Life comes at your pretty fast. My big sister, 50, went to work yesterday and never made it home. Brain aneurism, out of the blue. She left behind two children, 13 and 15. You just never know, so hug your loved ones today and when you see them for Christmas. Don't learn the hard way that there's always tomorrow, or that there will be time for goodbyes.

Welcome to the Official Kentucky vs Ohio State OOC Prediction Contest!

Follow the rules below and make your prediction. I'll publish the results after the game. You can put any comment you would like below your score prediction (put '***' after your prediction to make it easier to separate the comments) but try not to put anything above as my scripts may not be able to find your prediction. This is the 1st of three prediction contests this season: the OOC Contest, the SEC Regular Season contest, and the Postseason Contest.

Whoever predicts the score closest to the actual score wins. I take the absolute value of the difference of your guess of the Kentucky score and the actual plus the absolute value of the difference of your guess of the opponent score and the actual. There is a penalty for picking the wrong winner. That penalty is the worst score among those who predicted the correct winner. In case of a tie, the tiebreaker is used. In case of a tie in the tiebreaker, we have more than one winner.

I will be awarding points for the first 10 places, including a 3 point bonus for a perfect prediction. I will track cumulative point totals and the number of games you make the top 10. This contest ends with the Brown game.

Your post should look something really close to the example below. Remember the ":"s and the word "Tiebreaker:"! Do not!! use a "-" as a separator because some of our tiebreakers will be negative.

This game's tiebreaker is Kentucky Turnovers.

Kentucky vs Ohio State game:

-------------------------
Kentucky: 76
Ohio State: 66

Tiebreaker: 9
--------------------------

Just cut and paste everything between the lines above into your reply and then modify the scores and tiebreaker as you see fit. If you don't know how to do that, type very carefully. Remember to type in the word "Tiebreaker:" so that I can find it. Anything my scripts can't figure out will not count.

Don't edit your post or try to post a score after the game has started.

--------------
OOC Season Basketball Prediction Scores - Kentucky vs Louisville (tiebreaker was 60 Total 3 Ptrs Attempted):

