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TV Info and Three Things to Watch: Kentucky vs. Gonzaga

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UK Athletics

After beating South Carolina State on Thursday, 106-63, the Kentucky Wildcats look to start a winning streak and pick up their first-ranked win of the season against the No. 2-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Both Kentucky and Gonzaga are 2-1, with losses to ranked teams. However, the Bulldogs did beat the same Michigan State team that Kentucky lost to on Tuesday.

Sunday night’s game will be the first game of the new six-year series, and the Wildcats will look to go up 2-0 in the all-time series record, with Kentucky beating the Bulldogs in their first matchup in 2002.

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Entering the game with each team having struggles of their own, it will be an interesting battle. Let’s take a deeper look at things to look for on Sunday night.

Oscar Tshiebwe vs Drew Timme

Two of the best big men in the country will go head-to-head on Sunday, Oscar Tshiebwe and Drew Timme.

Tshiebwe missed the first two games of the season recovering from minor knee surgery, but already looks to be close to his old form. In his season debut against Michigan State, Tshibwe put up 22 points and 18 rebounds. However, he played just 14 minutes against South Carolina State in order to rest for Sunday’s matchup.

As for Timme, he has been equally as impressive and looks to have even gotten better, averaging a career-high 20.7 points (34th in the NCAA) on 60.5 percent shooting from the field.

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However, the two have played before back in 2020 when Tshiebwe was still with West Virginia. In that game, Gonzaga won in a close one 87-82, as Timme recorded 17 points and 3 rebounds, compared to Tshiebwe’s 14 points and 9 rebounds.

John Calipari has seen a similar matchup before, “It was Marcus Camby and Tim Duncan… You would have thought no one else was in the game and there were no coaches. It was one-on-one.”

Which player will get the upper hand?

Can Kentucky take advantage of Gonzaga’s guard play?

While Drew Timme will do Drew Timme things, Gonzaga does not have the guard they have had in recent seasons.

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Despite four of their five leading scorers being guards, the Bulldogs do not have a true point guard. In fact, there are only three players for Gonzaga averaging more than 2 assists per game, and two of them are forwards.

With that said, Julian Strawther is the Bulldog’s clear second option, but things get cloudy behind him between Nolan Hickman, Hunter Salis, and Malachi Smith.

Despite still looking for their balance, Sahvir Wheeler and Cason Wallace have proven to be the better guards thus far. If they can produce and play good defense as they have, Kentucky will be in good shape.

Can Kentucky force turnovers and generate offense?

One of Gonzaga’s biggest weaknesses thus far has been their lack of ball security, as they turn the ball over as much as anyone in the country. In fact, they average 17.3 turnovers per game, ranking 324th in the country.

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Just in their last two games alone against Michigan State and Texas, Gonzaga has recorded 18 and 20 turnovers, giving up an average of twenty points off turnovers. The main source for these turnovers, especially against Texas, has been defensive pressure.

With their length and size, Kentucky should be able to force Gonzaga into some turnovers, especially if they bring pressure as they have at times this season.

This would be very beneficial if the Wildcats were to struggle in the half-court offense, as their defense would provide them with some transition scoring opportunities and open up the floor.

Kentucky Wildcats vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs

Time/Date: 7:30 pm ET November 20th
Location: Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington
TV Channel: ESPN
Announcers: Jon Sciambi and Jimmy Dykes are on the call.
Online Stream: WatchESPNESPN+, SEC Network+, or the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the UK radio network call on WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1, and the UK Sports Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | GU
Stats To Know: UK | GU
Team SheetsUK | GU
Live Stats

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Odds: DraftKings Sportsbook has Gonzaga -3ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Wildcats just a 22.3% chance of winning, and Bart Torvik has it at 24%. KenPom has it at a more friendly 44%.

PredictionsBart Torvik has Kentucky losing with a final score of 83-75, while KenPom went with a 79-78 margin for the Zags. TeamRankings is going Gonzaga 79-76.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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Men's Basketball

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

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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.

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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.

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BB Recruiting

John Calipari Visits Trio of Top Recruits

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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).

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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.

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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.

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BB Recruiting

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

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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.

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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.

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