Connect with us

Men's Basketball

Kentucky vs. Yale; How to Watch and Things to Know

Published

on

UK Athletics

The Kentucky Wildcats are coming off their best win of the season as they traveled to London and beat the Michigan Wolverines 73-69. Coming off of a five-day break, the Wildcats will return to Rupp Arena to play the Yale Bulldogs on Saturday.

Yale may be a world-renowned academic institution, but they also have a talented basketball team. Over the past six seasons, the Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times – most recently last season – even upsetting Baylor and nearly Duke back in 2016.

This season, the Bulldogs are projected to finish top three in the Ivy League, as they are currently 8-2 and off to their best start since the 1945-46 season. Doing so, despite losing two all-conference selections from last season’s roster.

Advertisement

Saturday’s matchup will be just the second time that the two teams have faced, playing for the first time in 1961 as the Kentucky Wildcats – highlighted by Cotton Nash – beat the Bulldogs 79-58.

Let’s take a closer look at the matchup.

Execution

This season, Yale has made their mark on the defensive end, holding all but two of their opponents to 62 points or less. In terms of averages, they rank in the top 50 in opponent scoring average (57.8 ppg) and opponent shooting percentage (39%).

Similar to Bellarmine, the Bulldogs are also a well-coached group – head coach James Jones is a three-time Ivy League Coach of the Year – and they play disciplined on both ends of the floor.

Advertisement

Saturday’s game will be another test of how well Kentucky can execute and play within themselves. In the Wildcats’ game against Michigan, they showed improvement compared to their early struggles, assisted on 17 of their 27 made field goals, playing through the offense and making the right plays. They must do the same against Yale.

Win the battle on the boards

Despite some early season concerns, this year’s Kentucky team has responded and started rebounding much better as of late. Of course, having Oscar Tshiebwe is a big help to that.

Currently, ranked 5th in the country in rebounds per game(42.5), Kentucky will play a Yale team that is a top-five team in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage (81.9%). Meaning, the Bulldogs don’t give up offensive rebounding opportunities easily.

However, Yale has just only player listed over 6-foot-8, and that is freshman Danny Wolf, who averages the least amount of minutes on the team. Given the Wildcats’ size advantage, they should be able to get their opportunities, but they must fight for them, which is something they haven’t done at times this season.

Advertisement

Contain Matt Knowling

The Bulldog’s best player without a doubt is Matt Knowling. The junior is averaging a team-high 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds, and ranks second in the country in field-goal percentage with over 100 attempts (64.6%).

As the Big Blue Nation knows, there have been many opposing players come into Rupp Arena and have a career game, and Knowling has the ability to be the next on that list. With his ability to play inside and out, Jacob Toppin and Chris Livingston will most likely be matched up against him, which are two of Kentucky’s better defenders.

With that said, the Bulldogs’ success is pretty reliant on Knowling, as he is responsible for 2 win shares (value of winning two games), which is amongst the highest in the country. If Kentucky can limit him, it should make for a much easier game.

Kentucky Basketball vs. Yale Bulldogs

Time/Date: 1:00 pm ET on Saturday, December 10th, 2022.
Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.
TV Channel: SEC Network
Announcers: Roy Philpott and Mark Wise will call the action.
Live Online Stream: WatchESPNESPN+, SEC Network+, or the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the UK radio network call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | YU
Team SheetsUK | YU
Stats To Know: UK | YU

Advertisement

Odds: The betting line has yet to be released from DraftKings Sportsbook, but ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Kentucky an 87.7% chance of winning, and Bart Torvik has it at 88%. KenPom is at 92%.

PredictionsBart Torvik picked the Cats to win 72-60. KenPom projects a 75-59 victory, Kentucky!

Also published on a Sea of Blue.

Advertisement

Men's Basketball

Adou Thiero Enters Transfer Portal, Keeps Options Open

Published

on

© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky’s first domino of the off-season has fallen. Adou Thiero has entered the transfer portal, according to On3’s Jamie Shaw. He has entered his name in the NBA Draft as well, while not ruling out a return to Kentucky, according to KSR’s Jack Pilgrim.

A big hit to Kentucky’s upcoming roster, as Thiero’s upside and growth will be missed. In the 2023-24 season, Thiero averaged 7.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while missing 7 games due to injury. The 6-8 wing brought physicalness that Kentucky desperately needed this season, and something Calipari has been stressing for this upcoming season. Calipari harped on him numerous times this season, saying “He’s gotten so much better.”

Thiero has jumped in mock drafts all season, and his potential is sky high. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony even had Thiero going 27th in the 2025 NBA Draft. Now, he will get to add to his potential elsewhere.

