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Men's Basketball

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

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The Kentucky Wildcats will take on the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes at Rupp Arena on November 27th.
© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a fun weekend for Kentucky fans. The basketball team put up a historic offensive performance on Friday, scoring 118 points. That was followed on Saturday by the football team taking down a 10th-ranked Louisville team with a last-minute touchdown.

Then, in the wee hours of Sunday morning, Mark Stoops announced he would be staying at Kentucky, and the volleyball team earned the 8th overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

That positive momentum carries into a big-time game at Rupp Arena on Tuesday against a Top 10-ranked Miami Hurricanes team coming off a Final Four appearance. Coached by Jim Larrañaga, the Hurricanes look to have the personnel to make another deep tournament run this season.

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This year’s Miami team, while they haven’t played a difficult schedule, is undefeated and one of the best offensive teams in the country. That said, this Kentucky team has the potential to be John Calipari’s best offensive team at Kentucky.

With two high-powered offensive teams, it’s sure to be an exciting game. Let’s break it down.

Crash the Offensive Glass

Without a true big man, Kentucky has not been great on the boards, as they usually are under John Calipari. That said, they haven’t been terrible either, averaging 38.5 rebounds per game.

That leads to Miami’s biggest weakness, which is rebounding. Averaging 36 rebounds per game, they are not far off from Kentucky’s. However, they give up the second most offensive rebounds of any Power Five team, giving up nine or more offensive rebounds in every game this season, including 12 or more in three games.

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Kentucky hasn’t been great at crashing the offensive glass this season, but the opportunities should be there.

Defend the 3

As good as Kentucky has been at shooting and making the 3 this season, they have also given up plenty of 3-point attempts to their opponents, an average of 28.3 to be exact. A large part of that is the style of play Kentucky’s opponents have played.

That said, Miami doesn’t shoot the 3 at an extremely high rate, but they shoot the best percentage in the nation, at 45.6 percent, which number could be more like fifty with the “Rupp Arena opponent shooting bump.”

That is highlighted by their talented backcourt of Wooga Poplar and Nijel Pack, who shoot more than ten 3s combined.

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DJ Wagner, Rod Dillingham, and Reed Sheppard will have a lot of defensive responsibility on Tuesday night, and they cannot afford to go under the screen and allow threes, as they did with Kansas.

Make Shots

Scoring more than your opponent. It sounds simple and is the basis of nearly every sport, including basketball. With two teams ranked top 10 in KenPom’s offensive efficiency ratings, there is almost certainly going to be a lot of scoring.

In terms of points, Kentucky averages more than 94 points per game, while Miami averages 89 points, both top ten amongst Power Five teams. Both are efficient as well, ranking top 20 in field goal percentage and points per possession. So what’s going to give?

With neither team great defensively, it is going to be a shootout, but Kentucky certainly cannot afford a cold night from the field.

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#16 Kentucky Wildcats (4-1) vs. #10 Miami Hurricanes (5-0)

  • Date: Tuesday, November 28th, 2023
  • Time: 7:30 pm ET
  • Location: Central Bank Center at Rupp Arena.
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Announcers: Mike Morgan and Pat Bradley will call the action.
  • Online Stream: Stream the game online using WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
  • Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the UK radio network call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
  • Replay: WatchESPN and the SEC Network (check local listings).
  • Rosters: UK | UM
  • Stats to Know: UK | UM
  • KenPom: UK | UM
  • Odds: DraftKings Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for the game. ESPN’s matchup predictor has a surprisingly high level of confidence in the Cats at 79%. Bart Torvik is slightly less confident at 74%, while KenPom is at 72%.
  • PredictionsBart Torvik is going with an 83-76 victory for the Cats. EvanMiya and Haslametrics both project Kentucky to win by very similar margins, 83-76 and 83-77. KenPom went with an 85-79 victory, Kentucky!

Men's Basketball

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

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Kentucky players encouraging each other at Rupp Arena.
Chet White | UK Athletics

The Kentucky Wildcats are back in action Friday to face the Jackson State Tigers in the second game of the BBN Invitational.

To put it simply, Jackson State is bad, very bad. Sitting at 0-5 and ranked 321st in KenPom, the Tigers will likely be the worst opponent Kentucky will play all season.

Coached by Mo Williams, one of LeBron James’ old teammates with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Tigers have only finished above .500 twice in the last decade. This season, Jackson State is predicted to finish fourth in the SWAC.

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Mark Pope recently said he wanted to build a standard, regardless of opponent and, and that will be tested on Friday.

Let’s take a look at the matchup.

More 3-Point Attempts

Admittedly nitpicking, one of the things that Mark Pope was not happy with in Kentucky’s win over Lipscomb was the amount of three-point attempts. While they shot nearly 50 percent from deep, going 12-25, Pope wants to see the number of attempts closer to 35.

The Tigers have allowed their opponents to shoot 47.8 percent from deep, the second-worst mark in the country. Pope and the staff will certainly generate a game plan to take advantage of this. Expect to see 30+ attempts.

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Ball Movement

Despite beating Lipscomb by 29 points, the Wildcats had a season-low in assists with just ten. For context, Kentucky had averaged more than 23 assists per game entering the matchup.

“That’s not us. That’s not who we are,” Pope said after the game.

While there wasn’t a lot of selfishness, the ball just wasn’t ‘flying’ as it has been early this season. This is a priority for the staff and this mature group, and they will aim for 25+ assists.

Keep JSU off the Free-Throw Line

Jackson State ranks in the top 100 nationally in one area: Free throws made per game. So, Kentucky, defend without fouling.

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Kentucky’s offense makes headlines, but the defense has played very well to start the season, holding all four opponents to under 73 points. Let’s see if they can get down in a stance and defend well for 40 minutes vs. a team that stresses contact and drawing fouls.

Opposing Players to Watch

C Shannon Grant 6-11, 290 lbs

  • 7.5 PPG
  • 4.8
  • Preseason All-SWAC First Team selection

G Jayme Mitchell Jr 6-5, 190 lbs

  • 15.0 PPG
  • 3.8 RPG
  • 44.4% 3P

F Romelle Mansel 6-9, 220 lbs

  • 10.8 PPG
  • 5.8 RPG
  • 31.7% FG (second most FG attempts on the team)

Kentucky Wildcats Basketball vs. Jackson State Tigers

Time: 7 PM ET on November 22nd
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
TV Channel: This game will not be on TV and is streaming only,
Online Stream: SEC Network+, ESPN+, and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the radio call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | JSU
Stats to Know: UK | JSU
KenPom: UK | JSU
Team Sheet: UK | JSU

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for the game, so check Thursday afternoon for an official spread. Multiple projections give Kentucky a 99% chance of winning: Bart Torvik (99%), EvanMiya (99.9%), and ESPN (99.0%). The exception is KenPom (92%).

PredictionsKenPom (93-63), Haslametrics (96-63), Bart Torvik (95-61), and EvanMiya (96-59) all are going with a 30+ point victory, Kentucky!

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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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