Connect with us

Men's Basketball

KY Insider Preview: Kentucky vs. Missouri

Published

on

Coming off a monster statement win against Tennessee, the Cats head to Columbus, MO to face the Missouri Tigers.

Missouri is currently sitting in 12th place in the SEC with a 12-12 record including a 3-9 record in the SEC. Before the season began, Missouri lost their star player and projected first-round draft pick, Jontay Porter to a torn ACL.

The Tigers are a far inferior opponent, but Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin comes prepared when playing the Cats, with a 2-2 record. Let’s take a look at the keys to the game.

Advertisement

Keys to the Game

1.Show Up

As I stated, the Tigers are a far inferior opponent but the Cats need to come prepared after a huge win. As the 153rd most offensively efficient team in the NCAA, Missouri only averages 68.0 points per game and have only reached 80 twice this season. With the #7 defense coming to town, don’t anticipate for Missouri to reach their season average.

The Tigers are also not so great on the boards, they rank 174th in total rebounds per game. As great as Kentucky crashes the offensive glass, Kentucky should control the boards.

Advertisement

2. Guard the Three

Missouri doesn’t do a lot of great things on offense but they can shoot the three and could make it a game if they catch fire from deep. The Tigers are currently shooting 37% from three and that is the source of 37.5% of their points.

The perimeter scoring for the Tigers will come mostly from Mark Smith (47.1%) and Jordan Geist (36.1%), both of which have over 100 attempts from deep so far this year.

3. Keep feeding PJ Washington

Advertisement

PJ Washington has been playing like the SEC player of the year and his play the last 8 games has firmly placed him firmly in that conversation. PJ might be the most improved player in all of college basketball and should break the stigma that if a player at Kentucky doesn’t enter the draft as a freshman, they are a failure.

PJ is currently averaging 14.8 points and 8 rebounds on the season, but what is more amazing is his team-best 43.4% 3P which is second in the SEC. In fact, Washington is 7th all-time in Kentucky basketball history in three-point percentage (min. 50 shots).

Players to Watch

1.Jordan Geist

Advertisement

Geist is the Tiger’s primary scoring option and is coming off a 23 point performance against Mississippi with an efficient 56.3% FG. Geist has scored 17 or more points in nine games this season. Ashton Hagans will most likely cover him and with his defensive ability should slow him down.

2. Javon Pickett

The freshman guard has attempted the second most shots on this team behind Jordan Geist, with 41% of those attempts coming from deep. He doesn’t shoot a great percentage (39.8 %) from the field, but is capable of getting hot and dropping 20+ points.

3. Mark Smith

Advertisement

Smith attempts 5.8 three-point shots per game and for good reason, as he is shooting an SEC-best 47.1% from three. However, Smith is coming off a 6 game absence after an ankle injury and only recorded 3 points in 14 minutes against Ole Miss on Saturday.


Prediction

The ESPN basketball power index gives Kentucky an 87.3% chance to take care of business against the Tigers. Missouri only has one win over a KenPom top-50 team and is coming off a 75-65 loss to Mississippi in which they matched a season-worst, 25 turnovers. As long as the Cats come mentally prepared and take care of the ball, the Cats should have a pretty easy night.

Kentucky-76 Missouri-59

Advertisement

Advertisement

Men's Basketball

Adou Thiero Enters Transfer Portal, Keeps Options Open

Published

on

© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky’s first domino of the off-season has fallen. Adou Thiero has entered the transfer portal, according to On3’s Jamie Shaw. He has entered his name in the NBA Draft as well, while not ruling out a return to Kentucky, according to KSR’s Jack Pilgrim.

A big hit to Kentucky’s upcoming roster, as Thiero’s upside and growth will be missed. In the 2023-24 season, Thiero averaged 7.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while missing 7 games due to injury. The 6-8 wing brought physicalness that Kentucky desperately needed this season, and something Calipari has been stressing for this upcoming season. Calipari harped on him numerous times this season, saying “He’s gotten so much better.”

Thiero has jumped in mock drafts all season, and his potential is sky high. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony even had Thiero going 27th in the 2025 NBA Draft. Now, he will get to add to his potential elsewhere.

Advertisement

Now, Kentucky will look to find a good replacement for him as more things start happening throughout the off-season. Calipari is continuing to meet with players to discuss their future plans throughout the week.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Men's Basketball

John Calipari Highlights Changes for Next Season

Published

on

John Calipari draws up a play at Kentucky's season opener. Said he made a "tweak".
UK Athletics

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein.

