Do we still get these for tournament games?

Remaining teams...

SEC: 8
(Kentucky, Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Tennessee)

Big 10: 8
(Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Maryland, UCLA, Oregon)

Big 12: 6
(Houston, Arizona, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas Tech, BYU)

Big East: 3
(St. John's, UConn, Creighton)

Mountain West: 2
(New Mexico, Colorado State)

West Coast: 2
(Gonzaga, Saint Mary's)

ACC: 1
(Duke)

Missouri Valley: 1
(Drake)

Southland: 1
(McNeese State)

March Madness was the Illinois High School Basketball Tournament.

Sweet 16 was the Kentucky High School Basketball Tournament.

Only crowd noise. No announcers. Anyone else getting that?

Since the NIL monster has arrived Kansas seem to be the ones pursuing the highest bidder method. That has turned into getting paid and quitting. This bodes well for our all time wins lead. Good luck purging that culture.

He only played 4 minutes today.. anyone know why?

Mahalo,

AlohaCat

We play at 5:15 ET. As of now we are a 1 point favorite.

I'm not a CBB fan but do keep up with UK now that Cal is gone. The two minute interview after the game cemented my total support for Pope. Paraphrasing, he stated how fortunate he felt to be 'serving in this role'. Cal thought being the coach at UK was his birthright. Pope feels only gratitude for being chosen to serve in this role. Refreshing.

With some returnees, the HS recruits and some key transfers, I look for UK to be even better next year with an eye towards the following year to make a serious run at FF. Regardless, Pope is exactly what the program needed. Butler looked happier for Pope's first NCAA win than for himself. That says a lot to me.

*****

As always, we invite you to hit us up with your quick takes here below...

Game Exp: 3 of their top 6 players are Freshman, the other is a Sophomore.Approximately 155 games played by top 4. Ky top 4 is almost 500 games
Cal gone/ Pope here
KY 3pt 38%. Illinois 31%
Ky FG. 48%. Illinois 45%
Ky has 80 more steals
KY has 16 fewer TO's (push)
Most all the reasons KY lost tourney games the last 5 years are the resume of Illinois this year. Yes injuries are the X factor but much to be optimistic about.

I think the Cats get healthy, we go 3-1 in our final 4 games and end the regular season 22-10. Depending on our draw in the SECT, we make the finals.

From there, I think we are a 3 seed in the tournament.

Mine is Creighton over Auburn. I believe Auburn has the best talent but they haven't been playing anywhere near as good as most of the season. Really limping into the post season.

For the fanbase, players, and especially Pope. Way to go guys!

Glad we won but I felt the team was lacking effort. Moving forward we have to play with more effort, energy and ethusiasm.

I'm hoping to see maximum effort on Sunday. Proud of this team and coaching staff go Big Blue!

Who would have thought we would've been here watching this today??

I know there will be the "uh dur I donn careee" posts, but today's game matters. It matters for our history. NCAA basketball history. Kentucky basketball history for the last 35 years is on TV today in a big moment.

One decade ago...Calipari ate Pitino's soul in the Sweet 16 and was approaching an undefeated season. We saw Rick fall apart and Cal was higher than high...who would've ever thought we'd be here today. This matters today...it's about US even though we aren't playing.

Their timeline?
-Young Stars coaching Kentucky & UMASS in big moments
-College Coaches in failed NBA matchups with the Celtics & NETS
-CUSA Rivals reviving Memphis & Louisvillle
-Coaches at the peak of their powers at the center of the sport with Kentucky vs. Louisville?
-HOF Legends at the end of their careers facing off for maybe the last time in March?

Who would have thought?
-That we'd be cheering that young arrogant coach at UMASS/Memphis that tried to beat us?
-That we'd cheer and love him over our beloved Rick Pitino who saved our program?
-That we'd ever forgive Rick Pitino for going to our biggest rival?
-That Rick Pitino could come back after multiple scandals?
-That John Calipari wouldn't be welcome and Pitino would be back in Rupp after flipping us the bird?
-That these two coaches would be facing off in March at schools not named UK/UL, and BBN would be cheering for Rick?

The Pitino revenge tour?
-Hated by UK fans for choosing UofL
-UK hires his hated rival & loves him
-Tormented by UK fans after his affair/extortion trial goes public
-Leaves Rupp Arena after flipping us the bird and being OWNED by Cal in the rivalry.
-The 2014 Sweet 16 loss was his ultimate defeat....
-Fired in shame after NCAA scandals at Louisville
-Pitino returns to Iona...pressure builds on Cal
-Pitino goes to St. John's....Cal is forced out of UK
-Pitino's player is hired, Pitino returns to Rupp and is cheered...
-Pitino wins the Big East as Cal struggles to make the tournament
-Pitino and Cal face off....if he wins...he makes the full comeback.


You can say you don't care and what not, that's fine....but I am watching today and honestly. This is a story that covers my shorts 30+ years on Earth....it connects through Kentucky basketball....the Unforgettables to Anthony Davis to Katina Powell to Tyson's Chicken.