10 1 . Short-Dawg-69 : 7 points, tiebreaker=59
9 2 . CBBCrazy : 8 points, tiebreaker=58
8 3 . yes_takeaside : 9 points, tiebreaker=57
7 4 . docholiday51 : 11 points, tiebreaker=56
6 5 . cat888 : 11 points, tiebreaker=52
5 6 . YardCat : 12 points, tiebreaker=59
5 6 . GoBIG BLUE : 12 points, tiebreaker=59
3 8 . onearmedjesus : 12 points, tiebreaker=57
3 8 . ukfan041 : 12 points, tiebreaker=63
1 10 . LogicalCat : 13 points, tiebreaker=54
.. 11 . Kycatspaws : 14 points, tiebreaker=60
.. 12 . runt#69 : 14 points, tiebreaker=59
.. 13 . kennyskywalker34 : 14 points, tiebreaker=58
.. 14 . jrm693 : 14 points, tiebreaker=49
.. 15 . Chad Rock : 15 points, tiebreaker=59
.. 16 . $Z71$ : 16 points, tiebreaker=59
.. 17 . Usleepy-2vs7 : 16 points, tiebreaker=57
.. 18 . rivercatinfl : 16 points, tiebreaker=65
.. 19 . AFSTALLION13 : 17 points, tiebreaker=60
.. 20 . howercat : 17 points, tiebreaker=59
.. 21 . truckbrandon : 17 points, tiebreaker=56
.. 22 . UK Cats1 : 17 points, tiebreaker=53
.. 23 . wfm101981 : 17 points, tiebreaker=25
.. 24 . *CatinIL* : 18 points, tiebreaker=59
.. 25 . TNCatfanforever : 18 points, tiebreaker=58
.. 26 . ThreeHogNight : 18 points, tiebreaker=56
.. 27 . warrior-cat : 18 points, tiebreaker=55
.. 28 . Rideordiewildcat : 18 points, tiebreaker=54
.. 29 . kybloo92 : 18 points, tiebreaker=53
.. 30 . GoAndRunIsGoneAndDone: 18 points, tiebreaker=49
.. 31 . UKCatWoman : 19 points, tiebreaker=61
.. 31 . pappy52 : 19 points, tiebreaker=59
.. 33 . kyfanrob : 19 points, tiebreaker=62
.. 34 . Blueworld_3.0 : 19 points, tiebreaker=56
.. 34 . the nail at the foul line: 19 points, tiebreaker=64
.. 36 . Demarcus Kidd-Miller: 19 points, tiebreaker=53
.. 37 . Oldbluefart : 20 points, tiebreaker=61
.. 38 . Blueisbest : 20 points, tiebreaker=56
.. 39 . ORCAT : 20 points, tiebreaker=55
.. 40 . blubo : 21 points, tiebreaker=61
.. 41 . M4CAT : 21 points, tiebreaker=58
.. 42 . Mrwildcats03 : 21 points, tiebreaker=54
.. 43 . coolfred : 21 points, tiebreaker=53
.. 44 . maysvilleky : 22 points, tiebreaker=56
.. 44 . Green River : 22 points, tiebreaker=56
.. 46 . UK Widget : 22 points, tiebreaker=65
.. 47 . Hang_Time_2 : 22 points, tiebreaker=52
.. 48 . ILiveBlue-GoCats : 23 points, tiebreaker=59
.. 49 . Roe07 : 23 points, tiebreaker=57
.. 50 . Jazzycat : 23 points, tiebreaker=55
.. 51 . BlobUK : 24 points, tiebreaker=58
.. 51 . Wildcat_In_Florida: 24 points, tiebreaker=62
.. 53 . Hargyt13 : 24 points, tiebreaker=63
.. 54 . Bigblueincincy : 24 points, tiebreaker=52
.. 55 . nickhorvathsuxazz : 24 points, tiebreaker=46
.. 56 . kywildcatsfannumber1: 25 points, tiebreaker=60
.. 57 . North Carolina Blue Wildcat: 25 points, tiebreaker=52
.. 58 . TexKat : 26 points, tiebreaker=50
.. 58 . drew_ukfan : 26 points, tiebreaker=50
.. 60 . cat tat2 : 26 points, tiebreaker=46
.. 61 . TOMCATS1990 : 27 points, tiebreaker=44
.. 62 . ukypug : 28 points, tiebreaker=60
.. 63 . Blue_belly : 28 points, tiebreaker=55
.. 64 . jimmy cowboy : 28 points, tiebreaker=53
.. 65 . kywildcat41035 : 28 points, tiebreaker=52
.. 66 . number8please : 29 points, tiebreaker=60
.. 67 . Jperry1987 : 29 points, tiebreaker=53
.. 68 . BigBlueFanGA : 30 points, tiebreaker=50
.. 69 . tdjohnsky : 31 points, tiebreaker=48
.. 70 . TheBlueCat : 32 points, tiebreaker=55
.. 71 . JFCats22 : 32 points, tiebreaker=51
.. 72 . Creed Bratton : 34 points, tiebreaker=48
.. 73 . lyngz : 52 points, tiebreaker=64

OOC Season Basketball Prediction Contest Leader Board:

24 : CBBCrazy
23 : cat888
21 : jimmy cowboy
20 : Short-Dawg-69
20 : The Grand Poohbah
19 : Hargyt13
18 : Chad Rock
16 : kybloo92
15 : truckbrandon
14 : cat tat2
13 : Blueisbest
13 : onearmedjesus
13 : Rideordiewildcat
13 : YardCat
12 : BlobUK
12 : Blueworld_3.0
12 : docholiday51
12 : Jazzycat
11 : Bigblueincincy
11 : Blue_belly
11 : LogicalCat
10 : 19jhadams
10 : Jperry1987
10 : kyfanrob
10 : kywildcat41086
10 : maysvilleky
10 : Oldbluefart
10 : ORCAT
10 : Roe07
10 : TheBlueCat
10 : ThreeHogNight
10 : UK Widget
10 : UKCatWoman
10 : yes_takeaside
9 : drew_ukfan
9 : TFCats11
9 : the nail at the foul line
8 : blubo
8 : Kycatspaws
8 : runt#69
8 : Smashcat
7 : Creed Bratton
7 : number8please
7 : OldEvilleCat
7 : pappy52
7 : wfm101981
6 : ukfan041
5 : coolfred
5 : Demarcus Kidd-Miller
5 : Farsight
5 : GoAndRunIsGoneAndDone
5 : GoBIG BLUE
5 : Old_Red
4 : howercat
4 : kennyskywalker34
4 : lyngz
4 : TexKat
4 : TOMCATS1990
3 : mrjuk
3 : TheKentuckyKid
3 : warrior-cat
2 : BC_Wader
2 : JFCats22
2 : JonathanUSAF
1 : kywildcatsfannumber1
1 : ukypug
1 : Wildcat_In_Florida


