Kentucky

After Jeff Ruby, Jose Ortiz will remain in Kentucky this spring

Published

9 months ago

March 19, 2024

Press Room

After Jeff Ruby, Jose Ortiz will remain in Kentucky this spring

Photo:

Candice Chavez / Eclipse Sportswire

Jockey Jose Ortiz is named to ride eight races Saturday at Turfway Park and, after Jeff Ruby Steaks day, fans in Kentucky will begin to see his name regularly in the program as he’s slated to ride full-time this spring at Keeneland and Churchill Downs.

For many years Ortiz has been a regular rider on the New York circuit during the spring and summer, and this will be the first time he’ll remain in Kentucky. Agent Steve Rushing, who also takes the calls for Ortiz’s Eclipse Award-winning brother Irad Ortiz Jr., will continue to have his book in Kentucky.

Among Ortiz’ many mounts Saturday is Sam F. Davis (Grade 3) runner-up Agate Road in the $700,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher. Listed at 4-1 on the morning-line odds, Agate Road was cross-entered in Saturday’s Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds, but Pletcher stated he’s “leaning towards” running the son of Quality Road at Turfway.

Other notable mounts for Ortiz Saturday at Turfway include Wolfie’s Dynaghost in the $300,000 Kentucky Cup Classic (G3) and Blue Eyed George in the $250,000 Rushaway.

Ortiz will make a brief return to Florida after Jeff Ruby Steaks day but will be back to Kentucky when Keeneland’s spring meet begins Friday, April 5.

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Kentucky

Deadspin | No. 5 Kentucky aims to continue winning ways against Colgate

Published

9 hours ago

December 10, 2024

Press Room

Deadspin | No. 5 Kentucky aims to continue winning ways against Colgate

Dec 7, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Jaxson Robinson (2) dribbles the ball against Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Dusty Stromer (4) during the overtime at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

No. 5 Kentucky, after splitting games on a tough two-game trip last week, returns home to face Colgate on Wednesday in Lexington, Ky.

The Wildcats (8-1) took their first loss under new coach Mark Pope at Clemson on Dec. 3, then pulled out a come-from-behind overtime victory over Gonzaga on Saturday in Seattle.

In the 90-89 triumph over the Bulldogs, Kentucky tied the school record for the largest halftime deficit overcome en route to a win. The Wildcats trailed at intermission 50-34 but rallied to tie the game in the final minute before jumping to a seven-point overtime lead and then hanging on for their second top-10 win of the season.

Kentucky previously beat then-No. 6 Duke 77-72 on Nov. 12 in Atlanta.

On Saturday, the Wildcats got a team-high 19 points from Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr. Four other Kentucky players reached double digits, including Jaxson Robinson, who not only scored 18 points but ended up having to play point guard down the game’s final stretch.

Kentucky’s starter at that position, Lamont Butler, missed the entire game with a minor ankle injury sustained against Clemson. Point guard Kerr Kriisa left the game in the middle of the second half against Gonzaga with a broken foot that will require surgical repair.

On Monday, Pope said of Butler, “It’s day-to-day right now, we’ll see. I’m hoping to see him on the court some (Tuesday), we’ll kind of see how that goes. He got some work done today away from the team. He was at practice kind of — his voice was there, but wasn’t doing anything active with us. We’re going to see how he responds (Tuesday) morning.”

Kentucky’s transfer-heavy squad is leading the nation in scoring, at 92.6 points per game. The Wildcats are averaging a plus-7.7 rebounding margin over opponents but have been tested on the backboard in their top recent road games.

“We’re learning,” Pope said. “The process we’re in right now is we’re going to grow, we’re going to keep getting better and better and better. We had a couple really productive days in practice where we’re starting to understand how to be us against the best defenses in the country.”

The Wildcats’ next foe, Colgate, is offensively challenged.

The Raiders (2-8) are averaging just 67.1 points per game, around the 10th percentile mark of Division I offenses. Colgate is shooting only 43.7 percent as a team and is being outrebounded by 4.5 boards per game on average, also one of the worst marks in the nation.

Colgate has been without 6-foot-11 senior Jeff Woodward for the past three weeks, which leaves the Raiders with only one player seeing significant minutes who is taller than 6-foot-6.

The Raiders come to Rupp Arena off a 78-75 loss at Northeastern on Sunday. While five Raiders reached double-figure scoring totals, led by Brady Cummings with 15 points, Colgate was outrebounded 37-21. The Raiders did manage a season-high 14 steals in the contest.

