Kentucky
Kentucky makes big jump in ESPN's rankings following Tennessee win
How impressive was Kentucky’s win over Tennessee? It warranted an eight-spot jump in ESPN’s college basketball rankings.
Jeff Borzello updated his Power Rankings this morning and the Cats climbed from No. 18 to No. 10 following their second victory over the Volunteers, who fell from No. 4 to No. 6. As Borzello notes, the fact that Kentucky was able to beat the Volunteers by double digits given all the injuries to the backcourt makes the win even more commendable.
Beating Tennessee by 11 on Tuesday is impressive in itself; put in context, it looks even better. The Wildcats were already without Jaxson Robinson, who was ruled out before the game because of a wrist injury, and Kerr Kriisa, who has missed two months because of a foot injury. And then late in the second half, starting point guard Lamont Butler took a hard fall and aggravated the shoulder injury that kept him out of three games. Despite that, Kentucky finished the game on a 17-4 run, getting a huge boost from its role players: Koby Brea, Ansley Almonor, Trent Noah and Travis Perry. More importantly, the Wildcats have now held their past two opponents to an average of 60.5 points and 7-for-40 3-point shooting after allowing their previous five opponents to make at least 11 3s each.
The bench’s performance also got a shoutout from CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone and Matt Norlander on the latest episode of the “Eyes on College Basketball” podcast.
“Kentucky just keeps firing,” Boone said. “They just keep reloading with guards who — they expected to have Kerr Kriisa, they expected to have Robinson, they expected to have Butler. They just keep coming at you. They have a ton of depth on this team. The offense continues to hum at an elite level, shooting 12-24 from three, as you mentioned. And defensively, I think maybe it was one of those nights that Tennessee could not just make open shots but let’s credit Kentucky’s defense for making them miss those shots.”
“Kentucky needed this one in a bad, bad way, and I thought the way that they did it, by overcoming some adversity, was very impressive by Mark Pope’s Wildcats.”
Of course, Trent Noah and Travis Perry played a huge role in Tuesday night’s win, combining for 19 of Kentucky’s 26 bench points. Norlander said those performances could pay dividends for the rest of the season.
“It’s a good thing for Kentucky that, against a really, really good team, it’s good for Mark Pope and the coaching staff, the locker room, they can point to this game and say — and it’s not platitudes, it’s true — without Trent Noah and Travis Perry, Kentucky does not beat Tennessee on Tuesday night. And I thought that was an important development in the big picture for the Wildcats.”
Kentucky has made strides defensively in the last two games, climbing to No. 80 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive ratings as of this morning, but Norlander says to be a national championship-caliber team, the Cats need to be No. 35 or better in that metric. A fully healthy Lamont Butler would obviously help matters considerably, but when that happens remains a big unknown.
“I don’t think Kentucky can win the national championship. A bit too up and down. The defense is a big concern. Lamont Butler changes so much. Now, they lose him for another game, two, three, four games, how long is he going to be out? It really changes it.”
“If you’ve got that much of a discrepancy defensively, you can’t win a title. With the 82nd-ranked defense in the country, you can make the Final Four; that’s happened, but to win six games, no. They’d have to turn into a top 35-level defense by Selection Sunday and I just don’t think that’s going to happen there.”
Hear more of their takes below.
GRAYSON, Ky. (WSAZ) – New information has been released in the search for a missing woman at Grayson Lake.
According to game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Marly Kinney, 19, of Ashland, was last seen at Grayson Lake on Wednesday afternoon.
They say search efforts are focused on the water at this time and include Kentucky State Police aerial support, drones, boats, and K9 assistance.
Crews suspend search for missing teen for the night
The search is now into its third day, with officials saying on and off rain has hindered their search and that a group of 50 volunteers are walking the banks of the lake to help in the search.
Search and rescue boats have been seen at the lake as well.
Officials say there are still many questions, including if Kinney is still alive and where exactly she went missing.
They also say they’ve been using a variety of equipment, including sonar and thermal detectors, as well as helicopters and underwater drones.
WSAZ received a statement from Kinney’s family Friday afternoon:
“We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, 1st responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly. We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
We are still working to get more information.
Previous coverage can be found here.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
13 things more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot
Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Here are 13 things more likely to happen than becoming an instant millionaire.
The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Thursday, June 25, 2026 winning numbers for each game.
Cash Ball
02-08-24-32, Cash Ball: 09
Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Evening: 6-3-0
Midday: 9-6-0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 5-7-6-0
Midday: 5-2-6-6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
03-13-14-34-45, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Courier Journal digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.
On Thursday, Kentucky’s home and away SEC opponents for the 2026-27 season were revealed and on top of learning the three opponents who they will play twice, there are some very intriguing matchups. In conference play, Kentucky will face six teams who are among the top 25 in many preseason rankings.
In SEC play, Kentucky will play Tennessee, Vandy and Ole Miss all both home and away. The home matchups include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vandy. As for the road tilts, the Wildcats will face Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Vandy. Let’s take a look at some interesting developments from the schedule release.
John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena (again)
In Calipari’s first year with Arkansas, he got the best of Kentucky when he came into Rupp Arena and left with a 10-point victory, a game where you could really feel the tension all game long in the building from Kentucky fans, which translated onto the court with the players. Last season, it was Kentucky who shocked everyone when they stole one on the road against a top 20 Arkansas team after a rough up-and-down season up to that point. Now, the two will face off again as Kentucky will look to get the win in Rupp and make sure Calipari doesn’t get two in a row in the building. It’ll be another highly-anticipated showdown.
Kentucky hits the road at Texas
This is shaping up to be a major challenge for Kentucky next season and may even end up being one of the biggest games of the season. Texas is seen by many as a clear top 10 team, with some even having them within the top five and when you combine that with the fact that the game is on the road, the Wildcats will have their hands full. The Wildcats fell to the longhorns in the 2024-25 season, and it’ll be a much stiffer challenge this time.
Which game could be a trap?
We don’t have the game-by-game dates yet, so it’s hard to say with a lot of confidence, but opponent-wise, Georgia could really give Kentucky fits. In Pope’s first year, his team struggled handling the physicality of the Bulldogs and now, they’ve retained one of their best guards for another year and have added physicality through the portal. Mike White’s teams love to make opponents uncomfortable and they could do that once again down in Athens. Another sneaky team to watch is Oklahoma, who will have very good guard play. Kentucky will face both teams on the road.
Overall, it’s a pretty fair SEC schedule for a Kentucky team who has the capability of a return to being atop the conference once again. Mark Pope has such a system-fit squad and he can do some damage in the SEC.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and YouTube for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
Technology11 minutes agoPrime Day’s final hours bring rare discounts on Philips Hue smart lights
-
World14 minutes agoVideo shows gaping hole after small plane crashes into towering skyscraper
-
Politics20 minutes agoWarren tells Trump to ‘sign the damn bill’ as bipartisan housing package remains stalled in Washington
-
Health27 minutes agoCommon food preservatives may raise blood pressure and heart risks, study suggests
-
Sports29 minutes agoWho is Alyssa Thomas? WNBA star suspended for punching Caitlin Clark in the throat
-
Technology34 minutes agoFox News AI Newsletter: Waymo’s robotaxi recall
-
Business42 minutes ago
Cisco to lay off more than 400 workers in California
-
Entertainment44 minutes agoTom Sandoval’s girlfriend Victoria Robinson arrested after patio fire pit altercation
