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Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. South Carolina: TV/Streaming Info, Things to Look For

Published

2 years ago

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UK Athletics

After an embarrassing 26-point loss to Alabama on Saturday, Kentucky basketball is not in a good state. The fans are frustrated, the team is not a cohesive unit, and the coaching staff looked bewildered over what happened this past weekend.

Fortunately, the Wildcats will have a ‘pick-me-up’ opportunity at Rupp Arena against South Carolina on Tuesday. The Gamecocks are coming off an embarrassing loss of their own, losing 85-42 to Tennessee at home.

Led by new head coach Lamont Paris, South Carolina is arguably the worst team in the SEC, currently 7-8 overall and 0-2 in the conference. However, they are kept alive by Meechie Johnson and GG Jackson.

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Let’s take a closer look at the matchup.

Limit Offensive Boards

South Carolina ranks towards the bottom of the country in nearly every category. However, there is one area where they have found some success, offensive rebounding.

With an offensive rebounding percentage of 32.7 percent, the Gamecocks rank top 50 in the country. This attack is led primarily by GG Jackson, Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk, and Josh Gray, who individually rank toward the top of the SEC in offensive rebounding percentage.

Fortunately, Kentucky has Oscar Tshiebwe, which coincides with the Wildcats being one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Considering that Kentucky has only allowed two teams to get more than ten offensive rebounds – Michigan State and UCLA – South Carolina should not pose the same threat.

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GG Jackson

While South Carolina’s roster is not the most talented, they do have a special talent in GG Jackson. Originally committed to North Carolina as part of the 2023 recruiting class, Jackson made the decision to reclassify and commit to South Carolina, his mother’s alma mater.

Jackson is extremely athletic and can run the floor very well, and while he can play inside, he is not the typical ‘back-to-the-basket’ big. In fact, Jackson is shooting a respectable 32 percent from three and even shot 4 of 9 from deep in a December matchup against Eastern Michigan.

This will force the Kentucky defense to extend their defense, which may not be the best matchup for Oscar Tshiebwe, likely resulting in Jacob Toppin getting the defensive assignment.

The five-star freshman is currently averaging 15.7 points and 7.1 rebounds, both top-ten marks in the SEC. However, he is coming off a scoreless performance against Tennessee where Jackson was benched for his body language and effort.

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Win BIG

After the disheartening loss to Alabama, the fanbase and the team need a dominating win. On paper, this is the easiest game that Kentucky has remaining on the schedule.

As mentioned earlier, South Carolina is coming off losing 85-42 to Tennessee, which is also the first top-50 team the Gamecocks have played. While the Volunteers are playing at a much higher level than Kentucky right now, this is a Wildcat team that has thoroughly beaten bad teams.

Given that this game is at Rupp and the talent advantage, Kentucky should and needs to respond in a big way after being trounced by Alabama.

Kentucky Basketball vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

Time/Date: 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, January 10th, 2023.
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
TV Channel: ESPN2
Announcers: Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes
Online Stream: WatchESPN, ESPN+, 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 | SC
Team Sheets: UK | SC
Stats To Know: UK | SC

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Odds: The odds have yet to be released for this game. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Wildcats their best chance to win a game for the remainder of the season at 97.5 percent. Bart Torvik is just marginally less confident in the Cats at 95%.

Predictions: Bart Torvik picks the Wildcats to win in blowout fashion 72-55.

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Men's Basketball

Former Louisville Player “Pissed Off” at Rick Pitino’s Return to Kentucky, Suggests He Is a Liar

Published

5 days ago

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October 17, 2024

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Former Louisville player Luke Hancock was "pissed off" about his former coach Rick Pitino returning to Kentucky, and suggests he is a liar.
IMAGN

If a Kentucky fan had been told on January 1st that Rick Pitino would return to Rupp Arena for Mark Pope’s first Big Blue Madness as the Wildcats’ head coach, they would have given you quite a look. Yet, it happened, and it even caught Louisville fans off guard.

