Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Colgate: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, and Betting Odds/Predictions

Published

6 months ago

December 10, 2024

Kentucky's Otega Oweh Celebrates after a big play.

Tristan Pharis | KY Insider

What a weekend for the Kentucky Wildcats! Down as many as 18 points in the second half, the team clawed their back to beat Gonzaga in Seattle, in what will likely be their last ranked game of the non-conference schedule.

Now their attention turns to Colgate on Wednesday, the Wildcats’ final sub-200 KenPom team on the schedule.

The Raiders are just 2-8, but they entered the season with high expectations. Winning five straight Patriot League titles, they were picked to win their sixth straight in the preseason. However, they sport a younger roster and that has presented some early challenges.

Wednesday’s contest will be the first between the two programs and will also be a special moment for one local family.

Watching in Rupp Arena will be the family of Ephraim Woods, a late Colgate professor and men’s basketball liaison who passed away last year following a battle with brain cancer. Woods, a native of Ashland, was a lifelong Kentucky fan who developed a love for Raiders’ basketball after he began teaching at Colgate in 2002. However, he never got to see his two teams play one another.

In what will be a special game for his family, let’s take a look at the matchup.

Point Guard Situation

The biggest concern for the Cats right now is the point guard situation. Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa are both out with injuries, the latter being out for at least 3-6 weeks with a Jones fracture.

According to Mark Pope, that leaves Jaxson Robinson, Travis Perry, and Collin Chandler to split the PG duties until Butler and Kriisa return. After his five-assist, zero-turnover performance against Gonzaga, Robinson is the lead candidate to run point. That said, this is an opportunity for Perry and Chandler to get some more game action under their belts, potentially helping them contribute more later this season, and certainly helping their development.

End the Shooting Slump

Over the first five games of the season, Kentucky shot a blistering 42.3 percent mark from deep, among the best in the country. However, over the last four, that percentage is only 27.1 percent.

The two common denominators: better competition; physical defenses extending out beyond the three-point line. Colgate fitting either, is a perfect opponent for Kentucky to end that slump against.

Dominate the Glass

Colgate is one of the nation’s worst-rebounding teams, averaging just over 30 per game. In comparison, Kentucky averages 44.7, the second most in the country.

Therefore, there should be no reason for Kentucky not to dominate the boards on Wednesday, from start to finish. This should allow Kentucky to have a lot of second-chance opportunities, specifically catch-and-shoot threes.

Opposing Players to Watch

G Brady Cummins 6-6, 190 lbs

10.9 PPG

3.9 RPG
35.5% 3P

F Jeff Woodward 6-11, 270 lbs

9.8 PPG
5.5 RPG
66.7% FG

G Nicolas Louis-Jacques 6-4, 195 lbs

10.6 PPG
37.5% 3P

Kentucky Basketball (8-1) vs. Colgate Raiders (2-8)

Time: 8:00 PM ET on December 11th
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
TV Channel: ESPN2
Announcers: TBA
Online Stream: ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and ESPN network of channels (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | COLG
Stats to Know: UK | COLG
KenPom: UK | COLG
Team Sheet: UK | COLG

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for this game, please check for those closer to the game. The projections all have the Cats as a lock to win the game: Bart Torvik (99%), KenPom (99%), EvanMiya (98.9%), and ESPN (98.8%).

Predictions: In agreement with the wining percentages, the projections have Kentucky winning a blowout, ranging from 27-34 points: Haslametrics (95-61), Bart Torvik (92-60), KenPom (89-62), EvanMiya (87-60). I think Kentucky will end their shooting slump and put Colgate away early, 94-66.

Also posted on A Sea of Blue.

Men's Basketball

Former Kentucky Star, 10-year NBA Veteran Eric Bledsoe Arrested and Charged with Felony Domestic Violence

Published

3 hours ago

June 19, 2025

Tristan Pharis

Former Kentucky guard Eric Bledsoe has been arrested and charged with felony domestic violence.

Scott Utterback | Courier Journal

Eric Bledsoe, a key part of the 2009-10 Kentucky team that reinvigorated the Big Blue Nation following the Billy Gillispie era, was arrested on Wednesday morning.

