Connect with us

Men's Basketball

KY Insider Preview: Kentucky vs. Missouri

Published

on

Coming off a monster statement win against Tennessee, the Cats head to Columbus, MO to face the Missouri Tigers.

Missouri is currently sitting in 12th place in the SEC with a 12-12 record including a 3-9 record in the SEC. Before the season began, Missouri lost their star player and projected first-round draft pick, Jontay Porter to a torn ACL.

The Tigers are a far inferior opponent, but Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin comes prepared when playing the Cats, with a 2-2 record. Let’s take a look at the keys to the game.

Advertisement

Keys to the Game

1.Show Up

As I stated, the Tigers are a far inferior opponent but the Cats need to come prepared after a huge win. As the 153rd most offensively efficient team in the NCAA, Missouri only averages 68.0 points per game and have only reached 80 twice this season. With the #7 defense coming to town, don’t anticipate for Missouri to reach their season average.

The Tigers are also not so great on the boards, they rank 174th in total rebounds per game. As great as Kentucky crashes the offensive glass, Kentucky should control the boards.

Advertisement

2. Guard the Three

Missouri doesn’t do a lot of great things on offense but they can shoot the three and could make it a game if they catch fire from deep. The Tigers are currently shooting 37% from three and that is the source of 37.5% of their points.

The perimeter scoring for the Tigers will come mostly from Mark Smith (47.1%) and Jordan Geist (36.1%), both of which have over 100 attempts from deep so far this year.

3. Keep feeding PJ Washington

Advertisement

PJ Washington has been playing like the SEC player of the year and his play the last 8 games has firmly placed him firmly in that conversation. PJ might be the most improved player in all of college basketball and should break the stigma that if a player at Kentucky doesn’t enter the draft as a freshman, they are a failure.

PJ is currently averaging 14.8 points and 8 rebounds on the season, but what is more amazing is his team-best 43.4% 3P which is second in the SEC. In fact, Washington is 7th all-time in Kentucky basketball history in three-point percentage (min. 50 shots).

Players to Watch

1.Jordan Geist

Advertisement

Geist is the Tiger’s primary scoring option and is coming off a 23 point performance against Mississippi with an efficient 56.3% FG. Geist has scored 17 or more points in nine games this season. Ashton Hagans will most likely cover him and with his defensive ability should slow him down.

2. Javon Pickett

The freshman guard has attempted the second most shots on this team behind Jordan Geist, with 41% of those attempts coming from deep. He doesn’t shoot a great percentage (39.8 %) from the field, but is capable of getting hot and dropping 20+ points.

3. Mark Smith

Advertisement

Smith attempts 5.8 three-point shots per game and for good reason, as he is shooting an SEC-best 47.1% from three. However, Smith is coming off a 6 game absence after an ankle injury and only recorded 3 points in 14 minutes against Ole Miss on Saturday.


Prediction

The ESPN basketball power index gives Kentucky an 87.3% chance to take care of business against the Tigers. Missouri only has one win over a KenPom top-50 team and is coming off a 75-65 loss to Mississippi in which they matched a season-worst, 25 turnovers. As long as the Cats come mentally prepared and take care of the ball, the Cats should have a pretty easy night.

Kentucky-76 Missouri-59

Advertisement

Advertisement

Men's Basketball

Kentucky and Indiana Basketball Renew Rivalry With Four-Year Series, Begins in 2025-26

Published

on

Kentucky Wildcats and Indiana Hoosiers have renewed their college basketball rivalry series starting in 2025.
Woodson: © Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports | Calipari: © Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

From 1969 to 2011, Kentucky and Indiana basketball faced off nearly every year for a non-conference matchup in December, a schedule staple for both teams. After over 40 seasons, the annual matchup was not renewed beyond 2011, following the infamous Christian Watford shot to beat No. 1 Kentucky at Assembly Hall, resulting in a court storm by Indiana fans.

Since that game, John Calipari has been open to resuming the Indiana series but has vowed that he will not play in Assembly Hall citing “disrespect” of his players (there are allegations you can research for yourself).

On Tuesday, it was announced that Kentucky and Indiana will resume the series in an agreement that all parties have approved of. For John Calipari and Kentucky, two of the four games will be played at Rupp Arena. For Indiana, they will have one neutral site game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, but also one home game at Assembly Hall in 2028.