Many Kentucky fans have referred to this quote over the last few days, expressing a desire for a change from John Calipari. However, Calipari will be back on the sidelines for the Kentucky Wildcats next season for his 16th season, confirmed by Mitch Barnhart on Tuesday.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes.

Advertisement

On Monday, John Calipari went on his season-ending radio show, giving his first comments to fans since Kentucky’s upset loss to Oakland last Thursday. It was easy to see why is a good recruiter, as he said all the right things.

For the better part of an hour, Calipari spoke with humility, answered some direction questions from Tom Leach, and accepted criticism. The main takeaway was that he understands that he has not met the Kentucky standard or his own standard, and changes need to take place.

“We’ve got to evaluate everything,” Calipari said. Here are some changes that have been outlined.

Getting Back to “Grinding”

Kentucky basketball offseason has often consisted of international trips to the Bahamas, or Canada last season, but not this year. Calipari emphasized a desire to get back to what his early Kentucky teams were characterized by, defense and physicality.

Advertisement

“What about in the summers, instead of the Bahmas or Toronto, we’re grinding,” Calipari proposed. “We’ve got to get back to where we’ve been defensively and with physicality. Your defense steadies you.”

Those trips are good for team bonding and chemistry, but it’s clear that time can be used better for getting into the weight room and instilling defensive principles. Calipari did note that he does not want to take a step back on offense.

Getting Older

Calipari is the coach who made the “one-and-done” approach popular, relying heavily on elite freshmen. However, with college basketball getting older, he has expressed a willingness to get older.

“We’re relying on freshmen too much. In those kinds of games, you better have some vets,” Calipari said of his takeaway from Oakland. “For us, we need to get older.”

Advertisement

It should be noted that Calipari relied on transfers in 2022 and 2023, albeit most not being the elite transfers, but more supporting pieces (i.e. CJ Fredrick) and developmental players (i.e. Jacob Toppin). That said, two transfers have been the leading scorer for Kentucky in three straight seasons, Oscar Tshiebwe and Antonio Reeves.

Calipari is looking more for a middle ground between young talent and transfers. “I like the combination of both. We just got to get the right transfers.”

Program Changes

When you are winning, you have more freedom, but when you have just one NCAA Tournament win in the last four seasons, you’re not going to have that luxury. This was not publicly said by Calipari, but more oversight will come as a result of his meeting with Barnhart on Tuesday afternoon.

Expect 1-2 staff changes and likely a support staff change. One of the staff changes should be filled with a defensive mind, and the support staff should be (suggestion) filled with someone in a general manager-type role. There will also be some operation changes such as having a more definitive practice schedule, rather than getting a text the day before/of, and some changes with the NIL model.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Men's Basketball

Mitch Barnhart Speaks On John Calipari Coming Back As Kentucky Basketball Coach, “He Will Return”

Published

on

Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart confirms that John Calipari will return as Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach.
Mike Weaver/Special to the Courier Journal

After days of speculation, Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart confirms that John Calipari will be back, coaching his 16th season for the Kentucky Wildcats. The two had a conversation at Barnhart’s farm on Tuesday afternoon.

“As we normally do at the end of every season, Coach Calipari and I have had conversations about the direction of our men’s basketball program and I can confirm that he will return for his 16th season as our head coach,” Barnhart said in a statement.

While there was some fan outcry for a head coaching change, there was no real indication that a change would be made.

Advertisement

Barnhart was put in a difficult situation. Calipari has not led the Wildcats to the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2019, but he is one of just a few active Hall of Fame coaches. With no clear option as a replacement, Barnhart decided to retain Calipari for another season.

Kentucky Insider has been told that Tuesday’s meeting between the two was “good”, despite some disagreement. As a result of the meeting, there will be some expected changes in the program, specifically some staff changes, and changes in day-to-day operations.

On Monday, Calipari recognized his shortcomings and closed out his show with a commitment to the Kentucky fans:

“That standard of national titles has been here from coach Rupp on. The only thing I am saying to all our fans. I’m going to work… That is a commitment that I give to the fans. I love it. This is what I want. This is it. Let’s come together and let’s do something.”

Advertisement

Calipari is set to meet with players individually on Wednesday to discuss their stay/go decisions. The process of rebuilding next year’s roster (and staff) begins now.

Continue Reading

Trending