According to reports, the California Highway Patrol investigated a report of domestic violence. The investigators were led to a gas station on a Los Angeles-area freeway where they discovered Bledsoe with a woman who was suffering from “bruising and swelling” to her face, and who said that Bledsoe allegedly hit her. Bledsoe was booked on a felony domestic violence charge and held on $55,000 bail.

Bledsoe was previously arrested on a similar charge back in 2022, but that case was later dropped when prosecutors said the alleged victim gave “inconsistent statements about whether there was a physical altercation.”

Bledsoe was part of Kentucky’s La Familia team last year in the TBT, and was announced to return again this season.

Men's Basketball

Zach Tow Returns For Second Season As Kentucky Walk-On

Madisonville native Zach Tow reappears in team photos as UK begins summer workouts

Published

19 hours ago

June 18, 2025

Ali Cetinok

Elliott Hess | UK Athletics

Zach Tow, a walk-on from last season’s team, appeared to have his status for this year confirmed after being spotted in UK Athletics’ photos from the first day of summer workouts.

The clock has started 🕰️ pic.twitter.com/Mx2UlixakY— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 17, 2025

The Madisonville native (No. 20 in blue pictured above) returns to the program for his second season under head coach Mark Pope, having joined the Wildcats following on-campus tryouts last year. The 6-foot-5 senior was an All-District and All-Region selection at Madisonville North Hopkins, where he averaged 12.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game as a senior during the 2021-22 season. As a junior, he averaged 11 points and 11 rebounds. He helped lead the team to the Sweet 16 in 2019.

Tow saw playing time in a blowout win during the regular-season home finale against LSU and again in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Troy–Pope’s first NCAA Tournament win as a head coach.

He is the second walk-on from last season’s roster to return, following Walker Horn. Both Horn and Grant Darbyshire entered the transfer portal after the season; Horn would go on to decide to come back, while Darbyshire transferred to his hometown team of Cincinnati.

Men's Basketball

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Reaching Closer To Coveted Finals MVP

Published

2 days ago

June 17, 2025

Isaiah Pinto

Alonzo Adams | Imagn Images

After trading wins through the first four games of the NBA Finals, Oklahoma City broke the series tie to command a 3-2 lead with back-to-back wins.

The Thunder dominated in their return to Paycom Center as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams combined for 71 points en route to a 120-109 victory. Indiana took a narrow 12-11 lead with 9:03 left in the first quarter and never reclaimed it.

Oklahoma City’s defense stirred havoc on the Pacers all game.

Game one hero Tyrese Haliburton was battling a lower leg injury and was held to only four points. Haliburton went 0-6 from the field, only scoring from the free-throw line.

Gilgeous-Alexander recorded four blocks and two steals in addition to his 31-point performance. The Thunder outnumbered Indiana in blocks 12 to four and steals 15 to nine.

In the fourth, the Thunder shook off a rally by the Pacers that closed their 18-point lead to only two points.

A behind-the-back pass from Gilgeous-Alexander led to a Williams deep ball. Followed by a scoop-and-score by fellow ex-Wildcat Cason Wallace, the OKC lead extended to seven.

Indiana continued to be outmatched by the Thunder defense.

Gilgeous-Alexander persistently split through the Pacers’ double teams and found open teammates, fueling an 18-to-2-point run to close out the win. Claiming the first back-to-back victory for either team this series.

The Kentucky alum finished with a double-double with 31 points and 10 assists, his first of the series.

Game five marked Gilgeous-Alexander’s fourth 30-point performance of the NBA Finals. Currently, he is averaging 32.4 points, 5.0 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and 2.4 steals per game.

A Finals victory almost looks certain for the Thunder. Given Halliburton’s injury and the palpable momentum swinging in Oklahoma City’s favor with consecutive wins.

Gilgeous-Alexander is one win away from claiming the first Finals MVP for any Kentucky player in NBA history. Additionally, Gilgeous-Alexander would join an exclusive club of legends to earn Finals MVP and league MVP in the same season.

He would become the first double-crowned MVP since LeBron James in 2013.