Kentucky passed its most recent test in a beatdown win over No. 8 Miami (FL) inside Rupp Arena. Now the Wildcats look to avoid a hangover effort against the UNC Wilmington Seahawks on Saturday, opening tip scheduled for 4 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
John Calipari’s squad is picking up steam as one of the hottest teams in college basketball with the third-ranked scoring offense and fourth-best effective field-goal percentage — first among high-majors — while also leading the country in assist/turnover ratio. Can they continue building momentum as December basketball begins? Let’s break down the matchup.
How To Watch
No. 12 Kentucky (6-1) vs. UNC Wilmington (5-2) 4 p.m. ET | Saturday, December 2 | Rupp Arena
Team Records
No. 12 Kentucky: 6-1 (KenPom: 12)
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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. No. 1 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
11/28: 95-73 W vs. No. 8 Miami (FL)
UNC Wilmington: 5-2 (KenPom: 145)
11/6: 105-66 W vs. Mount Olive
11/11: 83-66 W vs. UNC Asheville
11/14: 116-80 W vs. Columbia International
11/20: 83-81 W (OT) vs. Murray State
11/21: 86-56 L vs. Appalachian State
11/25: 71-55 W vs. Florida Gulf Coast
11/30: 74-66 L vs. East Carolina
Series History
This is it. Kentucky has never played UNC Wilmington, this matchup moving the Wildcats’ all-time opponent total from 402 to 403 including all regulation and exhibition matchups.
The Seahawks are coached by Takayo Siddle, who is in his fourth year in Wilmington. He turned a 7-10 program in 2020-21 into back-to-back 27- and 24-win teams. UNCW made it to the CAA Tournament finals in back-to-back seasons while also winning the CBI in ’21-22.
Kentucky vs. UNC Wilmington Odds on FanDuel
Spread: Kentucky -17.5 Total: 152.5 points
Kentucky Projected Starters
(Starting lineup based on the last game)
#21 – DJ Wagner 6-4 • 192 • GUARD • FRESHMAN 13.1 PPG, 3.3 APG
#30 Nick Farrar 6-7 • 255 • FORWARD • SENIOR 7.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.7 APG
Statistical Comparison
(via Kentucky’s game notes)
Fun stats from UK’s game notes:
Kentucky has an average age of 20.0 years on the 2023-24 roster at the start of the season. That is the seventh-youngest team in the country
Kentucky is dishing out 20.9 assists per game, which is the seventh-best in the nation. Four players have 23 or more assists (3.3 per game) thus far.
Kentucky is averaging just 8.1 turnovers per game. That average is the second-lowest in the country. Its 10.9 turnover percentage is the best in the country.
Pregame Storylines
IS IT AARON BRADSHAW TIME?
Though he couldn’t guarantee his availability, John Calipari said following Kentucky’s win over Miami (FL) he expected the prized 7-foot freshman to make his debut this weekend against the Seahawks. And that’s a good thing, considering the tallest player on the UNCW roster is 6-9 and the team is tied for No. 262 in college basketball with 34.6 rebounds per game. With the Wildcats desperate for frontcourt depth, this matchup is not a bad place to start.
DJ WAGNER’S ANKLE INJURY
Kentucky’s starting point guard went down with an ankle injury in the first half of the team’s win over No. 8 Miami (FL) earlier this week. It’s never convenient to suffer an injury, but if there was ever a break in the schedule to have one, this is it. The Cats play Saturday, then don’t hit the floor again until the following Saturday vs. Penn in Philadelphia — a homecoming game for Wagner, Bradshaw and Justin Edwards. Holding him out of this one wouldn’t be the worst idea to get him back on his feet next week and pick momentum back up ahead of the CBS Sports Classic the following weekend. Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham will do just fine holding down the fort.
REMEMBER THE GARDNER-WEBB UPSET?
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If UNCW coach Takayo Siddle’s name sounds familiar, it’s because it comes from a deep, dark memory rooted in every Kentucky fan’s mind. The 37-year-old played on the Gardner-Webb team that beat the Billy Gillispie-coached Wildcats inside Rupp Arena 84-68 during the 2007-08 season. Siddle finished with eight points in 29 minutes off the bench.
JOHN CALIPARI WAS A SEAHAWK
He finished his playing career at Clarion University, but did you know Coach Cal was once a guard at UNCW? Calipari attended and played basketball in Wilmington from 1978-80. He would appear in 25 games across two seasons, racking up 29 points, 22 assists, seven rebounds, and 25 fouls while shooting 4-17 from the field.
NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAM?
The Seahawks currently rank ninth in the CollegeInsider poll among mid-majors and were picked to finish second in the CAA behind College of Charleston. In NCAA.com’s first bracket predictions, though, UNCW is projected as an NCAA Tournament team, the No. 56 overall seed as an automatic qualifier.
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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.
Rapid Reaction on the KSR YouTube Channel
Miss the game? 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.
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
We all knew a shootout was coming when Kentucky hosted Alabama on Saturday. Odds were decent that the first team to triple-digits would leave Rupp Arena victorious. Unfortunately, Kentucky ended up on the wrong side.
The Tide won the three-point attempt (34-27) and free throw attempt battle (34-20). Nate Oats saw his team win the shot volume battle and that was enough to knock off the Cats.
KSR Today is taking a look back at the loss and a look ahead to another Sunday Funday for Kentucky women’s basketball and the NFL playoffs.
KSR recaps Kentucky’s first home loss of the season
KSR has you covered from every angle as we recap what all went wrong for Kentucky against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
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Smash those links.
More postgame coverage on KSR’s YouTube Channel
Want to know what Mark Pope, Otega Oweh, Brandon Garrison, and Ansley Almonor said after the game? We’ve got you covered. KSR’s YouTube Channel has the postgame press conferences and a Rapid Reaction featuring our staff wrapping up the tough loss.
Smash play. Subscribe. Hit that like button as we talk about some Kentucky hoops.
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Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.
Kentucky WBB hits the road to face Georgia
Kenny Brooks has led his first Kentucky team to a 15-1 (4-0) start and is riding eight consecutive victories. But the Wildcats will be playing a road game on Sunday for the first time since the loss to No. 16 North Carolina on Dec. 5.
Georgia (9-10, 1-4) has struggled this season. Before the season, the Lady Bulldogs were picked to finishing 14th in the SEC.
KSR will have live in-game and postgame coverage as UK looks to improve to 5-0 in league play. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET. The game will stream on ESPN+.
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NFL Divisional Round wraps up
The football was not boring on Saturday. Kansas City beat Houston in a slugfest as the Texans fall to 0-7 all-time in the divisional round. Then Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders shocked the football world when they took out the best team in football.
That sets the table for Sunday with two championship game participants locked in. The No. 6 seed Commanders could play an NFC East game next weekend and will hit the road for the NFC Championship no matter what happens in Philadelphia today. The Chiefs will host the winner of Baltimore-Buffalo.
Buckle in for some more playoff football.
No. 4 seed Los Angeles Rams at No. 2 seed Philadelphia Eagles (3pm ET | NBC)
No. 3 seed Baltimore Ravens at No. 2 seed Buffalo Bills (6:30pm ET | CBS)
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