I’ve got Bama on upset alert against Mizzou. Ark-Aub has potential to be a really good game, but I’m assuming Auburn takes the W at home

What a second half! We have come a long way since that last game we played in Nashville. I saw a lot of lateral movement cutting off drives. I saw a lot of GREAT help defense. Lot of deflections. Much better rebounding the second half. This is the Way!

First thing he does, is gives website to donate to KY Flood Relief

The link is for donations going to pay for the 14 funerals of the victims of the flood by Beshear's order

ukathletics.com/floodrelief

Here's the direct link:

Gov Beshear has said EVERY dollar donated goes directly to the funeral of the flood victims and then after those are paid, the rest goes to disaster relief.

All games:

Vandy gave Tennessee fits in Knoxville.
The Cats just beat a very good team by 20.

Less is More(no): HoopsHD interviews McDonald’s All-American Malachi Moreno​

Posted on February 19, 2025 by Jon Teitel
If you want to win an NCAA title then you usually need a good coach, a great resume…and a McDonald’s All-American. Only 2 championship teams from 1979-2020 did not have such a player (2002 Maryland/2014 UConn), and while UConn won a title in 2023 without 1 they added McDonald’s All-American Stephon Castle before winning a 2nd title in 2024. The rosters for this year’s McDonald’s All-American Game were announced last month after selecting the 24 best players in the nation from a list of several hundred nominees. If you do not think these guys can make an immediate impact in the fall, just ask Coach Jon Scheyer how he likes having 2024 honoree Cooper Flagg at Duke! Unlike most years when 1 school stands out as the big winner with the most All-Americans, there are 2 different programs tied for the lead with 3 each (Duke/UConn) and 3 players who have not yet committed to a college. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Malachi Moreno about being named a McDonald’s All-American and seeing John Calipari’s return to Rupp Arena in person.

Last season at Great Crossing High School you averaged 16 PPG/13 RPG/4 BPG: how big a deal was it to reach the Sweet 16 of the KHSAA state tournament for the first time in school history? It was a very big deal. The previous 2 years we had been upset in the regional tourney, but last year we were more experienced and were able to make it to the state tourney. It was a great steppingstone for both our players and our program.

You received offers from several great schools including Arkansas/Indiana/North Carolina but signed with Kentucky last August: was it an easy decision considering your high school campus is just 30 minutes from the Kentucky campus? I am a big relationship guy and developed relationships with all the coaches, but at the end of the day I could only pick 1 school. The things that Kentucky preached made my decision so much easier, plus the chance to be close to my family.

You got to attend the Arkansas-Kentucky game earlier this month: what was it like to see Coach John Calipari’s return to Rupp Arena in person? It was something new. I heard some boos but a lot of applause as well because he created quite a legacy at Kentucky. I am sure that it was a surreal moment for both him and his players.

Coach Mark Pope’s team started this season 14-3 but is currently 17-8: how far do you think they will go in March? I think they will go as far as they want to go. They have been plagued with injuries but have depth/experience and nobody wants it more than them.

Last month you were named a McDonald’s All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot. You always set goals for yourself when you play a sport, and I put in a lot of work/prayer after setting that as 1 of my goals. Once I saw my name on the list, I felt very proud of myself. I found out while I was with my teammates, which made it a memory that I will never forget.

You are part of a great recruiting class that includes Jasper Johnson/Acaden Lewis: how well do you know your 2 future teammates? I have known/played against Jasper for a long time: we only live 20-30 minutes apart and have always been friends, and our relationship has only grown stronger once we both committed. Acaden happened to be on my team at a basketball camp last summer, and I knew that we would kill it once we all committed to the Wildcats!

You were also named a member of the 2025 USA Nike Hoop Summit team last month: any chance you can convince your future Hoop Summit teammates Nate Ament/Koa Peat to join you in Lexington next fall? I certainly hope they come to Lexington so I can try my hardest…but it is their decision at the end of the day.

