Kentucky‘s next big test is here, as the Wildcats are set to take on the No. 8 Miami (FL) Hurricanes inside Rupp Arena on Tuesday, opening tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. It’s part of the ACC/SEC Challenge, a two-day event featuring 14 total matchups — eight teams ranked, including two head-to-head ranked battles.
The Cats finished strong in an overtime victory vs. Saint Joseph’s, then followed it up with a historic offensive performance vs. Marshall. How will they fare against their second big-name foe of the season? Let’s break down the matchup.
How To Watch
No. 12 Kentucky (5-1) vs. No. 8 Miami (FL) (5-0) 7:30 p.m. ET | Tuesday, November 28 | Rupp Arena
Team Records
No. 12 Kentucky: 5-1 (KenPom: 17)
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11/6: 86-46 W vs. New Mexico State
11/10: 81-61 W vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (Wildcat Challenge)
11/14: 89-84 L vs. Kansas
11/17: 101-67 W vs. Stonehill (Wildcat Challenge)
11/20: 96-88 OT W vs. Saint Joseph’s (Wildcat Challenge)
11/24: 118-82 W vs. Marshall
No. 8 Miami (FL): 5-0 (KenPom: 37)
11/6: 101-60 W vs. NJIT
11/10: 88-72 W vs. UCF
11/13: 86-80 W vs. FIU
11/17: 79-68 W vs. Georgia
11/19: 91-83 W vs. Kansas State
Series History
The Wildcats have taken on the Hurricanes just four total times in history, zero matchups coming during John Calipari’s time in Lexington. Kentucky is 3-1 in the series dating back to 1956, bringing home wins on Dec. 3, 1956, Dec. 5, 1998 and Jan. 29, 2000. The program’s lone loss to Miami came on Dec. 6, 2008.
Miami (FL) is coached by Jim Larrañaga, a two-time ACC Coach of the Year and former consensus national coach of the year. The 74-year-old has racked up 730 career wins across stints at Miami, George Mason, Bowling Green and American International. He is coming off back-to-back trips to the Elite Eight and Final Four, respectively.
Kentucky vs. Miami (FL) Odds on FanDuel
Spread: Kentucky -4.5 Total: 164.5 points
Kentucky Projected Starters
(Starting lineup based on the last game)
#21 – DJ Wagner 6-4 • 192 • GUARD • FRESHMAN 14.5 PPG, 3.7 APG
#4 –Bensley Joseph 6-2 • 196 • GUARD • SOPHOMORE 11.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 4.2 APG
Head Coach: Jim Larrañaga (13th season at Miami (FL), 40th overall): 730-483
Statistical Comparison
(via Kentucky’s game notes)
Fun stats from UK’s game notes:
UK’s average possession length is 14.9 seconds, which ranks among the top 20 fastest in the nation. Kentucky is also scoring an average of 19.3 fast-break points. That mark leads the league and ranks 14th in the country.
UK has made 12 or more 3-pointers in four straight for the first time since December of 1989
Kentucky is averaging just 8.2 turn- overs per game. That average is the second-lowest in the country. Its 10.8 turnover percentage is the best in the country per KenPom.com
Pregame Storylines
AARON BRADSHAW WILL NOT MAKE HIS DEBUT
Kentucky’s prized 7-foot freshman is close, but not close enough. Bradshaw confirmed he was a week away from making his debut for the Wildcats, missing the home matchup vs. Miami. Fortunately, the Hurricanes don’t have anyone taller than 6-8 in the core rotation with just two players standing 6-9 and 6-10, respectively, down the bench. 6-7, 240-pound forward Norchad Omier is a handful, but like Kentucky, this is a perimeter-heavy Miami team.
FAMILIAR FACES FOR KENTUCKY
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Kentucky loosely courted Wooga Poplar out of high school, a four-star recruit at the time. The same can be said for Matthew Cleveland, who claimed the Wildcats pushed for him late before he ultimately signed with Florida State. UK was then one of many schools to reach out after he hit the portal following his sophomore season before he chose Miami. Norchad Omier was also a serious frontcourt option for Kentucky as the school awaited Oscar Tshiebwe’s stay-or-go decision following his National Player of the Year run in 2022. When the superstar center opted to return to Lexington, Omier — an Arkansas State transfer — cut the Wildcats from his list and ultimately went with the Hurricanes.
TWO HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSES
Kentucky enters the matchup ranked No. 6 overall in offensive efficiency, No. 9 in effective field-goal percentage and No. 4 in 3-point percentage. Miami sits at No. 11 in offensive efficiency, No. 4 in effective field-goal percentage and No. 1 in 3-point percentage. Five Hurricanes average double-figure scoring while the Wildcats have six players hitting that mark. You won’t find a better offensive non-conference battle, two high-volume and high-efficiency juggernauts throwing haymakers back and forth on the big stage.
