For the second time this season, Mark Pope’s Kentucky Wildcats, short multiple players due to injury, took down a fully healthy Tennessee Volunteers roster as the clear underdogs.

This go around was in Rupp Arena, where the ‘Cats managed to down the Vols by double-digits, 75-64, behind multiple key performances both from new starts and across the bench.

It was a textbook team effort, and after the game, Mark Pope made sure to highlight the team’s togetherness as an important factor in the victory.

“It takes every single one of our guys,” Pope said. “Every single one of our guys is making key important plays.”

“Every single guy on our roster that could play tonight made important plays. I like Kentucky being that way.”

A ‘Cat of Every Creed

Down to the end of the bench, every ‘Cat in the rotation logged important minutes and, in one way or another, made an impact.

The most obvious of which was Trent Noah’s 11-point performance off the bench, but Tyler Perry, his Kentuckian counterpart, also played crucial minutes down the stretch, both scoring in his own right and successfully spelling Lamont Butler and handling Tennessee’ backcourt on defense.

Ansley Almonor bounced back from two scoreless games with 13 points, tying Otega Oweh for the team high. Brandon Garrison filled in extensively for Amari Williams during foul trouble and drilled a three late in the first half to extend Kentucky’s ever-growing lead.

The list goes on; top-to-bottom, front-to-back, Kentucky’s roster came through in full and overwhelmed the Volunteers as a unit. And the team’s timing couldn’t be any better, as without Jaxson Robinson, Lamont Butler and Kerr Kriisa for the time being, having every hand on deck is a must.

The ‘Cats next test comes at Texas this Saturday at 8:00 p.m., where they’ll look to build on their two-game SEC win streak as March continues to creep closer.

No matter what, the world hasn’t seen the last of Kerr Kriisa, the Kentucky Wildcat. #77 will officially return in the blue and white.

Though how he’ll do so is still up in the air. After suffering a foot injury against Gonzaga in early December of last year, the backup point guard has yet to see the floor in full action again.

The Way Back

His progress has been hush-hush, although recently, Mark Pope confirmed Kriisa’s consistency in the weight room, as well as his overall advancement towards returning to practice.

Now, with six games remaining in the regular season, Kerr (as it reads on the back of his jersey) has been confirmed eligible for a medical redshirt next year by Coach Pope himself.

“Kerr could get a medical redshirt because he meets qualifications,” he said. 

“The two qualifications are less than 30 percent of the games played – he’s barely under 30 percent – and not played past the midpoint. So that is a possibility.”

The kicker? He’d have to sit out the rest of this season to do so, even if he does get healthy.

That’s a dilemma in its own right, though exasperated further by Kentucky’s egregious health issues at the point guard position as is. With three players injured at the spot, Kriisa included, the sooner any of them get back, the better.

You can’t win without a point guard, and at this stage of the season, wins are crucial for NCAA tournament seeding next month.

Either Or

Kriisa’s energy, ability to score and leadership in all facets are built for March. On the surface, it seems that if he could return, he should.

But on the flip side, the prospect of a veteran guard like Kriisa accompanying Pope’s first full recruiting class in the 2025-26’ season is almost equally compelling.

The program will benefit from Kriisa’s comeback regardless, whether that be for the rest of this season or all of the next. It’s great news regardless that he remains on the road to recovery and is continuing to make positive progress.

No matter when it may specifically be, the Big Blue Nation awaits the reclamation of #77 with open arms.

Fresh off sweeping the season series against the Tennessee Volunteers, the Kentucky Wildcats will now travel to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns this Saturday. Game time is set for 8 PM ET on ESPN.

This being the Horns’ first year in the SEC, this will be the first conference matchup between the two teams. That said, it will be just the third-ever meeting between the programs. The last came in 1993 in the Maui Invitational (Kentucky won 86-61), followed by the 2014 meeting in the Big 12/SEC Challenge (Kentucky won 63-51).

Picked to finish seventh in the conference, the Longhorns are underperforming compared to expectations. With a 4-8 record, they are currently tied with Georgia for 11th. However, six of their eight losses have come to ranked teams.

In addition, the Longhorns are ranked 33rd by NET and are one of the last projected teams in the latest ESPN Bracketology, so they still have plenty to play for. But to make the field, they’re going to need a big win at some point in the final weeks, and Kentucky is very vulnerable right now with Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler almost certain to be out.

Led by Rodney Terry, who is currently in his third season, the Longhorns have one of the most talented freshmen in the country in Tre Johnson, who previously had Kentucky as a finalist. However, the pieces around him have been inconsistent, leading to the team’s inconsistencies.