Coach Matt Langel, in his 14th season at Colgate, said after the defeat, “Winning on the road is extremely hard to do in college basketball. Our schedule has been challenging with the circumstances we’ve faced. Our guys stepped up and fought hard together to make some plays, but … ultimately we came up short.”

Langel has taken Colgate to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past four seasons and the Raiders have posted a 60-6 Patriot League record during that span.

–Field Level Media

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Kentucky

Mark Pope gives an update on Kentucky PG Lamont Butler

Published

16 hours ago

December 10, 2024

Press Room

Mark Pope gives an update on Kentucky PG Lamont Butler

Kentucky got a signature win over then-No. 7 Gonzaga on Saturday night after losing to Clemson earlier in the week. The Wildcats did that without their starting point guard, Lamont Butler, who suffered an injury during the game at Clemson that was nagging him throughout the second half.

With Colgate on Wednesday and a huge rivalry matchup against Louisville on Saturday, Kentucky will need Butler back sooner rather than later, and it looks like it may be soon. It’s clear from Kentucky’s offensive performance all around on Tuesday and the first half against Gonzaga that Butler is a huge part of what makes them run smoothly as a team.

Mark Pope shared a positive update on Butler’s status during his weekly call-in radio show on Monday night. Butler seems to be making good progress.

“It’s day to day right now. …I’m hoping to see him on the court some (Tuesday) to see how he is. We’ll see how that goes. He got some work done today away from the team, was at practice. His voice was there but wasn’t doing anything active with us. So, we’re gonna see how he responds tomorrow morning, see how he feels. But, we’re really feeling sooner rather than later. It’s a matter of days. I would like those days to include a game on Wednesday. We’ll see how that goes.”
– Pope on Butler’s injury timeline.
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Butler has definitely been a key part of this Kentucky team as the one who initiates different things. He impacts the stats in each and every way, and they’ll need him back soon with a big stretch of games coming.

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Kentucky

Kentucky moved into Top 5 of NET rankings following Gonzaga win

Published

1 day ago

December 9, 2024

Press Room

Kentucky moved into Top 5 of NET rankings following Gonzaga win

There is a ton of Top 5 buzz surrounding the Kentucky men’s basketball program following Saturday’s thrilling overtime win on the road against Gonzaga. The Wildcats checked in at No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches Poll updates for this week. Mark Pope‘s team is also within the Top 10 among analytical-based polls such as KenPom (No. 10) and EvanMiya (No. 8).

But the only poll that truly matters in the end is the NET rankings, which is the NCAA’s “primary sorting tool” used to establish a team’s resume. It weighs heavily in deciding the seeding order of teams for the NCAA Tournament. So Kentucky checking in at No. 5 in the NET (after debuting at No. 8 last week) as of Sunday’s update is significant.

Holding an 8-1 record on the season, Kentucky already has a pair of Quad 1 neutral site wins over Duke and Gonzaga, although both the Blue Devils (No. 4) and Bulldogs (No. 3) rank above UK in the updated NET. The Wildcats’ lone loss this season to Clemson (No. 11 in NET) is considered a Quad 1 defeat, which won’t negatively impact Kentucky’s resume all that much if the Tigers continue to play like one of the nation’s best teams.

Looking at the rest of Kentucky’s previous wins this season, three are considered Quad 3 victories (Wright State, Lipscomb, and Western Kentucky) while the remaining three are considered Quad 4 wins (Bucknell, Jackson State, and Georgia State). UK’s next two opponents this week will be considered Quad 4 (vs. Colgate on Wednesday) and Quad 2 (vs. Louisville on Saturday) opportunities.

Kentucky’s record in the NET Rankings

Quad 1: 2-1
Quad 2: 0-0
Quad 3: 3-0
Quad 4: 3-0

The latest NET Rankings are loaded with SEC teams too. Tennessee and Auburn hold down the top two spots, respectively, while 12 total SEC schools make up the Top 50. The next-highest conference is the Big Ten with 11 among the Top 50 followed by the Big 12 with nine.

Kentucky still has one more Quad 1 non-conference matchup left to play, which is against Ohio State in New York City on Dec. 21. The neutral site matchup against a Buckeyes team ranked No. 21 in the NET will be the final Quad 1 opportunity until SEC play begins in the new year.

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