Join The Discussion on KSBoard
For the first time in over a decade, KSR will be without its in-game live blogs, a longtime tradition here on the blog. Unfortunately, the company that hosted the KSR live blogs no longer exists, so we are without the machine that made it all possible.
If you still want to interact with the KSR crew tonight, consider joining the conversation on KSBoard. New members can try 1 month for $1.
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Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel
Miss the game or don’t want to deal with the ESPN app? KSR’s got you covered. Drew Franklin, Jack Pilgrim and Zack Geoghegan will be at Rupp Arena to share their Rapid Reactions on the KSR YouTube Channel. We’ll also have wall-to-wall postgame coverage on the website, including highlights, comments from John Calipari and the players, stats, and takeaways.
Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.
The winner and runner-up from Saturday’s Grade 3 Lecomte joined the top 10 in the points standings for Kentucky Derby 2025.
Disco Time brought his record to 3-for-3 with his win by a neck over Built over the muddy Fair Grounds track to earn 20 points and move into third place. Built, who already had earned 10 points for his win in the Gun Runner, picked up another 10 to move into fourth place.
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The third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishers got their first qualifying points. Innovator earned 6 points, good for 18th place. Golden Afternoon is in 28th place with 4 points, and Maximus Promise earned 2 points, putting him at no. 44.
One points prep is on the calendar for this weekend. The Southwest (G3) at Oaklawn drew a field of 10, with Gaming, fifth on the leaderboard, drawing the rail.
The following weekend brings four preps, the Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream, the Robert B. Lewis (G3) at Santa Anita and the Withers (G3) at Aqueduct. All three, along with the Southwest, offer 20-10-6-4-2 points to the top five finishers.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) – Kentucky’s general assembly is currently on a break after convening for four days to start 2025 legislative session.
However, hundreds of bills were filed in those four days.
“I feel like too many young people are committing act of violence with guns and we need to get it under control,” said Rep. Kim Banta (R-Ft. Mitchell).
Republican Rep. Banta said House Bill 55 does not just apply to guns.
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“My party asked me they said, ‘look why pick on guns, why not any weapon?’,” she said. “And so, I changed it and so if you buy your child a machete and they choose to put it in their backpack and go to school and harm people, you’re going to be held accountable for it.”
The bill would make parents or guardians civilly liable for injury caused by a destructive device, explosive, firearm or other deadly weapon. The bill would apply to legal guardians who allow the minor to have the device, know that the minor has a delinquent history or knows that the intended use is to commit a crime.
“Anything that we can do that may deter a horrific crime would be something I’m all about,” said Rep. Tina Bojanowski (D-Louisville).
Democratic Rep. Bojanowski said she is cosponsoring House Bill 55 because as a teacher, she said it is important for parents or legal guardians to have a pulse on their child.
“You know maybe yeah your son really enjoys hunting and you gave them this knife, but you may want to think twice if he’s been accused and found guilty of a crime already,” said Rep. Bojanowski.
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As the session continues, Rep. Banta said she hopes to convey that the bill is not about taking away guns or imposing restrictions.
Kentucky’s House of Representatives and Senate will meet for part II of the 2025 legislative session on Feb. 4.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Led by Clara Strack with 25 points and Georgia Amoore with 24 points, No. 12 Kentucky defeated Georgia 78-64 on Sunday.
Strack made 9 of 19 shots and 6 of 7 free throws. She had 12 rebounds to complete her fourth double-double this season. Amelia Hassett had 14 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double this season and Amoore had eight assists.
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Trinity Turner scored 19 points and De’Mauri Flournoy had 19 of Georgia’s 21 bench points.
Kentucky dominated the first quarter, building a 23-4 lead. All three players who scored for the Wildcats — Amoore (11 points), Strack (6) and Hassett (6) — outscored Georgia. The Bulldogs made one of 16 shots.
Kentucky led 44-31 at halftime before being outscored by nine points in the second half.
After the disastrous first quarter, Georgia battled back and got as close as 69-57 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. A layup by Asia Avinger had Georgia within 12 points again, 73-61, with a minute to go but Amoore hit a jumper and Cassidy Rowe made 3 of 4 free throws to close it out.
The Wildcats are 16-1 overall and 5-0 in the Southeastern Conference, marking their fourth-best start to a season through 17 games in program history and their best start to league action since 2012-13. That season, the Cats won their first six conference games.
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The win for the Wildcats was their 15th by at least 10 points but the 14-point margin ended a streak of six straight wins by 16 points or more.
Kentucky visits Texas A&M on Thursday.
Georgia (9-11, 1-5 SEC) is idle until a road game next Sunday against No. 13 Oklahoma. ___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
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