Players Who've Made the Top Ten at Least Once:

5 : cat888
4 : onearmedjesus
3 : Blueisbest
3 : Blueworld_3.0
3 : cat tat2
3 : CBBCrazy
3 : Chad Rock
3 : kyfanrob
3 : LogicalCat
3 : The Grand Poohbah
2 : Bigblueincincy
2 : BlobUK
2 : Blue_belly
2 : docholiday51
2 : Hargyt13
2 : Jazzycat
2 : jimmy cowboy
2 : Jperry1987
2 : kybloo92
2 : Kycatspaws
2 : maysvilleky
2 : Oldbluefart
2 : ORCAT
2 : Rideordiewildcat
2 : Roe07
2 : Short-Dawg-69
2 : TOMCATS1990
2 : truckbrandon
2 : ukfan041
2 : wfm101981
2 : YardCat
2 : yes_takeaside
1 : 19jhadams
1 : BC_Wader
1 : blubo
1 : coolfred
1 : Creed Bratton
1 : Demarcus Kidd-Miller
1 : drew_ukfan
1 : Farsight
1 : GoAndRunIsGoneAndDone
1 : GoBIG BLUE
1 : howercat
1 : JFCats22
1 : JonathanUSAF
1 : kennyskywalker34
1 : kywildcat41086
1 : kywildcatsfannumber1
1 : lyngz
1 : mrjuk
1 : number8please
1 : OldEvilleCat
1 : Old_Red
1 : pappy52
1 : runt#69
1 : Smashcat
1 : TexKat
1 : TFCats11
1 : the nail at the foul line
1 : TheBlueCat
1 : TheKentuckyKid
1 : ThreeHogNight
1 : UK Widget
1 : UKCatWoman
1 : ukypug
1 : warrior-cat
1 : Wildcat_In_Florida


Total Players:
Kentucky vs Wright State : 96
Kentucky vs Bucknell : 63
Kentucky vs Duke : 73
Kentucky vs Lipscomb : 61
Kentucky vs Jackson State : 80
Kentucky vs Western Kentucky : 67
Kentucky vs Georgia State : 62
Kentucky @ Clemson : 75
Kentucky @ Gonzaga : 73
Kentucky vs Colgate : 69
Kentucky vs Louisville : 73

Season Average for Players: 72.0


OOC Season Basketball Prediction Champs:
Kentucky vs Wright State : kywildcat41086: 1
Kentucky vs Bucknell : Short-Dawg-69: 2
Kentucky vs Duke : 19jhadams: 2
Kentucky vs Lipscomb : UKCatWoman: 1
Kentucky vs Jackson State : Rideordiewildcat: 1
Kentucky vs Jackson State : UK Widget: 1
Kentucky vs Western Kentucky : jimmy cowboy: 0
Kentucky vs Georgia State : cat888: 4
Kentucky @ Clemson : ThreeHogNight: 19
Kentucky @ Gonzaga : Hargyt13: 2
Kentucky vs Colgate : TheBlueCat: 13
Kentucky vs Louisville : Short-Dawg-69: 7


@Deeeefense

All things political are discussed on this thread.

Keep it civil, please.

Login to view embedded media He picked up a UGA offer recently

Definitely a position of need also. Looks to have had a Georgia offer as well.

I have enjoyed posting here and really enjoy the game threads. Some of us fight and disagree from time to time. That is just the way the board is.


With that said, I have to make this announcement:







Cooper Flagg will be 18 in 4 hours and 27 minutes.

