Kentucky
Kentucky 'scored in every way possible' in learning experience for Brown: “It's just super impressive to see.”
Brown decided to schedule its two biggest games of the non-conference schedule within nine days of each other. The Bears first traveled to Lawrence to take on a top-10 Kansas team on December 22 before flying to Lexington to take on a top-10 Kentucky team on Dec. 31 — arguably the two best home environments in college basketball in back-to-back matchups.
Quite the challenge ahead of the Ivy League schedule.
Weirdly enough, they were identical 34-point margins of victory for the blue bloods, KU pulling off an 87-53 win and UK pulling off an 88-54 win. Both games saw sluggish starts before the home favorite pulled away in blowout fashion down the stretch.
How did Brown head coach Mike Martin view the matchups?
“Trying to take a little bit of a step-back and just think of the big picture of the opportunity our programs had the last two games, playing in Kansas then playing here,” he said. “Great experience for our players. Great experience for everyone affiliated with our program.”
In his eyes, the Wildcats are as advertised — closer to the team that beat Duke and Gonzaga away from home than the one that got destroyed by Ohio State in New York City. After the offense hit a wall as of late and the defense regressed, Mark Pope’s group finally got things figured out going into the SEC schedule.
It was noticeable on both ends.
“I think Kentucky did a great job of making us uncomfortable from the very beginning. Offensively we struggled to really get into a flow and run offense. 23 turnovers led to 33 Kentucky points,” Martin said. “Obviously, it’s going to be hard to stay within reach when that happens so. I thought our half-court defense was actually pretty good. They scored a lot in transition off our turnovers. In the second half, they scored in every way possible so, we’ll learn from it, and I know we will be a lot better because of these last two experiences.”
What led to that dominant defensive effort that led to 23 forced turnovers with 14 steals?
“It starts at the point of attack. (Lamont) Butler and (Otega) Oweh are terrific defensive guards and obviously we have a terrific guard named Kino Lilly. You know, Kino was efficient offensively, but I think their pressure at the point of their defense, then obviously (Amari) Williams at the back end made it hard on us. They were trying to take us out of our Zoom action, they denied a lot of hand-offs. Then we got a couple back-cuts early, but it wasn’t enough to loosen them up.
“So, I think it starts with those three guys, then their entire team and scheme defensively deserves a lot of credit.”
For how quickly this Kentucky team was put together almost entirely through the transfer portal, Martin couldn’t be more impressed.
“They were ready, Kentucky, to play and it’s impressive to watch what they’ve done in a short amount of time with so many new players,” he said. “How cohesive they are and how they share the ball, the 18 assists for them and only five turnovers. It’s just super impressive to see.”
Can’t complain about a feel-good win to close out 2024.
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.
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