The phrase “must-win game” is used too often in sports, but tonight, it fits the bill. Kentucky rides a three-game losing streak into tonight’s game at South Carolina. It’s the longest skid since February 2021, when the Cats lost four in a row. To avoid matching that, Kentucky must shake off a bad week and beat a subpar Gamecock squad.
South Carolina snapped its own losing streak over the weekend, beating Mississippi State after losing 10 of its past 11 games. The Gamecocks are 3-11 in conference play, which is tied with Oklahoma and Ole Miss for second-to-last in the league standings. That said, South Carolina is the team coming off a win, and Kentucky has shown on several occasions, many in the last week, that it can be its own worst enemy. The Cats can’t afford that tonight. This is the easiest game left on the schedule, and the only one KenPom projects Kentucky to win.
South Carolina scored 97 points in its win over Mississippi State on Saturday, well above its 76.7 average. Meechie Johnson, who is in his sixth year of college basketball and transferred back to South Carolina after a year at Ohio State, scored 21 of those to go along with a career-high nine assists. Kobe Knox, the little brother of former Cat Kevin Knox, had 17. Lamont Paris is 3-1 against Kentucky in his career, two of those wins coming in Colonial Life Arena, which has been a house of horrors for the Cats at times. Not last year, though. Kentucky won that one 80-57, Otega Oweh scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half.
Let’s hope tonight’s game follows a similar script. Join me as we preview it.
How to Watch, Listen
Tonight’s game is on the SEC Network with Kevin Fitzgerald and Perry Clark on the call. Clark knows a thing or two about the Gamecocks, serving as an assistant on South Carolina’s staff for seven seasons (2013-2020) before retiring. He was also a head coach at Tulane, Miami (FL), and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
- Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
- KSR Pregame Show: 4:30 p.m.
- TV: SEC Network (Kevin Fitzgerald, Perry Clark)
- Local Radio: UK Sports Network (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
- AM: 840 WHAS, 630 WLAP
- FM: 98.1 WBUL
- Online: iHeart Radio
- Sirius XM: 381
South Carolina down a starter
There were no surprises on Kentucky’s side of the SEC Availability Report. South Carolina, however, will be down a starter, as Myles Stute is listed as out. The sixth-year wing is averaging 6.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game for the Gamecocks. Stute has struggled recently, going scoreless in South Carolina’s last two games vs. Mississippi State and Florida.
Odds, etc.
Kentucky opened as a 5.5-point favorite on BetMGM. That’s up to 6.5 this morning, with the total set at 149.5 points, 78.5 for Kentucky and 71.5 for South Carolina.
KenPom has Kentucky by six, 77-71, with a 69% chance of winning. BartTorvik thinks it’ll be closer, 76-72 Cats (64%). ESPN’s Matchup Predictor is the highest on the Cats, giving Kentucky a 75.6% chance of victory.
FYI, Kentucky Baseball vs. WKU was moved to tomorrow
Kentucky Baseball was supposed to host Western Kentucky today at Kentucky Proud Park, but Mother Nature decided to send another shot of cold air to the Bluegrass, so the game has been postponed to Wednesday. First pitch is still set for 4 p.m. ET. The weather is supposed to be much better tomorrow, mid-50s and sunny. I think I speak for all of us when I say we can’t wait.
College Basketball on TV today
Monday night was an entertaining one in college hoops. No. 18 North Carolina held off No. 24 Louisville thanks to 30 points from Seth Trimble. Mikel Brown hit a desperation three with 1.3 seconds left to pull Louisville within two, 76-74, but after fouling, the Cards couldn’t get off a half-court heave in time to tie the game. Elsewhere in the Top 25, No. 14 Kansas beat No. 5 Houston 69-59 to remain undefeated in The Phog on Mondays under Bill Self.
Plenty of games to keep you entertained tonight. In the SEC, Missouri hosts No. 22 Tennessee, and Auburn travels to Oklahoma to try to build on its win vs. Kentucky on Saturday. Miami (OH) gets the party started at 6:30 p.m., looking to extend its perfect season to 28-0 at Eastern Michigan.
| Time (ET) | Matchup | TV/Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 PM | #21 Miami (OH) at Eastern Michigan | ESPN+ |
| 7:00 PM | Kentucky at South Carolina | SEC Network |
| 7:00 PM | #1 Duke at Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 7:00 PM | NC State at #11 Virginia | ACC Network |
| 7:00 PM | Cincinnati at #16 Texas Tech | ESPN2 |
| 7:00 PM | #23 Saint Louis at Dayton | ESPN+ |
| 8:30 PM | Minnesota at #3 Michigan | BTN |
| 9:00 PM | #2 Arizona at Baylor | ESPN2 |
| 9:00 PM | #4 Iowa State at Utah | FS1 |
| 9:00 PM | #22 Tennessee at Missouri | SEC Network |
| 9:00 PM | Auburn at Oklahoma | ESPNU |
| 11:00 PM | UCF at #19 BYU | ESPN2 |
SEC Standings
Here’s a look at the league standings as we start the penultimate week of the regular season. Kentucky is tied for sixth right now with Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Texas. If KenPom’s projections play out, that quartet will still be tied for sixth at the end of the season, with the Cats at the bottom of the heap due to tiebreakers. That would make them the No. 9 seed in the SEC Tournament, playing in the first game on Wednesday.
Those projections include Kentucky winning tonight. So, if the Cats don’t, they’ll probably be even lower in the standings. Gotta win.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
| Florida | 12-2 | – | 21-6 |
| Alabama | 10-4 | 2 | 20-7 |
| Arkansas | 10-4 | 2 | 20-7 |
| Tennessee | 10-4 | 2 | 20-7 |
| Texas A&M | 9-5 | 3 | 19-8 |
| Vanderbilt | 8-6 | 4 | 21-6 |
| Missouri | 8-6 | 4 | 18-9 |
| Texas | 8-6 | 4 | 17-10 |
| Kentucky | 8-6 | 4 | 17-10 |
| Georgia | 7-7 | 5 | 19-8 |
| Auburn | 6-8 | 6 | 15-12 |
| Mississippi State | 5-9 | 7 | 13-14 |
| Oklahoma | 3-11 | 9 | 13-14 |
| South Carolina | 3-11 | 9 | 12-15 |
| Ole Miss | 3-11 | 9 | 11-16 |
| LSU | 2-12 | 10 | 14-13 |