Enjoy the rest of Cooper Flagg birthday eve. From now on when we fight, and Cooper reads this board, at least we won't be fighting in front of the kids.

Everybody has him pegged to Kentucky.

@Travis Graf is right IMO. 6’9” 220ish watch him grab a board and lead the break, make the right decision. Crash the offensive board. Get the ball in space and either score or set somebody up. See how fluid he is, can guard 1-5. Moves his feet incredibly well for this size.

He’s a right handed Terrence Jones. Get this dude to 240, get his 3 ball to 33-35%, and he’s a 14/9/3 assist 1-2 block dude with 55/33/70 splits as a freshman and a key 1-3 piece to a national title team like Antoine Walker was.

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Jon sumerall and Tulane on espn2 now

Nebraska RB 6’2 - 225 has committed to Kentucky

Right now all 3 remaining undefeated teams are SEC(Florida, Oklahoma, UT) and the SEC has five of the top seven teams in the rankings and 8 of the top 17 and 11 of the top 28 teams. I can't remember any conference having a 9th best team in the top 28, much less 11. I'm going to say, yes, this is the strongest conference ever.

Going to be cold some snow flying, Hoosiers a 7 - 7.5 point dog, I think Notre Dame wins and covers but pulling for Indiana

Moreno's about to face off against the Boozer twins at 7:15. Streaming for free on NBA.com if anyone is interested.

Right now Acuff and IMG playing the game before. That kid has some of the worst body language I've seen in a high end 5* in a bit.

Why not?

A new era

Ownership has started dismantling the '21 team, and I'm OK with the Barnhart/Miley moves but sure would be nice if they could get something for them. They need to do whatever it takes to keep Nick C but looks like he's gone too. Saw on mlb.com list of 17 top FAs available and prediction where they'll sign...not a one with the Reds. 2022 not looking promising.

Much of the offensive class is coming together publicly so here's what we know about next year's offense:

** It will be Bush Hamdan's second year with the offense.

** It will mark the first year Hamdan has a quarterback he has picked at Kentucky. (Neither of these are to say success will follow)

** Zach Calzada is coming in to start and the hope will be to keep Cutter Boley around as somebody who is in line to play and still the future

** It seems like UK is likely to hold onto Jamarion Wilcox, based on what we've been hearing and the fact he hasn't gone in, even if they take another running back. He has to know they are going to take another and we have heard they're in good shape to keep him as of now.

** As we have said the most likely running back for them to add at this juncture is Dante Dowdell from Nebraska. Between he, Wilcox, Patterson, and Mizell they could probably be good to go next year. It would be interesting to see if they would consider adding another given Mizell's injury history but probably only if another scholarship is free.

** Hardy probably could have been theirs but with as many starters as they needed they weren't going to go so heavily in with a running back. That's my commentary, just seems like common sense. No clue how much he'll make at Missouri. Just a statement about the general conversation.

** We told you about Henry Boyer in advance and he's going to be brought in to help with the run blocking. I wouldn't expect him to immediately unseat Willie or Kattus. Modest expectations but they needed depth. I could have seen them adding another but it seems like Mikkel Skinner is showing well at the Shrine Bowl. He could be a true frosh to watch.

** Evan Wibberley has not announced for UK yet but we told you about that one in advance as well and it still seems good for them. There was some back and forth about whether it would play out but there's been a positive evaluation. He did some good things against Alabama.

** Alex Wollschlaeger from Bowling Green was a first team All-MAC selection. He is most likely the starter at right tackle. The one area for improvement in his game is to get a little stronger especially if he's going to be run blocking on that side.

** Wallace Unamba is a guy who they see as having some real upside. He played against Auburn and showed some flashes of really good things in that game against SEC competition. Having spoken with him, has some good perspective and has put in a ton of work along the way that was not immediately rewarding. Shows a lot of delayed gratification in my book, so bodes well for his approach in coming in perhaps in contrast to some others who have been in the portal previously. They told him right or left tackle. Right seems most likely for him. I would not write tackle off as a stretch just because you look at his measurables. ** Unamba was a wait and see guy initially but that happened immediately after Gunnar Hansen went to Florida State. The numbers we've heard on that would blow your mind. No knock on Hansen at all, but shows how difficult it is. Having a good recruiter still has value. A guy is more likely to play somewhere for less if he likes the coach or has a previous relationship there.

