Kentucky
Louisville narrowly avoids disaster against Eastern Kentucky
Noah Waterman’s driving layup with 1.2 seconds to play helped Louisville avoid what would have been a catastrophic loss to Eastern Kentucky Saturday afternoon inside the KFC Yum Center.
Trailing by one in the closing moments, U of L forced Colonels star Devontae Blanton into a missed jumper. Reyne Smith then took off up the left side of the floor, where he nearly lost the ball before finding Waterman, who nearly lost the ball as well. After regaining his footing, Waterman drove to the rim for a contested bucket that would give the Cardinals a 1-point lead.
A steal and a free-throw by Terrence Edwards would set the game’s score at its final margin.
The end-of-game sequence allowed the Cardinals to avoid what would have been a crippling defeat in game they were favored to win by 21.5 points. Instead, they’ll enter the New Year with an 8-5 record and only losses to quality opponents on their resume.
Still, the fact that Louisville couldn’t put away an EKU team that nearly knocked the Cardinals off for the first time since 1963 was more than a little unnerving.
After knocking down nine three-pointers in the first half, U of L could manage just two makes from deep in the second frame. The most important of those came from Smith, whose three with just under two minutes to play put the Cards ahead, 75-73. EKU’s George Kimble, who finished with a game-high 24 points, promptly answered with a three of his own to set up the game’s frantic final moments.
I don’t know if it was the holiday break or what, but the energy was down, the defense was downright bad, and the head-scratching unforced turnovers were back.
We are extremely fortunate that this wasn’t a Quad 4 loss that would have completely tanked our resume right before we begin our dive into the heart of conference play.
The most crucial two week stretch of the season — one which features games against North Carolina, Virginia, Pitt and Clemson — is now upon us. Handle it well, and we can dream March Madness dreams as we go deeper into January and February. Handle it the way we handled things today, and the season shifts to “keep fighting, see how many wins we can scrap together, and maybe we can pull off a crazy run in Charlotte” mode.
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Kentucky
Kentucky is poised to land either Donnie Freeman or Sebastian Rancik this weekend, per report
Jones posted on Twitter that “Kentucky will have (absent a major change) either Freeman or Rancik by tomorrow,” while also noting the Wildcats still need to add another shooter and another big to round out the roster.
One of the top targets is Donnie Freeman, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound sophomore forward transferring from Syracuse. Freeman arrived in Lexington on Tuesday night and began his visit on Wednesday before leaving without a commitment. While there was concern he could land at UConn, that visit has since been canceled, leaving Kentucky and St. John’s as the top teams.
Freeman averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season, while adding nearly a block and a steal per contest. He shot 47.4% from the field but 30.2% from 3-point range across 23 games.
The other option is Sebastian Rancik, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound sophomore forward transferring from Colorado. Rancik visited Kentucky starting Wednesday through Thursday and brings a versatile skill set, averaging 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while shooting 33.1% from 3.
Either Freeman or Rancik would provide a significant boost at the power forward position for head coach Mark Pope. Kentucky has already added guards Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins in the portal.
Kentucky football coach Will Stein reflects on new position
Will Stein was officially introduced to fans and media as the head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats, replacing Mark Stoops.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky football had its first spring game under new coach Will Stein at Kroger Field on Saturday.
The offense, in blue jerseys, had its moments. So too the defense, donning white uniforms.
Ultimately, the blue squad earned a 23-18 victory in a game called just after noon because of inclement weather.
Stein admitted he “got emotional” as he charged onto the field prior to kickoff.
“I know it wasn’t a real game, but when I ran on the field, I definitely — man, I felt it,” he said. “It was like a wave running over me. And very, very, just cool.”
While it doesn’t count in the standings, Stein walked away pleased.
“I think we got a lot of really good work,” he said. “That’s the goal of spring is to improve with fundamentals and technique, learn how to practice, learn what winning edges that we need throughout spring to go into summer and fall and prepare the team for play. And we came out of the scrimmage clean. There (were) no injuries, which to me, that’s the biggest win of the day. I could (not) care less about the score.
“If we come out clean, that’s good. The Wildcats won.”
New starting QB Kenny Minchey looked about as expected, with sharp passes evened out by moments of inconsistency. Martels Carter Jr., a defensive back who is lining up at running back this spring, scored a touchdown and had several nice runs.
And the defense forced multiple three-and-outs and also picked off one Minchey pass on a two-point conversion.
This story will be updated.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
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