Kentucky

Kirby Smart again warned about tough trip to Kentucky for UGA football. Dawgs won dogfight

Published

1 year ago

September 15, 2024

Kirby Smart again warned about tough trip to Kentucky for UGA football. Dawgs won dogfight

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Whenever Kentucky shows up on the Georgia football schedule, Kirby Smart sounds sort of like a broken record.

It’s usually the most physical game Georgia plays every year. Going on the road to play the Wildcats is about as much fun as a root canal.

That was the case again this week even with the No. 1 Bulldogs more than a three-touchdown favorite.

Smart sat in a cramped interview room late Saturday night in the bowels of Kroger Field after the Bulldogs edged Kentucky 13-12. The same Wildcats team that got boatraced by South Carolina 31-6 a week ago on the same field.

“I tried to tell everybody all week, nobody would listen to me,” Smart said. “I know what this team is made out of. I know how tough he coaches. …When they get disrespected like they did last week and they listen to it for a week, they come out ready to play.”

Smart said he thinks his players bought into how good he thought Kentucky is, but that playing in Lexington is a tough environment even though the Wildcats lost for the seventh time in the last eight home games.

Georgia won on its last trip here in 2022, 16-6, and has won by an average of 8.4 points in Lexington in five trips under Smart.

“They play really well against us,” Smart said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Mark (Stoops) and the defense. They do a great job. …I think people looked a lot at last year’s game (a 51-13 Georgia win) and a lot of things happened bad for them early. It kind of snowballed and got away from that. I know playing up here, that can happen, too.”

He felt that happening to Georgia, too, this time.

“There were moments that it was starting to slide, right, for us,” Smart said. “Penalties, things happen. We responded to it. A true sign of a great fighter is not how hard you punch, but what punches can you take.”

Smart brought up other tougher-than-expected road wins in recent years—26-22 at Missouri in 2022 and 27-20 at Auburn last season.

“A lot of teams look at Georgia and think we’re going to beat everybody,” said wide receiver Dominic Lovett who led the Bulldogs with 6 catches for 89 yards after having just 18 yards receiving in the first half. “You’ve got to understand other teams have good players, too, and they’re physical too.”

Georgia, the nation’s No. 1 team, was firing blanks on offense in the first half with a slow start.

“Got to block em. Shock,” coach Kirby Smart told radio sideline reporter D.J. Shockley after the Bulldogs had just 63 first half yards and trailed 6-3. “We aint blocking them. …They’ve been the aggressor.”

Quarterback Carson Beck closed the game completing 10 of his last 12 passes on a day he finished 15 of 24 for 160 yards passing.

“We’re not going to bow down to a battle,” Beck said.

Cornerback Julian Humphrey mentioned fighting “blow-by-blow,” which seemed to be a theme in the Georgia locker room.

“We thought this would be a blow-by-blow game,” Smart said. “We said the first chop of the tree doesn’t chop the tree down. It takes sometimes 272 axe chops and it took every single one tonight to get the job done.”

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Kentucky

Kentucky Volleyball set for Final Four showdown with Wisconsin

Published

1 hour ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Kentucky Volleyball set for Final Four showdown with Wisconsin

The semifinal stage is set for No. 1 seed Kentucky volleyball, as the Wildcats prepare to take on No. 3 seed Wisconsin in the NCAA Final Four on Thursday, Dec. 18, at 9:00 PM ET inside the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

Kentucky has been dominant throughout the NCAA Tournament, including a 3–0 sweep of Wofford, a sweep against Cal Poly in the Sweet 16, and a sweep over Creighton in the Elite Eight. Their only dropped set came in the Round of 32 against UCLA. Outside of that brief hiccup, Kentucky has controlled matches from start to finish and remains undefeated at home this season.

Wisconsin arrives in Kansas City after a statement win over No. 1 Texas in the Elite Eight. The Badgers earned a measure of revenge against the Longhorns, who handed Wisconsin one of its four losses during the regular season. Kentucky accounted for Texas’ other two defeats, beating the Longhorns in both the regular season and the SEC Tournament championship.

Thursday’s matchup also carries historical weight for Big Blue Nation. Wisconsin was the team that ended Kentucky men’s basketball’s perfect 38–0 season in the 2015 Final Four, denying the Wildcats an undefeated national title.

Now, Kentucky volleyball has an opportunity to write a different ending against the Badgers on the sport’s biggest stage.

If the Wildcats advance, they’ll face the winner of the other national semifinal matchup, which sees No. 1 seed Pittsburgh, who actually handed Kentucky one of its regular-season losses, take on No. 3 seed Texas A&M, whom the Cats defeated in College Station.

With a spot in the national championship match on the line, the Wildcats will look to continue their dominant run and settle an old score. The national championship game is Sunday, Dec. 21, on ABC at 3:30 PM ET.

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Kentucky

PREVIEW: Kentucky wraps up home-and-home series with Belmont on the road

Published

13 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

PREVIEW: Kentucky wraps up home-and-home series with Belmont on the road

Kentucky has had a week off following their 82-55 win over Central Michigan, and now, the Cats retake the court down in Nashville to take on the Belmont Bruins. This is the second game of a home-and-home series between the two programs. Kentucky won its contest against Belmont last season by just six points at home — an 84-78 game in which the Bruins gave Kentucky all it could handle.

Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Belmont squad and the upcoming game.

Bio Blast

Belmont is 4-5 on the season, but this isn’t your average 4-5 Missouri Valley Conference team. Three of those five losses came to AP ranked teams and Princeton, who they also lost to, was the first team outside of the AP Poll in the latest release. So, make that four of their five losses that have come to AP top 26 teams.

Amidst those losses came a defeat to McNeese. That’s their only real stinker on the season. For most of the game, Belmont kept it close against No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 21 Ohio State and Princeton who, again, is right outside the AP top 25.

Kentucky is 4-0 all-time against Belmont, and all of those matches have taken place since 2014. Georgia Amoore had 23 points and five assists in last year’s win over the Bruins. Amelia Hassett had a notable outing as well, scoring 16 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and getting two steals as she played in all 40 minutes of the game.

Scouting Report

Speaking of last year’s game, guard Jailyn Banks had 23 points against the Wildcats, and she could very well put up a similar number this time around. As a junior, Banks is averaging 14.9 points, 3.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game. She has scored in double figures in all of Belmont’s games this season except for one, when she put up seven points against the Buckeyes.

Avery Strickland has been a big contributor for them as well, averaging 11.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game this season. Tuti Jones, who had 11 against Kentucky a year ago, is putting up 9.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.2 steals per game.

Hilary Fuller is another name to watch for Belmont. She’s currently averaging 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 37.5% from deep. As a team, Belmont is shooting just 30.6% from three-point range, but she’s one of their players that can get hot in a hurry from the perimeter.

Belmont Bruins roster

via espn.com

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Projected Kentucky Starters

#5 – Tonie Morgan

5-FOOT-8 – GUARD – SENIOR

12.4 PPG – 8.5 APG – 2.9 RPG

#0 – Jordan Obi

6-FOOT-1 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT

12.2 PPG – 6.2 RPG – 1 APG

#32 – Amelia Hassett

6-FOOT-4 – FORWARD – SENIOR

9.7 PPG – 6.1 RPG – 2 BPG

#7 – Teonni Key

6-FOOT-5 – FORWARD – SENIOR

11.5 PPG – 5.7 RPG – 1.6 BPG

#13 – Clara Strack

6-FOOT-5 – CENTER – JUNIOR

15.2 PPG – 10.2 RPG – 2.7 BPG

Phoenix’s Prediction

Score: 76-60, Kentucky

MVP: Amelia Hassett

Belmont’s 4-5 record is deceiving, and I would expect them to give Kentucky some trouble on the road. I don’t think they’ll ever truly threaten to win the game, but at the same time, I don’t think Kentucky is going to blow this team out to the point Gabby Brooks gets any PT. Give me Amelia Hassett to put up a team-high 20 points in the win.

How to Watch/Listen

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Want to interact with the KSR crew during tonight’s game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).

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Kentucky

Even Indiana-Kentucky basketball rivalry couldn’t resist HeisMendoza chants

Published

1 day ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Even Indiana-Kentucky basketball rivalry couldn’t resist HeisMendoza chants

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Trophy triumph made noise as far afield as Rupp Arena on Saturday night.

Indiana could not claim too many fans in the building, in the Hoosiers’ first regular-season game against Kentucky in 14 years, unsurprising given the venue. But the ones who made the trip east on I-64 made themselves heard more than once during a 72-60 loss.

That included what has become a familiar chant among IU fans, one that broke out not long into the game and yet owing absolutely nothing to what was happening on the floor.

As news filtered through the arena that Mendoza had won his program’s first Heisman Trophy, fans seated in small clusters — including one group just a few feet away from the media seating area — began loudly chanting “Heis-Mendoza!” at the news.

It was the latest reminder of IU’s brave new world, with football and basketball co-existing so significantly, so late into the calendar. Curt Cignetti’s team, the No. 1 seed in this year’s College Football Playoff, will next play in the Rose Bowl, on New Year’s Day in Los Angeles.

The Hoosiers await the winner of the 8/9 game between Oklahoma and Alabama, in Norman.

In the meantime, they’ve spent the pre-Christmas period resting on the field, while cleaning up off it. Mendoza and Cignetti were named Big Ten offensive player and coach of the year, respectively, while Carter Smith won the conference’s lineman-of-the-year award.

Cignetti has also won multiple national coach-of-the-year awards, with more potentially on the way.

Mendoza added a clutch of trophies to his mantle this weekend in New York, including not just the Heisman Trophy but the Davey O’Brien Award for nation’s best quarterback and the Maxwell Award for nation’s best player. Mendoza is also the first Hoosier to win the O’Brien Award, and the second (after Anthony Thompson) to win the Maxwell.

More than a dozen Hoosiers have landed All-Big Ten and/or All-America honors since their Big Ten championship game triumph a week ago. A handful — including Smith, Aiden Fisher, Riley Nowakowski, Pat Coogan, Isaiah Jones and others — traveled to New York to celebrate with their quarterback.

Alberto Mendoza, Fernando Mendoza’s backup and younger brother, also made the trip. Both brothers became visibly emotional when Fernando referenced his younger brother during his acceptance speech.

The Hoosiers ultimately left Rupp Arena empty handed Saturday. But their football program once again left them celebrating, nonetheless.

Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.

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