I have seen you listed anywhere from 6’10 to 7’1”: what position do you play now, and what position will you feel most comfortable at in college? In high school I am a traditional center, which is what I have been my whole life. In college I am hoping to be a stretch 5 like Amari Williams: initiating the offense and making plays for your teammates.

Your brother Michael played basketball at Eastern Kentucky: who is the best athlete in the family? That is hard to decide. We have different builds, but I would not be who I am without him setting the path for me. It pains me to say it…but I would have to choose him!

I read that you want to major in education and become a teacher someday: how come? I have had many teachers during my life who have been great role models and helped me make sound decisions. I want to be a role model to students in the future and just ensure that they are happy.

We play like we are tonight and we won’t lose another game this season. Our boys are hooping tonight!

Is this the worst Kentucky rebounding team ever ?

Glad to see you healthy again.

Give this Kid his Flowers.... think a lot of us were scratching our head.

Wonderful performance tonight and gives UK another solid player to build around.

With Butler and JR out today, I think we may see more of Chandler and I think he does well- he was out of basketball for 2 yrs on a mission and I know he hasn't played much but I see him being more confident each outing - before the season I read a lot about how good a player he would be- now is the time to show it

Glad to see you healthy again.

…..is that your backups get bigtime minutes and experience.
Will be huge if we get players back for the tournament

5 minutes left. It’s because they’re aggressive.

Welcome to the Official Kentucky vs Vanderbilt SEC Regular Season 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 2nd 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 end of the SEC Regular Season.

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 Vanderbilt Offensive Rebounds.

Kentucky vs Vanderbilt game:

--------------------------
Kentucky: 81
Vanderbilt: 75

Tiebreaker: 11
--------------------------

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.

BTW I really would prefer exact names for the teams, but will try to be accommodating as long as it doesn't create too much work for me. If we are playing Louisville, just about anything not obscene will be OK.

--------------------------
SEC Regular Season Basketball Prediction Scores - Kentucky @ Texas (tiebreaker was 13 Texas Turnovers):

10 1 . howercat : 1 points, tiebreaker=10
9 2 . Blueworld_3.0 : 2 points, tiebreaker=12
8 3 . ThreeHogNight : 3 points, tiebreaker=12
7 4 . maysvilleky : 4 points, tiebreaker=12
6 5 . docholiday51 : 6 points, tiebreaker=12
5 6 . Old_Red : 7 points, tiebreaker=11
4 7 . number8please : 7 points, tiebreaker=9
3 8 . Green River : 8 points, tiebreaker=11
2 9 . coolfred : 9 points, tiebreaker=12
1 10 . AFSTALLION13 : 10 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 11 . LogicalCat : 11 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 12 . Chad Rock : 16 points, tiebreaker=9
.. 13 . Blueisbest : 24 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 13 . U Go UK : 24 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 15 . ArtLaibsGhost : 24 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 15 . *CatinIL* : 24 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 17 . YardCat : 24 points, tiebreaker=11
.. 18 . Oldbluefart : 24 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 19 . UKCatWoman : 24 points, tiebreaker=9
.. 20 . tdjohnsky : 25 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 20 . CBBCrazy : 25 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 22 . kyfanrob : 25 points, tiebreaker=9
.. 23 . Hang_Time_2 : 26 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 24 . pappy52 : 26 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 25 . rivercatinfl : 26 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 25 . ORCAT : 26 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 27 . warrior-cat : 27 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 27 . BigBlueFanGA : 27 points, tiebreaker=13
.. 29 . Hargyt13 : 27 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 30 . BlobUK : 27 points, tiebreaker=15
.. 31 . Short-Dawg-69 : 27 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 31 . the nail at the foul line: 27 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 33 . wfm101981 : 28 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 33 . TOMCATS1990 : 28 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 33 . $Z71$ : 28 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 36 . jrm693 : 28 points, tiebreaker=11
.. 36 . Bigblueincincy : 28 points, tiebreaker=11
.. 38 . kywildcat41035 : 29 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 38 . ukfan041 : 29 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 40 . GoAndRunIsGoneAndDone: 29 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 41 . cat tat2 : 30 points, tiebreaker=14
.. 41 . yes_takeaside : 30 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 43 . runt#69 : 30 points, tiebreaker=16
.. 43 . onearmedjesus : 30 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 45 . Roe07 : 30 points, tiebreaker=9
.. 46 . UK Cats1 : 31 points, tiebreaker=12
.. 47 . Kycatspaws : 32 points, tiebreaker=9
.. 48 . blubo : 33 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 48 . Rideordiewildcat : 33 points, tiebreaker=10
.. 50 . GoBIG BLUE : 34 points, tiebreaker=9

