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Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Georgia: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game

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UK Athletics

The ship is back afloat as the Kentucky Wildcats picked up an impressive, resume-building, win against a very good Tennessee team in Knoxville. The next task at hand is an overperforming Georgia team at Rupp Arena on Tuesday.

Coming into the season, the media picked Georgia to finish second to last in the SEC. Four games into conference play and the Bulldogs are 3-1 with impressive victories over Auburn and Mississippi State.

Now led by former Florida head coach, Mike White, Georgia will come to Lexington trying to grit out another win. Let’s look at the keys to the game.

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Repeat Defensive Performance

Entering Saturday’s contest, Kentucky’s biggest weakness on the season had been their defense. After holding Tennessee to their lowest points total of the season (56), they showed they can be a good defensive team.

After the game, John Calipari noted that the Wildcats forced Tennessee to win on inside shots inside, rather than on threes. This game plan would likely work against a Georgia team that shoots just 46.8% on twos, ranked 290th in the country.

To show that this Kentucky team truly has turned a corner, they will need a repeat performance on the defensive end.

Offense Needs to Continue to Show Improvement

While not a great offensive team, Georgia is a top-50 defensive team, giving up just 64 points per contest. However, in their four losses, the Bulldogs have given up at least 79 points.

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With that said, a slow and gritty game will play into Georgia’s favor. Fortunately for Kentucky, they are coming off one of the most physical games they will have this season and ground it out.

However, Calipari would ideally like to score more than 63 points. While Kentucky has not consistently shown the ability to score a lot of points, CJ Fredrick and Anontio Reeves look to be finding their stride, which has opened up the floor and is a promising sign for an offense that is still improving.

After shooting 88 percent from the free-throw line against Tennessee, it would be great to see the Wildcats continue to shoot well from the charity stripe.

Win the Rebounding Battle

Georgia’s best trait is their rebounding, but have lost the rebounding battle in three of their four losses. On the season, the Bulldogs (39.1 rpg) rank fourth in the SEC in average rebounds just behind the Wildcats (39.3 rpg).

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After absolutely destroying Tennessee on the boards (43-23), Kentucky showed that they can outrebound any team in the country. On Tuesday, Kentucky must show that same fight, and from the start to prevent Georgia from gaining any confidence.

Kentucky Basketball (11-6) vs.  Georgia Bulldogs (13-4)

Time/Date: 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, January 17th, 2023
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
TV Channel: ESPN
Online Stream: WatchESPNESPN+, SEC Network+ or ESPN app
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the UK radio network call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | UGA
Team SheetsUK | UGA
Stats To Know: UK | UGA

Odds: DraftKings Sportsbook has yet to release the odds. This is a matchup where computer models differ greatly. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Wildcats an 85.3 percent chance to win. Bart Torvik is less confident in the Cats at just 68 percent.

PredictionsBart Torvik picks the Wildcats to win in a close one 69-65.

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Also published on A Sea of Blue.

BB Recruiting

Chin Coleman Talks About Kentucky’s 2024 Recruiting Class

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Kentucky Wildcats assistant coach Chin Coleman goes into detail about the 2024 recruiting class.
© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky basketball assistant coach Chin Coleman recently spoke with the media. While talking about the game, Coleman was asked about Kentucky’s current signees in the 2024 class, which now sits No. 2 overall, all of whom signed this in the early signing period.

Somto Cyril

“A freak of nature, Coleman says. He says he has to get better with his skill-set, but that he does things that no one else in the world can do: “He’s a freak of nature. Obviously, he’s gotta get better with his skill set, right, but he does things that no one in the world could do, not even guys in the NBA could do some of the stuff that he does in terms of pure shot-blocker, pure vertical spacer. He gets way over the rim, and that gives you something that a lot of teams don’t have.”

Boogie Fland

With Boogie Fland, he says he’s the best point guard in the country, and that he is expecting to give the keys to him when he arrives: “You talk about Boogie, who’s the best point guard in the country,” Coleman said. “We got the best, in Boogie, and we’re expecting Boogie to come in here and have the keys to the Lamborghini and drive it the right way.”

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Jayden Quaintance

Talking about Jayden Quaintance, Coleman calls him a “prodigy”: “You have a prodigy, who is probably–arguably one of the best players in the country regardless of class. ’24, ’25, it doesn’t matter,” Coleman said. “He too has some force and some physicality, but he’s very, very, very, skilled. He’s 6-10 245-250, and he plays like a guard,” Coleman said. “The crazy thing about it is, two years, think about that. Jayden Quaintance for two years, that’s unheard of.”