Kentucky gets everyone’s best shot, though, and needs to prepare for Texas at its best.

Let’s take a look at the matchup.

Control the Pace

Averaging less than 67 possessions per game, with an average possession length of more than 17 seconds, Texas likes to play at a slower pace.

Kentucky is one of the worst teams in the country in forcing turnovers, but their defensive intensity has picked up in the last two games. That is one area in which they could speed up the game.

However, that will be a difficult task without Lamont Butler spearheading the defense. The more likely scenario is to control the boards.

Texas has only won the rebounding battle in just four of their 12 SEC games, and they have not been a strong rebounding team for the season. The biggest threats that Kentucky will have to watch on the boards are Arthur Kaluma and Kadin Shedrick. However, Kaluma is iffy to play as he battles knee soreness.

Commit to the boards, and Kentucky can play the game at a pace they are comfortable with.

Point Guard Woes

The big story for this Kentucky team over the past several weeks has been injuries. Unfortunately, it has only gotten worse, not better, especially at the point guard position.

After missing three games with a shoulder injury, Lamont Butler returned against South Carolina, only for Jaxson Robinson to suffer a wrist injury in practice the day before. After Robinson reinjured his wrist against the Gamecocks, he is expected to be out for multiple games.

Then, Butler reaggravated his shoulder injury against Tennessee and is also expected to be out multiple games.

While Pope expects to have both of them back in time for March, the Kentucky staff will have to get even more creative with both true points guards out in Butler and Kerr Kriisa, and the stand-in point guard in Robinson out as well.

It will likely be a point guard by committee, with Travis Perry, Otega Oweh, Koby Brea, and Amari Williams all playing their part. Brea is the most interesting case.

On a points-per-possession basis, Brea is the highest-rated high-major player in the country as the pick-and-roll ball handler (1.412 PPP), per synergy. In the last two games, he has eight assists to zero turnovers. He also ran the point for much of Kentucky’s 20-6 run to end Tuesday’s win over a top-five Tennessee squad.

However, this will be the first game where the opponent knows Brea is going to be the lead guard for much of the game. Will he be able to handle an opponent that’s actually game-planned for him to be the primary ball-handler?

Team Effort

When a team is suffering through injuries, players have to step up. That is exactly what has happened for Kentucky over the last month that they have been dealing with injuries.

First, it was Ansley Almonor who stepped up in place of Andrew Carr. Of late, the trio of freshmen has stepped up in their own ways to help the Wildcats.

Trent Noah has a knack for the ball and getting rebounds. He’s also proving himself to be a shooting threat. Travis Perry has taken some point guard duties and is shooting 4/6 from 3 over the last four games, while Collin Chandler is using his athleticism on the defensive end.

This only helps the team in the long run when considering as March nears, providing more depth, but can they sustain the level of production as they are asked to play bigger roles due to injuries?

Opposing Players to Watch

G Tre Johnson 6-6, 190 lbs

• 19.3 PPG (Leads SEC)
• 2.6 APG
• 38.6% 3P (9th in SEC)
• Knee soreness vs Alabama

F Arthur Kaluma 6-7, 225 lbs

• 12.9 PPG
• 7.9 RPG (7th in SEC)
• 39.7% 3P

F Kadin Shedrick 6-11, 231 lbs

• 8.6 PPG
• 6.2 RPG
• 56.5% FG

Kentucky Basketball vs. Texas Longhorns

Time: 8 PM ET on February 15th
Location: Moody Center in Austin, Texas
TV Channel: ESPN
Announcers: Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes will be calling the action.
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 SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | UT
Stats to Know: UK | UT
KenPom: UK | UT
Team Sheet: UK | UT

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has Texas -1.5 with an over/under of 157.5. KenPom is the lone site in the Wildcats’ favor, giving them a 52% chance at victory. BartTorvik is nearly a coin flip at 48%, while ESPN is at 44.7%, and EvanMiya is at 39.4%, while DRatings is at 48.5%.

Predictions: While the percentages vary a bit, the score projections are all within one score. Again, KenPom is the sole projection to pick Kentucky, going with an 82-81 win. DRatings (81-80), EvanMiya (81-78), BartTorvik (82-81), and Haslametrics (80-78) are all choosing Texas. Winning a road game in the SEC is tough, especially without a full roster. That said, this Wildcats team is resilient, and I believe they find a way, so I’m going with a 79-73 victory, Kentucky!

Send us your Kentucky vs. Texas score predictions in the comments section!

Go CATS!