Those who picked the wrong winner: wfm101981, ArtLaibsGhost, Blueisbest, GoAndRunIsGoneAndDone, TOMCATS1990, kywildcat41035, jrm693, UK Cats1, Short-Dawg-69, warrior-cat, UKCatWoman, $Z71$, Kycatspaws, cat tat2, the nail at the foul line, Hargyt13, rivercatinfl, Oldbluefart, YardCat, tdjohnsky, Rideordiewildcat, blubo, GoBIG BLUE, kyfanrob, ORCAT, BlobUK, onearmedjesus, CBBCrazy, BigBlueFanGA, runt#69, Hang_Time_2, Bigblueincincy, ukfan041, U Go UK, pappy52, yes_takeaside, *CatinIL*, Roe07

SEC Regular Season Basketball Prediction Contest Leader Board:

53 : howercat
45 : Blueworld_3.0
30 : docholiday51
21 : coolfred
21 : JFCats22
21 : runt#69
21 : the nail at the foul line
21 : YardCat
19 : GoAndRunIsGoneAndDone
19 : Green River
18 : Blueisbest
18 : Chad Rock
18 : Hargyt13
18 : ThreeHogNight
17 : blubo
17 : UKCatWoman
16 : lakercat
15 : yes_takeaside
14 : dynastydreamuk
13 : Bigblueincincy
13 : jrm693
13 : number8please
12 : Old_Red
11 : wfm101981
10 : BlobUK
10 : CastleRubric
10 : kyfanrob
10 : maysvilleky
10 : rivercatinfl
10 : warrior-cat
9 : kennyskywalker34
9 : Rideordiewildcat
8 : cat tat2
8 : cat888
8 : kywildcatsfannumber1
8 : UKhoopCat
7 : kywildcat41035
7 : Oldbluefart
7 : Smashcat
6 : B.B.H.
6 : Mrwildcats03
6 : OldEvilleCat
5 : $Z71$
5 : CBBCrazy
5 : darkshadesofblue
5 : GoBIG BLUE
4 : Jperry1987
4 : Wildcat_In_Florida
3 : Hang_Time_2
3 : onearmedjesus
2 : AFSTALLION13
2 : Jazzycat
2 : ORCAT
2 : tdjohnsky
1 : BigBlueFanGA
1 : ukfan041


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

7 : Blueworld_3.0
7 : howercat
5 : coolfred
5 : JFCats22
4 : docholiday51
4 : Green River
4 : the nail at the foul line
3 : blubo
3 : Chad Rock
3 : GoAndRunIsGoneAndDone
3 : Hargyt13
3 : number8please
3 : rivercatinfl
3 : runt#69
3 : ThreeHogNight
3 : wfm101981
3 : YardCat
2 : $Z71$
2 : AFSTALLION13
2 : Bigblueincincy
2 : BlobUK
2 : Blueisbest
2 : cat tat2
2 : cat888
2 : dynastydreamuk
2 : GoBIG BLUE
2 : jrm693
2 : kyfanrob
2 : kywildcatsfannumber1
2 : lakercat
2 : maysvilleky
2 : Oldbluefart
2 : Old_Red
2 : UKCatWoman
2 : yes_takeaside
1 : B.B.H.
1 : BigBlueFanGA
1 : CastleRubric
1 : CBBCrazy
1 : darkshadesofblue
1 : Hang_Time_2
1 : Jazzycat
1 : Jperry1987
1 : kennyskywalker34
1 : kywildcat41035
1 : Mrwildcats03
1 : OldEvilleCat
1 : onearmedjesus
1 : ORCAT
1 : Rideordiewildcat
1 : Smashcat
1 : tdjohnsky
1 : ukfan041
1 : UKhoopCat
1 : warrior-cat
1 : Wildcat_In_Florida