** No question though, Unamba's "win now" component is a question just because of the steep step up in competition even if he's older.

** The question is who they bring in as the other tackle. I am still expecting them to bring in another tackle. Then you look at the overall numbers and they will have really revamped the 1-7 or 1-8. Finding a left tackle is going to be difficult. Reports (unconfirmed but heard myself) of $1.5-$1.7 for Isaiah World or $2.1 (MILLION) for Howard Sampson at Texas Tech (apparently has a big windfall from a late booster, I have heard) blow your mind. World is supposedly really good, a great prospect, but Sampson you are hoping he is good.

** Kentucky was going to bring in both Sampson and some other big names for visits but NIL is a huge factor in a lot of these cases. Ohio State and Oregon in particular have been a thorn in some cases with high end guys but the Cats were in on World before almost anybody.

** Joshua Braun should be a starting guard. He was All-SEC two years ago, and I have heard no concern about a "decline" last year. I think if he gets his weight down a little bit it will help him but this is a big year for him so I expect him to come in ready.

** Will have more on Calzada but he makes more sense than Murphy to me as a Hamdan quarterback and a Stoops quarterback. Murphy is best when set up to pick you apart and I just don't see that as an approach you're confident would work with Stoops. Calzada is very experienced and while I would expect up and down, I do not understand any of the visceral aversion some have had. I understand overall skepticism about the team next year, but he seems like a quality addition given how bad the offense was this past season.

** WR Horatio Fields to Auburn... In some of these cases not having a quarterback in place may have hurt. He was Wake's third best receiver maybe this past season. If you dig into the portal you see very few obvious difference makers. I have been more impressed with Justin Bowick from Ball State because of the crazy production in very limited action last season.

** If you are able to reel in Law from Alabama that helps because he should be a difference maker if the offense isn't broken. Then you focus on adding size.

Those who are watching, Indiana’s scheme is what Stoops is thriving for in both sides. Built around the run game with the RPO and a very very good 3-4 defense.

Do we have the guys to run it? I don’t know. But Bush really needs to study their film this offseason and take some notes

Notre Dame just has too many athletes for them imo though.

Its 1:26 AM and Indiana still sucks.

It will be interesting to see the reactions at the end of next season.

There will be a lot of I told you so or eating crow on this board.

UK MEDIA RELATIONS
VOLLEYBALL
AUGUST 19, 2024



Kentucky Volleyball Slotted Ninth in Initial 2024 AVCA Rankings

Wildcats one of six SEC teams ranked to start the season



LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Volleyball team will begin the season ranked No. 9 in the initial poll of the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association top-25 poll, it was announced Monday morning.

The Wildcats are one of six Southeastern Conference teams ranked inside the top 25 to start the season, which is the most on record since at least the 1982 season. Kentucky is the second-highest ranked SEC team, sitting behind Texas, who was ranked No. 1 by the coaches, coming off the heels of back-to-back NCAA National Championships.

Kentucky made the NCAA Regional Semifinals a season ago, and returns several key pieces to its team for 2024 including SEC Freshman of the Year, Brooklyn DeLeye, All-American, Emma Grome, and former SEC Libero of the Year, Eleanor Beavin. The Wildcats are now ranked inside the top-10 of the AVCA rankings for the fourth time in the last five preseason polls dating back to 2020.

Kentucky is currently schedule to play 11 matches against 10 AVCA ranked teams, including six games against current top-10 teams (Nebraska, Stanford, Louisville, Penn State, Purdue and Texas).

2024 American Volleyball Coaches’ Association

Preseason Top-25 Rankings

1. Texas (46)
2. Nebraska (15)
3. Wisconsin
4. Pittsburgh
5. Stanford
6. Louisville
7. Penn State
8. Purdue
9. Kentucky
10. Oregon
11. Florida
12. Creighton
13. Kansas
14. Georgia Tech
15. Tennessee
16. BYU
17. Arizona State
18. Minnesota
19. Arkansas
20. Florida State
21. Southern Cal
22. Dayton
23. Baylor
24. Marquette
25. Georgia

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Interesting to Say The Least