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Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs Bellarmine; How to Watch and Things to Know

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UK Athletics

After six days off, the Kentucky Wildcats will return to action against the Bellarmine Knights.

Inheriting a losing Division-II team in 2005, head coach Scott Davenport has turned around the Bellarmine program, winning the 2012 D-II national championship and leading them to Division-I in 2020.

Despite being in D1 for just two seasons, the Knights have made an impressive transition. In their first season, Bellarmine was picked to finish last in the Atlantic Sun, but finished second in the regular season and went to the CBI semifinals.

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Last season, they made an even bigger jump as they won 20 games en route to a second-place finish in the ASUN and winning the conference tournament. However, due to the NCAA-mandated reclassification, the Knights are not eligible for the NCAA Tournament or NIT until 2025.

Since becoming a D1 school, Bellarmine has been known to play a difficult non-conference schedule and this season is no different. With a misleading 2-5 record, the Knights beat Louisville 67-66 in their season opener – to win the title for the best team in Louisville – the Knights have played at Duke and UCLA, and will end their gauntlet road trip with Kentucky.

Let’s look at the things to know, predictions, and streaming info for this inaugural regular season matchup.

Execution

While Bellarmine does not have the talent or athleticism that Kentucky has, they play disciplined basketball and do not beat themselves. The Knights rank toward the bottom of the country in turnovers, opponent steals, and opponent blocks.

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In addition, Bellarmine is one of the slowest teams in the country, averaging just 62.3 possessions per game (ranked 361st) and giving up just 63.8 shot attempts for the opponent. On those shot attempts, they defend very well as their opponents shoot just 38.1 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from three.

This opposes what Kentucky tries to do, as they are one of the fastest teams in the country. With that said, it is much easier to slow down a game than speed it up, and Bellarmine was able to accomplish that against Duke and UCLA.

With a more limited amount of possessions, it will be key for Kentucky to execute against a disciplined team.

Dominate the Boards

One of Kentucky’s biggest strengths, which is coincidentally one of Bellarmine’s weaknesses, is rebounding.

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Averaging 43.2 rebounds per game, the Wildcats are the seventh-best rebounding team in the country. Whereas, the Knights are the seventh-worst rebounding team, averaging just 27.6 per contest.

As mentioned before, Bellarmine will do their best to limit possessions. If Kentucky dominates the boards as they should, they can create extra opportunities for themselves on offense. Expect a great performance by Oscar Tshiebwe.

Get Damion Collins Going and Help Chris Livingston Find His Role

This season, many Wildcats have had standout performances. Yet there is one that hasn’t, Damion Collins.

On his weekly call-in show last week, Calipari mentioned that Collins was the best player in this season’s preseason practices, before his father, Ben Collins, passed away.

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Thus far, Collins’ best performance has been a 6-point, 7-rebound performance against South Carolina State. While this isn’t bad, the Wildcats will need more from their first big man off the bench. A confidence-boosting performance against Bellarmine would help.

As for Livingston, he has averaged just over 15 minutes per game and has done good things when he has played, especially defensively and with rebounding. However, when he plays the three-spot, it hurts the offense. It would be nice to see Livingston display the ability to play some four and be comfortable with it.

Kentucky Wildcats vs. Bellarmine Knights

Time/Date: 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, November 29th, 2022
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
Online Stream: WatchESPNESPN+, SEC Network+, or the ESPN app
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the UK radio network call on WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1, and the UK Sports Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | BU
Stats To Know: UK | BU
Team SheetsUK | BU
Live Stats

Odds: The betting line has yet to be released. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Wildcats a 95.8% chance of winning, and Bart Torvik has it at 97%.

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PredictionsBart Torvik has Kentucky winning in an 80-58 blowout.

Men's Basketball

Mark Pope Provides Positive Injury Update on Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson

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Kentucky guard Jaxon Robinson watching warmups as he sits with an injured wrist.
Tristan Pharis

Kentucky fans received a bit of good news today as Mark Pope previewed the Wildcats’ rematch with Alabama.

Asked about the status of Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson, Pope had positive news to share rather than the not-so-good news he is growing accustomed to providing over recent weeks.

“Lamont is going to get a little bit of live action today,’ Pope said. “Jax (Jaxson Robinson) is gonna be in some skill stuff today”

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This is a very promising update for Kentucky as they are doing everything they can to get healthy for a run in March. However, it does sound like we are closer to a return of Lamont Butler than we are seeing Jaxson Robinson return.

Although the update did seem promising, it shouldn’t be expected for either player to suit up against Alabama. That said, an injury report will be released around 7 PM eastern tonight.

At this point in time, the most crucial thing is getting Lamont Butler, and Jaxson Robinson back healthy for a postseason run in March. Although Kentucky has had bright spots without Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson, it is clear that they have missed both of these guys. Pope seems more hopeful with each day that we will see these guys back in uniform in the pretty near future.