Total Players:
Kentucky vs Florida : 62
Kentucky @ Georgia : 58
Kentucky @ Mississippi State : 55
Kentucky vs Texas A&M : 58
Kentucky vs Alabama : 63
Kentucky @ Vanderbilt : 62
Kentucky @ Tennessee : 52
Kentucky vs Arkansas : 58
Kentucky @ Ole Miss : 48
Kentucky vs South Carolina : 45
Kentucky vs Tennessee : 49
Kentucky @ Texas : 50

Season Average for Players: 55.0


SEC Regular Season Basketball Prediction Champs:
Kentucky vs Florida : the nail at the foul line: 3
Kentucky @ Georgia : Blueworld_3.0: 8
Kentucky @ Mississippi State : Blueisbest: 8
Kentucky vs Texas A&M : docholiday51: 5
Kentucky vs Alabama : lakercat: 3
Kentucky @ Vanderbilt : CastleRubric: 13
Kentucky @ Tennessee : warrior-cat: 1
Kentucky vs Arkansas : howercat: 9
Kentucky @ Ole Miss : YardCat: 11
Kentucky vs South Carolina : UKCatWoman: 10
Kentucky vs Tennessee : dynastydreamuk: 6
Kentucky @ Texas : howercat: 1


@Deeeefense

We just cannot stop them driving to the basket. It’s destroying us

David and I are both thinking it's a close game with Kentucky eeking one out.

Without a healthy Butler, Robinson, Carr and Kriisa, is it reasonable to expect a first-round win in the tournament ??
As much as I hate to say it, I'm not sure it is ... these injuries just seem to be too much to overcome.
I guess it will depend if we can earn a high enough seed to be slotted against a team we match up well with.
I am still holding out hope for our injured guys to heal enough to be bigtime contributors in the tourney ... we simply have to have them. I would love to see us make it past the first weekend !! GO CATS !!

We are 5-1 vs the current top 7 teams in the country!!!
And 2 of those wins came with a short-handed team/starting-5.
And we still have 2-5 more games to play vs those top 7. I'm sure we will lose at least 1, probably 2, possibly 3 of them. But could we add 1, maybe 2, possibly 3 more wins vs the top 7?

Yet we have 5 losses to unranked teams: Arkansas, Ohio St, Georgia, Vandy, & Texas.
But 3 of those also came with us being short-handed.
And with them out probably at least 1 more week, a good chance Robinson at least 2 more weeks, we could finish the regular season anywhere from 5-1 to 0-6 (but probably in the 3-3 range)

Now suppose Butler and Robinson (I think Butler will, I'm doubtful Robinson will) both return before Selection Sunday, playing in the SEC-T.

Just looking at our best wins, we are a 1 or 2 seed.
Looking at our losses we are a 4 or 5 seed.
If we still have guys injured, you probably need to drop us a line or two.
But if they return, shouldn't you move us up a line or two?

Richie Saunders is a coach and fans dream! That dude just flat out gives 1000%!!! He just went 9-13 and put 22pts on Kansas tonight but it was his effort that impressed me the most!!! This is a guy that is full of pride and effort and to me you just can’t ask for much more! Big Salute to Richie Saunders for leaving everything on the court!

Didn’t expect this much of a spread.