Quad 2 (2-0), Quad 3 (4-0), and Quad 4 (6-1).

Up at the top, the SEC has two of the top three teams with Tennessee and Alabama sitting behind No.1 Houston.

Kansas, Kentucky’s Saturday opponent, is ranked eighth.

Kentucky Women’s Basketball lost a close one

In the sport of women’s basketball, Kentucky narrowly missed out on its second league win, losing to Mississippi State, 77-76, at The Hump in Starkville on Sunday. Robyn Benton was the Cats’ high-scorer in the loss with her 24 points and seven assists in a team-high 38 minutes of court time.

In the end, Kentucky had the ball with 3.2 seconds on the clock and a chance to win it, but Benton’s last-second heave missed its mark, thus Kentucky’s sixth loss in seven games to start SEC play.

Read KSR’s game recap for more.

Get your tickets for the 15 Club’s Fan Fest next weekend

A reminder that we are now less than a week out from the first big event by the 15 Club, the new NIL collective set up for fans to help Kentucky Football and other sports around campus. On Saturday, the 15 Club’s Fan Fest will welcome 15 Club members and other Wildcat fans to the Central Bank Center for a meet-and-greet with players, including Barion Brown, Devin Leary, and Ray Davis; the KSR Pregame Show before Kentucky-Kansas; and then a watch-party for the Kentucky-Kansas game in Rupp Arena.

Each club member will receive two free tickets to Fan Fest, but tickets are open to anyone at $15 apiece over at Kentucky15.com. (Pssssst… A little secret… Promo code DREW knocks off $3 per ticket.)

The fun gets started Saturday at 4 p.m.

Happy Birthday, Perry Stevenson!

In celebration of another year of Perry Stevenson, we remember that time he dunked on UNLV in the bizarre 2009 NIT game at Memorial Coliseum. Extra points for it pulling it off in those shorts.

Now an assistant on Will Martin’s staff at Missouri Western, Stevenson coached against his alma mater earlier this season in an exhibition game in Rupp Arena. The Griffons played the No. 4 Wildcats close early in the game, even leading for two minutes, but lost in the end, 56-38.

Hayes Johnson to announce his decision later this week

On Thursday, one of the top-ranked high school football players in Kentucky will announce his college decision when Hayes Johnson, an offensive tackle at Taylor County, decides between Baylor, Louisville, Michigan State, Tennessee, and the home state Wildcats. Johnson’s commitment ceremony is scheduled for 10:30 am and the KSR radio show will be live from the scene to cover his announcement.

In case you missed it, Johnson is a new fan favorite among the KSR listening audience for his recent call to the show about goose hunting. He is a top-40 offensive tackle in the 2024 On3 rankings.

Matt, Ryan, and Shannon on today’s KSR show

I’m scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday this week, so today you will hear from the three-pack of Matt Jones, Ryan Lemond, and Shannon The Dude for a recap of the weekend and Kentucky’s win over Texas A&M. Tune in at 10 am.

Go Cats.