KSR Today: Presidents Day, A New Week In Kentucky Basketball, Other UK Matters

Good morning. Unless you work at a bank, a courthouse, or a post office, it is likely back to reality this Monday morning after the first NFL-less Sunday of 2023. (Yesterday felt longer without football, didn’t it?) But even without an NFL Sunday, there was no shortage of good television with Jon Rahm reclaiming No. 1 in the world at Riviera, the debut of the XFL for football fans who aren’t ready to say goodbye, the Daytona 500, the NBA All-Star Game, and, my favorite, the sixth episode of “The Last Of Us” on HBO.

Today, remember to write on George Washington’s Facebook wall because it is Presidents Day in America, honoring our nation’s first president and all of the others who followed–even the ones you don’t like–on the closest Monday to what would’ve been Washington’s 291st birthday.

It is Olivier Sarr’s birthday too.

To the news and notes…

John Calipari’s Coaches Show is live tonight

Kentucky Basketball plays another Wednesday game this week so we will have to wait another day before the team’s pregame press conference about the trip to Gainesville and what they took from the win against Tennessee on Saturday. However, Mondays are still for John Calipari’s radio show and he is scheduled to be live on the airwaves with Tom Leach from 6-7 p.m. on the UK Sports Network.

Fans can expect the conversation will include the latest regarding Sahvir Wheeler and CJ Fredrick, high praise for Chris Livingston, and whatever Bob In Jamestown asks about the team. Tune in for Calipari’s comments or check back here for KSR’s recap of the show.

Maybe some AP Poll votes this week?

Facing an eighth straight week outside the Top 25, Kentucky may have played its way into the Others Receiving Votes category of the AP poll after wins at Mississippi State and against No. 10 Tennessee. We’ll find out today at noon when the Week 16 edition of the rankings is released.

Up top, Houston is expected to take the No. 1 spot due to Alabama’s loss last week in Knoxville.

Kentucky slid in the NET Rankings overnight

In the NET Rankings, Kentucky slid two places to No. 35 following Sunday’s results in college basketball. Currently with four Quad 1 wins on the resume, there is potential for a fifth by winning Wednesday night at Florida.

Lunardi finally took Kentucky off the bubble

pic.twitter.com/xqW9cRNb7i

— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) February 19, 2023

Now it’s important to improve the projected seed rather than reverting back to the play-in conversation. Finish strong.

Kentucky Women’s Basketball now 2-12 in the SEC

The losing streak continues for Kyra Elzy’s Kentucky Women’s Basketball program after suffering a catastrophic 79-57 loss to Vanderbilt on Sunday. The win was only Vanderbilt’s third this season in conference play. For Kentucky, it dropped the Wildcats to 2-12 in the SEC and 10-16 for the season, a very disappointing year after Elzy’s contract extension.

Kentucky is now locked into a Wednesday game at the upcoming SEC Tournament and will play for last place in the conference with a trip to one-win Texas A&M coming up on Thursday. The regular season concludes Sunday in Lexington with Tennessee in town for Senior Day.

UK Baseball bounced back to win first series

After losing the first game of the 2023 season on Friday, Kentucky Baseball recovered to win Game 2 and Game 3 against Elon to win the opening series, 2-1, over the weekend. On Saturday, pitcher Tyler Bosma retired the first 14 batters of the game in Kentucky’s 5-1 win at Elon. Then on Sunday, starter Zack Lee pitched a five-inning shutout and the relievers finished the job to keep Elon off the scoreboard in Kentucky’s 4-0 win. Catcher Devin Burkes put UK ahead right away with a home run in the first inning.

Tomorrow, the 2-1 Kentucky Wildcats host Evansville on Opening Day at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington. The game starts at 4 p.m. and the forecast looks good. Maybe I’ll see you out there. Buy you a beer?

UK Softball won a fourth straight game

Since the first and only loss of the season in the first game of North Texas’s Tracy Beard Classic, 15th-ranked Kentucky Softball (6-1-1) won four in a row–including a no-hitter!–before coming home from Celina, Texas. On Sunday, the Wildcats beat Sam Houston State, 5-2, led by a three-RBI afternoon for junior infielder Erin Coffel.

Up next, it’s off to Los Angeles for a six-game stint on the West Coast, then to Oklahoma a week later. Kentucky Softball isn’t home until Wednesday, March 8 for the first game at John Cropp Stadium.

“Southern Hoops” Part Four to feature the SEC in the 1980s

Tonight on SEC Network, the fourth episode of “Southern Hoops: A History of SEC Basketball” airs at 9 p.m. (although, the women’s game before it usually runs long so extend your DVR times) and part four of the seven-part series will feature the 1980s. Titled “The Entertainers,” this fourth episode focuses on Charles Barkley at Auburn, Dominique Wilkins at Georgia, Pat Summitt’s first two national championships, and a couple of other non-Kentucky subjects from around the Southeastern Conference.

Next week, “Southern Hoops” will highlight SEC Basketball in the 90s, including Rick Pitino’s era at Kentucky and the Wildcats’ rivalry with Arkansas. Last week, Joe B. Hall and Jack Givens were heavily featured.

Duke vs. Louisville on ESPN tonight

In a game of evils, Duke hosts Louisville in the ESPN Monday night game at 7 p.m. The Blue Devils are currently 18.5-point favorites.

Kansas at TCU will follow for a nice Monday night doubleheader for college basketball fans looking for action.

Matt Jones, Ryan Lemond, and Shannon The Dude coming up on KSR

Get to your radios at 10 a.m. for a Monday morning with Kentucky Sports Radio.

Go Cats.