Good morning, BBN!

It is finally time to tip off the regular college basketball season for the Kentucky Wildcats as they welcome the Wright State Raiders to Lexington.

The fanbase has been itching for the real basketball games to start after two impressive performances against Kentucky Wesleyan and Minnesota State in their exhibition games.

Now, the games will count towards their record and start the countdown to the big first matchup against Duke in the Champions Classic next Tuesday.

The Raiders head to Rupp Arena after posting an 18-14 record last season, which included a close loss to Indiana. Also arriving in Lexington is the Raiders, Brandon Noel, who was voted as the Horizon League Player of the Year. Can the Cats slow down the talented forward? That will likely be the difference between this game being close late.

For Kentucky, the fanbase will be watching to see how this team plays when the real horn sounds at the start of the season. Will they continue their offensive dominance? Can they continue to defend at a high level? We will find out tonight.

Go Cats!

Tweet(s) of the Day

Just a wild play.

Ray Davis is a rising star for the Buffalo Bills!

Headlines

Big Blue Preview: Kentucky vs. Wright State – UK Athletics

The preseason is over and, beginning on Monday, the Cats embark on a new regular season with a new head coach and an entirely new team.

Know your opponent: Wright State Raiders- Cats Pause

Take a deep dive into the Wright State Raiders.

DeLeye’s 16 Terminations Hand No. 14 Kentucky 3-0 Sweep of UGA – UK Athletics

Sophomore outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye had 16 kills as No. 14 Kentucky completed its season-long five-match road trip 5-0 thanks to a 3-0 win over Georgia and held its position in the three-way tie atop the SEC with the win.

Kentucky left points on the field multiple times deep in Tennessee territory- KSR

Are we really surprised?

Q&A with Mark Stoops following loss to Tennessee- Cats Pause

Take a look at what Coach Stoops had to say following the loss to the Vols.

Acaden Lewis and Jasper Johnson to from all-lefty backcourt- KSR

Will be fun to watch next season.

Cowboys lose Prescott to hamstring injury- ESPN

A tough blow to Dallas.

Oregon voted unanimous No. 1- ESPN

The Ducks are legit.

Lamar Jackson breaks record for most career games with perfect passer rating- CBS

Lamar and the Ravens are legit.

Steelers still in trade market for Wide receiver- CBS

Will Russell Wilson get a new receiver to throw to?

Oregon remains atop AP Top 25 ahead of first CFP rankings – ESPN

Oregon is No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the third straight week, and unanimous for the first time, following its 21-point road win against Michigan.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky State Police Post 12 in Frankfort, are looking for two inmates who they say walked away from Blackburn Correctional Complex.

Officials say they are looking for 38-year-old Adam E. Ball. Ball is from Russell Springs, Ky. State police say he was last seen wearing a full khaki jumpsuit and a khaki hat. He is described as being 6’03 tall and weighing 250 pounds.

KSP is also searching for 40-year-old Bradley E. Cornwell from Georgetown, Ky. Cornwell was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, gray sweatpants, white shoes, and a khaki hat. He is described as being 6’0 tall and weighing 175 pounds.

Reports say both inmates allegedly fled the complex together in a water truck.

Anyone with information is asked to call local law enforcement or Kentucky State Police Post 12 at 502-227-2221.

The stars were aligning for a disaster class. For years, Josh Heupel’s uptempo attack put the Kentucky defensive backs out on islands and wrecked the Wildcat defense. Three cornerbacks were sidelined before the game even started. Then J.Q. Hardaway started cramping, leaving only two healthy players at the position.

Despite the incredibly difficult circumstances, the defense held up their end of the bargain for most of the game, limiting the Vols to 21 points over the first three quarters of the football game and only one reception of 30 yards or more.

“Overall, considering the situation we were in with being extremely thin, I thought we held up okay,” Mark Stoops said after the loss.

“The inexperience showed late with not being tight enough on that third down there late. We have to tighten up there. Obviously, we had an inexperienced guy out there, but we have to coach him. We have to do a better job with that play. But overall, in a tough situation and being down a lot of guys, they fought pretty hard.”

Mark Stoops is referring to two third downs in the fourth quarter that Kentucky could not get off the field, ultimately leading to the game-clinching touchdown for the Vols with five minutes to play. A few drives before, there was one more third down that could have swung the game Kentucky’s way.

Addison Almost Made a Game-Changing Interception

True freshman Terhyon Nichols has logged legitimate reps all season, but tonight needed to play starter’s reps. He shared some of them with Nasir Addison, a true sophomore primarily used in special teams that was tasked to play 34 snaps at cornerback.

Neither looked like a fish out of water. Addison may have gotten away with a PI early in the game, but late in the game he damn near flipped the script. Pressure in the backfield forced Nico Iamaleava‘s third-down pass to sail way off-target. Addison was there and got two hands on the ball, but he couldn’t catch the interception. If it wasn’t a pick six, Kentucky would have started the ball inside the red zone down 14-10. Instead, the Wildcats threw an interception of their own on the ensuing possession.

Even though the game-changing play didn’t happen, there was plenty of good sprinkled in. Nichols had another impressive pass break-up and Addison only allowed two receptions on four targets.

“They’re some ballplayers, real life. They love the game of football, Nas and Rhy. Shout out to both of them, and JQ on the other side, handling his business,” Zion Childress said after the game. “We’re thin, but if we get prepared by the best, everybody’s going to be ready to play and when those guys’ names were called, they made plays.”