Advertisement

Now, Kentucky will look to find a good replacement for him as more things start happening throughout the off-season. Calipari is continuing to meet with players to discuss their future plans throughout the week.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Men's Basketball

John Calipari Highlights Changes for Next Season

Published

on

John Calipari draws up a play at Kentucky's season opener. Said he made a "tweak".
UK Athletics

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein.

Many Kentucky fans have referred to this quote over the last few days, expressing a desire for a change from John Calipari. However, Calipari will be back on the sidelines for the Kentucky Wildcats next season for his 16th season, confirmed by Mitch Barnhart on Tuesday.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes.

Advertisement

On Monday, John Calipari went on his season-ending radio show, giving his first comments to fans since Kentucky’s upset loss to Oakland last Thursday. It was easy to see why is a good recruiter, as he said all the right things.

For the better part of an hour, Calipari spoke with humility, answered some direction questions from Tom Leach, and accepted criticism. The main takeaway was that he understands that he has not met the Kentucky standard or his own standard, and changes need to take place.

“We’ve got to evaluate everything,” Calipari said. Here are some changes that have been outlined.

Getting Back to “Grinding”

Kentucky basketball offseason has often consisted of international trips to the Bahamas, or Canada last season, but not this year. Calipari emphasized a desire to get back to what his early Kentucky teams were characterized by, defense and physicality.

Advertisement

“What about in the summers, instead of the Bahmas or Toronto, we’re grinding,” Calipari proposed. “We’ve got to get back to where we’ve been defensively and with physicality. Your defense steadies you.”

Those trips are good for team bonding and chemistry, but it’s clear that time can be used better for getting into the weight room and instilling defensive principles. Calipari did note that he does not want to take a step back on offense.

Getting Older

Calipari is the coach who made the “one-and-done” approach popular, relying heavily on elite freshmen. However, with college basketball getting older, he has expressed a willingness to get older.

“We’re relying on freshmen too much. In those kinds of games, you better have some vets,” Calipari said of his takeaway from Oakland. “For us, we need to get older.”

Advertisement

It should be noted that Calipari relied on transfers in 2022 and 2023, albeit most not being the elite transfers, but more supporting pieces (i.e. CJ Fredrick) and developmental players (i.e. Jacob Toppin). That said, two transfers have been the leading scorer for Kentucky in three straight seasons, Oscar Tshiebwe and Antonio Reeves.

Calipari is looking more for a middle ground between young talent and transfers. “I like the combination of both. We just got to get the right transfers.”

Program Changes

When you are winning, you have more freedom, but when you have just one NCAA Tournament win in the last four seasons, you’re not going to have that luxury. This was not publicly said by Calipari, but more oversight will come as a result of his meeting with Barnhart on Tuesday afternoon.

Expect 1-2 staff changes and likely a support staff change. One of the staff changes should be filled with a defensive mind, and the support staff should be (suggestion) filled with someone in a general manager-type role. There will also be some operation changes such as having a more definitive practice schedule, rather than getting a text the day before/of, and some changes with the NIL model.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Men's Basketball

Mitch Barnhart Speaks On John Calipari Coming Back As Kentucky Basketball Coach, “He Will Return”

Published

on

Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart confirms that John Calipari will return as Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach.
Mike Weaver/Special to the Courier Journal

After days of speculation, Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart confirms that John Calipari will be back, coaching his 16th season for the Kentucky Wildcats. The two had a conversation at Barnhart’s farm on Tuesday afternoon.

“As we normally do at the end of every season, Coach Calipari and I have had conversations about the direction of our men’s basketball program and I can confirm that he will return for his 16th season as our head coach,” Barnhart said in a statement.

While there was some fan outcry for a head coaching change, there was no real indication that a change would be made.

Advertisement

Barnhart was put in a difficult situation. Calipari has not led the Wildcats to the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2019, but he is one of just a few active Hall of Fame coaches. With no clear option as a replacement, Barnhart decided to retain Calipari for another season.

Kentucky Insider has been told that Tuesday’s meeting between the two was “good”, despite some disagreement. As a result of the meeting, there will be some expected changes in the program, specifically some staff changes, and changes in day-to-day operations.

On Monday, Calipari recognized his shortcomings and closed out his show with a commitment to the Kentucky fans:

“That standard of national titles has been here from coach Rupp on. The only thing I am saying to all our fans. I’m going to work… That is a commitment that I give to the fans. I love it. This is what I want. This is it. Let’s come together and let’s do something.”

Advertisement

Calipari is set to meet with players individually on Wednesday to discuss their stay/go decisions. The process of rebuilding next year’s roster (and staff) begins now.

Continue Reading

Trending