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I was talking to my dad about this during the Bryant game last night. Are we not going to see as many upsets anymore due to the portal? All the best players are leaving mid major programs and jumping to the bigger ones? There were some close games but mostly beat downs.

Let’s see if anyone can nail every game today! Man gonna be some tough ones but I’ll go…

McNeese
St John
Texas A&M
Drake
Auburn
Wisconsin
Houston
Tennessee

Statistics for 2024-25

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I don’t like the feel of this.

As I sit here watching Total Recall (1990 version), I remember how confusing this movie was to me back when I was 16. I had no trouble back then getting into R rated movies at the theater by the way. I think it took me probably 15-20 years and tons of reruns of it before it finally clicked.

The whole Hauser/Quaid battle for the body had me lost.

I am Quaid.


You blew my cover, I am Hauser.


You blabbed Quaid, you blabbed about Mars.


If I am not me then who am I? Beats me I just work here.


Howdy, stranger! This is Hauser. If things have gone wrong, I'm talking to myself and you have a wet towel around your head. Now, whatever your name is, get ready for the big surprise. You are not you, you're me.



I'm not Hauser anymore, I'm Quaid.


You are Quaid and you are on an ego trip. Swallow the red pill.


Probably should have taken the blue pill.


That's my body and I want it back.


When you wake up you will be Hauser.


You just had to be Quaid.


I really don't know which one this is.


What if it was all a dream? Kiss me quick before you wake up.


And there you have quite possibly the most confusing film I can ever recall watching. Feel free to add any movie that you just never really understood.

Since the beginning of February, they’ve had only 1 game where the final score was within 5 points.

They’ve had 5 losses in that time by an average of 22 points.

7 wins by an average of 13+ points.

When I’ve watched them they haven’t looked great, but I guess I just watched on the wrong nights. Hope their alter ego shows up Sunday.

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KENTUCKY PLAYERS Q&A:

* Otega Oweh... We just keep playing here, don't let frustrating things get us down. Play the next play.

* Oweh on Chandler... Great seeing it at this point in the year. He's not playing like a freshman anymore. Every time he gets out there, he's making plays.

* Garrison on helping Pope get his first NCAA win... Very important. Needed this one. Chandler echoes that: "The first of many."

*****

KENTUCKY HC MARK POPE Q&A:

* Pope says it's really cool to watch Otega Oweh support Collin Chandler the way he does. He's his biggest cheerleader. Whenever Collin does something good, he's the first one off the bench or who comes over to celebrate with him on the court, to dap him up and hype him up. In the same way, he's the first one over to pick him up and mentor him when something doesn't go right. It's really cool to see them work together. (Hmmm? Sewing the seeds for next year's star combo?)

* The best part of coaching is watching guys go through the process and growing, seeing a guy like Collin Chandler having that kind of game on a huge stage. Said there were quiet moments for him this season where he was sitting in the Lodge and wondering why it wasn't happening for him, did I make the right decision coming here? But he just kept going and kept going, and it led to this moment. That's the best part of coaching, watching that happen.

* Thought the players did a good job of being in the moment tonight.

* Thought one of the biggest plays of the game was Trent Noah's first 3. Thought it had a huge affect on us. And he played some nice defense.

* Brandon Garrison, I'm telling you guys, is going to turn into a really special player.

* Our guys' health is in tatters right now. We're doing it on guts right now.

* On the assists-to-turnover ratio (23:10) is about being super-aggressive offensively. You can't be timid against Troy the way they play defense. Our guys had the right recipe.

* Troy is a terrific team that fights really hard.

* On what it's like coaching in the city he played in during his NBA career.... Really good memories here. A daughter was born here. I was a terrible player, but it was really special. (lol). Gives a special word about Junior Bridgeman, a great Kentuckian and former Milwaukee player. No better example for what you can do beyond basketball.

* Asked what it means to get his first NCAA tourney win at Kentucky.... "It means Mitch isn't gonna fire me." (laughs). Means a lot to be able to do this at UK. But it's not about me, so I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it. I think about what it means to our players, our fans, our community.

* Pope says he heard the great Vernon Hatton passed away before the game. He had visited with him recently. Wanted to highlight what a great legend of the program he was and a fellow member of the church. Great human being.

* Best thing about tonight: It means we get at least another 48 hours together.

*****

TROY HC SCOTT CROSS Q&A:

* Kentucky is a really good basketball team, especially on the offensive end, and I think our guys thought they could win tonight, but their size was an issue for us. Amari Williams tough in the paint for them.

* Knew that their guys off the bench could shoot. Brea, obviously, was the focus of our defensive plan, but they have a bunch of guys who can make them. Almonor was another we were worried about. Our focus was not to give up layups or 3s. When they started hitting back-to-back 3s, it really energized their team and demoralized ours.

* On seeing Amari Williams up close... His size and defensive ability were greater than what I expected. You see him on film and know he's big, but you don't realize how big until he's standing next to you. There's not much you can get on him outside of pick-and-pop, and you can't live on that. Carr's a good team defender, too, with his size and length. Butler's on-the-ball defense gives them a big lift. Those guys collectively played a good defensive game. If they play like that on D, they're as good an offensive team as I've seen.