“I want to come back to Camelot one more time,” Pitino said teary-eyed with a Kentucky blue pullover on. This was quite the opposite act of what he did the last time he was in Rupp Arena, which was flipping off the Wildcat fans as the head coach at Louisville in 2015.

Already angering Louisville fans with his return to their rival, Pitino was asked if he sees himself returning to Louisville in a similar fashion one day, to which he responded, “Probably not”.

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“I love that place, and I love the fans at Louisville, but I’ve never been invited back to Louisville. They fired me quite abruptly and not nicely, but I harbor nothing against the fans and certainly nothing against my players. I love them dearly. But I’ve never been invited back, not one time.”

Former Louisville captain Luke Hancock refutes this, saying he has invited Pitino back himself.

“I’ll tell you what pissed me off,” Hancock said. “The fact that coach went out there and acted like he hadn’t invited back. That’s the line I don’t like. Of course, you’ve been invited back… For him to go out of his way to say that, that’s simply not true.”

It likely is the case that Hancock invited Pitino back to Louisville, but being invited back by a player and an administration is different. Again Pitino left Kentucky on his own will to go to the Boston Celtics, whereas he was fired from Louisville.

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Now that he is back in the good graces of Big Blue Nation, and given the turmoil in his relationship with the UofL administration, it’s difficult to envision Pitino returning to Louisville for a reunion.

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BB Recruiting

Malachi Moreno Helping Kentucky Recruit Top 2025 Point Guard

Published

5 days ago

on

October 16, 2024

By

Five-star Kentucky commit Malachi Moreno is helping the Wildcats recruit one of the top point guards of the 2025 class Acaden Lewis.
UK Athletics

This past weekend was a big moment for Kentucky basketball, as the first Big Blue Madness of the Mark Pope era took place. In years past, the event has hosted multiple five-star recruits and this year was no different.

While the guest list was smaller due to USA Basketball junior mini camp, the Wildcats had two top recruits in attendance, 2026 five-star Anthony Thompson and 2024 four-star combo guard Acaden Lewis.

The latter is one of Kentucky’s biggest recruiting priorities in the 2025 class and was also on campus for an official visit as he prepares to make his college decision in early November. To help was five-star commit, Malachi Moreno.

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While Moreno couldn’t make it to Big Blue Madness, he was able to meet with Lewis during his visit on Thursday and even took part in his photo shoot, as the pair posed together in Kentucky uniforms in Rupp Arena.

It helps to have a five-star commit just down the road to help recruit. Could we see the pair play together next season at Kentucky? Things are trending in that direction, but time will tell.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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Men's Basketball

Rick Pitino Takes Shot at Louisville Following Return to Kentucky

Published

6 days ago

on

October 16, 2024

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Rick Pitino returned to Rupp Arena for Kentucky's Big Blue Madness, and took a shot at his former school Louisville.
© Clare Grant/Courier Journal

Time heals all wounds.

In 2015, Rick Pitino walked out of Rupp Arena with his middle finger up at the fans, as the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals. On Friday, he returned for the first time since, and as he emerged from the tunnel wearing Kentucky blue, holding the 1996 championship trophy, Big Blue Nation cheered for him for the first time in over two decades.

Clearly holding back tears, Pitino sat the trophy down on a mantle alongside seven others, and was welcomed with a warm embrace from his former player and now head coach, Mark Pope.

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“I am so happy to be back,” Pitino opened. “Before I pack it in, in coaching, I want to come back to Camelot one more time. This is one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time.”

On Friday, at an event that had become stale and repetitive of late, was a moment that will be remembered in Kentucky basketball history. To close this historical night, Kentucky Insider asked Pitino if he ever thought he would be wearing Kentucky blue again.

“Yeah, I thought so. Once I left Louisville, I said I’ll sleep in Kentucky blue.”

Pitino is one of Kentucky’s own again. Wow, how time has changed.

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