The Cats will be back in action tomorrow at 6 PM on ESPN against an Alabama team who will be hungry after a road loss to Missouri.

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Men's Basketball

Koby Brea on Making Big Plays At Kentucky: “It’s Stuff You Dream of as a Little Kid”

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Kentucky Wildcats guard Koby Brea (4) reacts to the action from the bench in Rupp Arena.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

Among a wave of feel-good storylines in the wake of Kentucky’s ranked home win over Tennessee last week, completing the season sweep, Koby Brea’s playmaking towards the end of the second half was the nail in the Volunteers’ coffin.

On back-to-back possessions, Brea led the charge with a depleted Wildcats offense, following the re-aggravation of Lamont Butler’s shoulder injury and the continued absence of Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa.

First, “Fuego,” as he’s been lovingly dubbed by the Big Blue Nation, executed a clutch step-back triple to extend Kentucky’s lead to six, 68-62. Then, after a defensive stop, Brea slashed into the lane and threw a no-look-lob to Otega Oweh that essentially sealed the deal.

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Kentucky led 70-62 with just over a minute to go, and would ultimately get out with a double-digit win, 75-64.

Bucket List Buckets

Asked about the deciding stretch after the game, Brea emphasized staying calm, and how the moment is the stuff of childhood dreams.

“I play hard throughout the game on both ends,” he said. “When it’s time for me to shoot, I have to just relax a little bit. That’s the one moment in the game where I’m just going to take my time and breathe a little bit.”

Brea finished the game with 11 points and shot a scorching 50% metric (3/6) from the three-point line. Whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it right.

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“It felt good,” he said regarding his third, and most crucial, triple. “To hit shots like that in such a big moment, in such a big game, it’s stuff that you dream of as a little kid.”

“It made me feel really good, and it just goes to show all the work that I’ve put in, and how confident I am in that moment, and how confident my team is in that moment with me as well… they knew I was going to go to work, and that meant a lot to me as well.”

With both Robinson and Butler likely to remain out against Texas on Saturday, Kentucky will likely rely on Brea to start, and produce, once more. No matter how tough the SEC has proven to be, this Kentucky team has responded every time; the “next man up” mentality in Lexington is like no other.

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Men's Basketball

Amari Williams With Historic ‘Perfect’ Game as Kentucky Blows Out Vanderbilt at Home

In a must win game at home, Amari Williams didn’t miss a shot, spurring Kentucky to a double-digit victory.

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Kentucky Wildcats center Amari Williams (22) dunks the ball in Rupp Arena.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

The “get-back” game, as they call it. After losing to Vanderbilt in Nashville last month, Kentucky evened the season slate between the ‘Cats and Commodores at home in an 82-61 win, including a chasmic 41-21 advantage in the second half.

Picture Perfect

While the Wildcats will take away much positivity from the win, the most glaring highlight is Amari Williams’ perfection from both the field and the free throw line; he tallied 17 points on 6/6 and 5/5 splits. For perspective, Williams is the first basketball player in college or the NBA to have such a stat line since Hall of Famer Pau Gasol in 2010.

Williams’ strong performance is only the latest in a long line of memorable games for the senior transfer. In January, he became only the fourth Wildcat in program history to log a triple-double, doing so on the road in the loss to Ole Miss.

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In addition to that flawless performance, Collin Chandler rose to new heights in what was undoubtedly his best performance of the season thus far, too.

Chandler entered the game early as the first substitution off the bench, sinking a three on his first possession and not once looking back. In 15 minutes, Chandler scored seven points, grabbed six boards, and added two assists and steals, to boot.

It Takes A Team

Despite standout individual performances, Kentucky’s pivotal victory took the entire team, battling through their persistent injury issues (which cost them three players tonight) ahead of an ominous, ever-brutal SEC schedule.

“Kentucky was on a high level today,” admitted Commodores’ head coach Mark Byington following the game.

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“I thought Pope put them in a great spot to be successful, and those guys executed… I thought Kentucky was great tonight.”

As far as what Coach Pope himself had to say, he made sure to give his guys flowers.

“I thought Collin gave us a massive boost tonight, energy-wise… the plays he made today, he’s been making in practice, and he is going to help us in a huge way down the stretch. I was really proud of him tonight,” he said.

And Amari? “Amari decided he wasn’t passing the ball tonight,” Pope joked.

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“Amari right now is top 5 all-time in the SEC in terms of PAR (points plus assists plus rebounds)… that’s insane what we’re witnessing him do. I thought he was brilliant tonight.”

“He’s grown so much, and he’s taken on so much, and he’s just like “Give me more.””

With their backs against the wall, Kentucky continues to battle until the bell rings. Now 18-8 (7-6) on the year, the ‘Cats have five more games before the madness begins. Their next test comes in the form of fourth-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa this Saturday.

But for the time being, Vanderbilt was a must-win, and win Kentucky did.

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