Advertisement

But wait, I thought Calipari would never play at Assembly Hall? That is correct, given that it is five seasons away, Calipari will likely be retired by then. However, that is the last year of his contract, so there is technically a possibility of coaching one more game in Assembly, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Here are the dates and locations of each game:

  • Dec. 20th, 2025 – IU @ UK – Rupp Arena
  • Dec. 27th, 2026 – UK vs. IU – Lucas Oil Stadium
  • Dec. 18th, 2027 – IU @ UK – Rupp Arena
  • Dec. 16th, 2028 – UK @ IU – Assembly Hall

Since their last regular season matchup, Kentucky and Indiana have met twice in the NCAA Tournament (2012 and 2016), splitting the two games. For the entire series, the Wildcats hold a 32-25 advantage, and they will look to extend that soon.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

BB Recruiting

John Calipari Visits Trio of Top Recruits

Published

on

UK Athletics

With less than two weeks until Big Blue Madness, the start of the Kentucky basketball season is just around the corner. Ahead of a season with a lot of pressure, John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcat staff were busy on the recruiting trail in New York to start the week.

The day started off with taking a visit to see 2024 combo guard Boogie Fland. This being the fourth in-person visit to Fland over the last three weeks, it is clear that he is a top priority for the Cats and that is reciprocated as Fland listed the Wildcats in his top three last week along with the Alabama Crimson Tide and Indiana Hoosiers. Fland is expected to make a decision in the early signing period, which begins on November 8th.

With that said, coverage of Fland’s recruitment has been well-reported, but while in New York, Calipari paid a visit to two more top recruits, VJ Edgecombe and Alier Maluk who both play for Long Island Lutheran (NY).

Advertisement

VJ Edgecombe

Edgecombe is one of the fastest-rising prospects in the 2024 class. As of March this year, he was ranked outside of the Top 100, fast forward to now and he is a consensus top 10 prospect and considered to be the No. 2 shooting guard in the class. When you see his explosive athleticism, catch-and-shoot ability, and natural basketball instincts it is easy to see why.

Watching closely for a while, the Wildcats extended an offer last month, a month and a half after Edgecombe trimmed his list to ten. While late to the party, Kentucky is not giving up and joins the likes of Alabama, Duke, St. Johns, and G-League Ignite among others in pursuit of the talented guard.

Alier Maluk

Early this summer Alier Maluk was considered a top-25 prospect, but following the grassroots season Maluk dropped in the rankings to just inside the top 50. That said, that isn’t stopping the Wildcats from still showing interest as they have since he was 15 years old, and for good reason, Maluk is one of the most intriguing big men in the class.

At 6-foot-10, 180 pounds, Maluk is a dynamic two-way prospect and can be looked at as a “modern” big man. Well-known for his shot-blocking and rim-running ability, Maluk is also capable of shooting off the catch and the dribble. That said, his handle needs some development as he hopes to continue to develop as a stretch-four. That said, height and skill run in the family as Maluk is the cousin of 7-foot-2 center Bol Bol, who currently plays in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns.

Advertisement

It should be noted that Kentucky has yet to extend an offer to Maluk, who currently holds offers from Florida, Ohio State, and Oregon among others.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

BB Recruiting

John Calipari Looking To Close Deal On Five-Star Guard Boogie Fland

Published

on

John Calipari is looking to close the deal and get a commitment from five-star guard Boogie Fland.
Fland: © Frank Becerra Jr./The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK | Calipari: UK Athletics/Chet White

One of the top players in the class, top-ranked guard Boogie Fland has begun taking his visits, and is still taking time with his recruitment, but John Calipari and Kentucky are making a hard push to get the star guard locked up.

Fresh off of a visit to Kentucky a few weeks ago, Fland also had an in-home visit conducted by John Calipari last week after Kentucky watched him at Archbishop Stepinac in New York. On Monday, Calipari and Orlando Antigua paid him another visit. Kentucky is making sure he knows that he is the top priority among guards in the class of 2024.

Along with his visit to Lexington, Fland recently visited Alabama. The two schools are part of Fland’s final three schools along with Indiana as he nears closer to a decision.

Advertisement

Fland is known to be one of the more elite scorers in the class with an ability to score from all three levels, and Kentucky is making him a top priority. Four visits in three weeks show that the staff really likes him and are looking to close the deal.

Take a look at this mic’d up highlight video of the potential future Wildcat to get to know him and his game.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending