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Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Marshall: TV/Streaming Info, Keys to the Game, and Predictions

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Reed Sheppard points to the Kentucky Wildcat bench at Rupp Arena.
© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

It’s Thanksgiving week and one thing I am thankful for, along with the rest of the Big Blue Nation, is more Kentucky basketball. After beating beating Saint Joseph’s 96-88 in a resilient overtime win, the Wildcats will pick things back up on Black Friday against the Marshall Thundering Herd.

This will be the first time since 2012 the two teams have played against each other, when Kentucky won 82-54. Kentucky will look to improve to 13-0 in the series, and if they do so, Marshall will become the team the Wildcats have beaten the most without a loss, breaking a tie with Chattanooga and Morehead State at 12-0.

Coached by Dan D’Antoni, the older brother of former NBA Coach of the Year Mike D’Antoni, Marshall is 2-3 on the season and ranked 174th in KenPom. While maybe not quite as good as Saint Joseph’s they are a team capable of providing a test, especially phyiscally.

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That said, let’s take a closer look at the matchup.

Rebounding Battle

One of the biggest reasons for Kentucky’s struggles against Saint Joseph’s was due to being outrebounded. Marshall is also a team that crashes the boards effectively, with four players averaging five rebounds or more, highlighted by Nate Martin who is averaging more than nine rebounds per game. Meaning, each Wildcat will have to do their part and box out.

While Martin is the leading rebounder, the Herd also have another big that plays limited minutes, but averages over 13 rebounds per 40 minutes. That player is Goran Miladinovic, who stands 7’0, 244 pounds.

One positive is that Marshall takes eight less three-pointers than Saint Joseph’s, resulting in fewer long rebounds. That said, it’s still going to a battle on the boards, but Kentucky can’t allow 14 offensive rebounds again.

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Play Fast, Play Loose

Marshall plays a fast pace that Kentucky is very comfortably playing. In terms of possessions per game, they are withing half of a possessions of each other with Marshall ay 76.7 and Kentucky at 76.2. Both teams ranked in the top 60

That said, Kentucky is by far the more efficient offensively. To view that, let’s take a look at some stat comparisons.

Points Per Possession

  • Kentucky: 1.176 (18th nationally)
  • Marshall: .942 (254th nationally)

Effective Field Goal Percentage

  • Kentucky: 57.1% (25th nationally)
  • Marshall: 45.1% (286th nationally)

That said, Kentucky should be able to outscore them at the least. With just a 24.6 percent team three-point percentage, hopefully Marshall will be unable to joining the list of opposing teams that shoot absurdly well in Rupp Arena.

Will Aaron Bradshaw Play?

On Tuesday afternoon, Aaron Bradshaw posted an Instagram story with the caption, “God is great man 🤞,” seemingly hinting at return. Shortly after, reports began to surface that he would begin practicing on Wednesday, which has been confirmed.

So the natural question is, will he play against Marshall?

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Kentucky will practice just once before the Marshall game, on Wednesday, as Tuesday was a rest day following Monday’s game and Thanksgiving is Thursday. That said, it is unlikely to see Bradshaw on the court after just one practice, and unlikely that he will debut against a top 10 Miami team. That puts a return around UNC Wilmington on December 2nd, or against Penn in a Philadelphia homecoming game on December 9th.

No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats (4-1) vs. Marshall Thundering Herd (2-3)

Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Players Say They Think About Winning National Championship “Every Second”

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Kentucky basketball players celebrate after their big over Duke.
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The expectations at Kentucky are the highest of any school in the country, and there is good reason why. The winningest college program ever. Eight national titles, under five different coaches. Seventeen Final Four appearances. You get it, a lot of success.

Fans want the players to have those same expectations. Despite not having the elite talent or preseason hype of great Kentucky teams past, this year’s team still has their eyes set on doing something “people will remember forever”, winning a national championship.

Asked on social media, if hanging banner #9 was all the players thought about “every second”, Ansley Almonor had a response.

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“We do.”

It takes a lot to win a national championship, including some luck, but this team is certainly going to be loved for their desire to live out their dream of playing at Kentucky and their unselfishness. Those two things can take them a long way this season .

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart Seemingly Takes Shot at John Calipari, “Anybody Can Recruit”

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Mitch Barnhart sitting next to basketball coach John Calipari.
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John Calipari and Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart had their differences over fifteen years, but success can hide a lot of things. Not that they hated each other, but they each had vastly different personalities. As that success weaned towards the end of Calipari’s tenure, those issues started to be noticed publically.

If you need evidence of that, despite their efforts to dispute it, there is the infamous press conference where Barnhart talked about “entitled” coaches, shortly after Calipari publicly called for a new practice facility. Then, there were multiple times when Calipari expressed that the administration was not on the same page and that he was facing “headwinds”.

That said, Calipari is now at Arkansas, but those differences and some disdain remain. During an interview on the Kentucky Football pregame show, Barnhart seemingly took a shot at Calipari when asked about Mark Pope’s recruiting philosophy and prioritizing fit.

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“I tell people all the time, ‘Anybody can recruit, not everybody can evaluate,’” Barnhart said. “You can recruit. You can be phenomenal at bringing people to your program. But if it does not fit you, it’s really not helpful.”

Of course, Calipari is one of the best, if not the best, recruiters in college basketball history. At times, he prioritized talent and athleticism over fit.

Quite the coincidence.

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Men's Basketball

ESPN’s Jay Williams Gives Message to Kentucky Fans, “You’re Not Going to Like It…”

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ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams gives a message to Kentucky fans after the Wildcats win over Duke. "You won't like it."
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Back in April, opposing fanbases like Duke, told Kentucky fans to “cope with Pope” following the hire of Mark Pope and the corresponding initial shock. On Tuesday, those same fanbases had to watch as Mark Pope outcoached Jon Scheyer and Duke in the final minutes of the Champion’s Classic to get his first marque win in just his third game at Kentucky.

Of course, shortly after the game, Duke fans began to rationalize the loss by highlighting their team’s youth. While true, it sounded like an echo chamber of what Kentucky fans said for years under John Calipari. One notable example was former Blue Devil Jay Williams.

At halftime, while Duke was leading 46-37, Williams called this year’s Duke team the most talented since the 2001 team that he was a part of at halftime. To his credit, he complimented Kentucky on the comeback victory, specifically on their offense and maturity, but then 36 hours later he posted a message to Kentucky fans on social media.

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“Let me put you on to something,” Williams started. “Whether you like it or not, networks are going to sell Cooper Flagg. He’s going to be the number one pick in the draft. You’re going to talk about whether he won the or whether he lost the game, regardless of the outcome.”

“You’re not going to like it. There should be more kudos to Mark Pope and Kentucky,” Williams continued. “Regardless of whether you won the game or not, they’re still going to sell Cooper Flagg because he is selling the sport. Sorry.”

William’s statement is true. That said, it comes off as ‘sour grapes’ about losing. Cooper Flagg is a great talent and will likely be the first pick in the NBA Draft, but most Kentucky fans would say they would much rather have the win than the marketing.

Futhermore, Kentucky and its ‘brand’ has raised the level of multiple players and coaches, and will continue to do so. A deeper impact than Cooper Flagg will have on Duke in just one season.

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