Travis Perry

Coleman also dove in on Travis Perry, saying, “Hometown kid. His parents obviously share some relationships with the university. All he knows is blue. He wanted to go here no matter how many people recruited him. This is where he wanted to be.”


On the recruiting class as a whole, he calls it a “unique” class that is different in its own way. Kentucky is on a hot streak in the 2024 class and beyond, and doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.

Check out Coleman’s answer in the video below!

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BB Recruiting

Kentucky Targets Play In Made Hoops Derek Smith Invitational

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Kentucky basketball recruiting prospect AJ Dybantsa going up for a dunk,
NBC Boston

The city of Louisville had some of the nation’s top high school prospects in town this weekend at Saint Xavier High School for the Made Hoops Derek Smith Invitational. A few of the nation’s top high school teams were there as well, and they featured some very notable names.

Headlined by 2024 Kentucky signee Jayden Quaintance, who did not play in the event, there were a few major Kentucky targets in Louisville this weekend. The top player of 2025, AJ Dybantsa, who is a generational talent, put up a great game against Link Academy on Saturday, which features 2026 Texas signee Tre Johnson and 2025 Top-15 prospect Jasper Johnson.

Dybantsa finished with 25 points, and his teammate, 2026 Top prospect Tyran Stokes, is another major Kentucky target. He had 12 points. Jasper Johnson ended with 10 points for Link Academy, coming up short in the loss to Prolific Prep.

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Sunday featured Prolific Prep vs. St. Xavier, where Dybantsa struggled, but Tyran Stokes made up for it. Dybantsa is known as an athletic finisher, who is long and can really score. That wasn’t clicking on Sunday. Instead, it was Stokes who was playing very aggressively attacking the basket. He even threw down a few monster dunks. Stokes had a full head of steam attacking the rim all day. Kentucky’s staff was in attendance.

Dybantsa spoke after the game on Sunday to talk about Kentucky and what it means to him to be offered by Kentucky.

“It’s a blessing,” he said. “High-major school, you know, multiple NBA players, a lot of college championships.” He spoke about playing with other elite talent right now, and eventually at the next level, “I know how to blend well. I know how to get my teammates involved.”

Dybantsa also went on to about what he is looking for his role to be at the next level: “Like a point forward or just play shooting guard at my height.” He then talked about things he has to do to be his best at the next level: “Get all my ball-handling right, limit turnovers, and just making the right passes.”

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Dybantsa is a generational talent, and there was a lot of talent this weekend in Louisville. A notable win from the weekend was Fredrick Douglass’ close win against St. Frances, who is a nationally known team. A lot to like about this weekend in Louisville.

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Men's Basketball

Recap And Takeaways From Kentucky’s Stunning Loss To UNC Wilmington

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Kentucky Forward Justin Edwards reacts to an foul call at Rupp Arena.
© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky looked like a totally different team on Saturday when they faced UNC Wilmington at Rupp Arena, losing to a score of 80-73.

Kentucky played a very sloppy game, putting up a season-high 14 turnovers, also as a result of very good defense from UNC Wilmington.

Let’s dive into the takeaways from the game.

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Kentucky Ties A Season-High 14 Turnovers

Kentucky did not look like the team we have watched to start the season. Playing very sloppy, and making questionable passes, Kentucky ended up with 14 turnovers, which ties a season-high.

The Cats had 9 turnovers in the first half alone, cleaning them up a little bit in the second half. Kentucky’s assist-to-turnover ratio took a big hit tonight, with only dishing out 14 assists.

Kentucky Struggles From Three-Point Range

Kentucky’s offense had struggles all night, with turnovers a big part of it from making questionable passes. But, Kentucky also struggled from deep. Not putting up as much threes as usual, Kentucky only attempted 17, and hit 5 of them.

Besides Reed Sheppard, no one else could get it going from behind the arc. Sheppard was the team’s leading scorer, finishing with 25 points on 3 of 6 from deep, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and added 2 steals.

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Kentucky Looked Out Of Control

Kentucky had a lot of silly turnovers, especially in the first half, and played a very sloppy game on the offensive end, which ended up affecting the defensive side too.

There were times were Kentucky was forcing passes, which ended up in turnovers, but cleaned those up in the second half.

Overall, Kentucky looked like a much different team tonight, but will look to get their bearings after a week off, when they face Penn in Philadelphia on December 9th. No need to fret, BBN, we’ve got a good team.

Box Score

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