Kentucky
KSR Staff Predictions: No. 9 Kentucky at Vanderbilt
After a brief break, Kentucky is back in action on the road in the SEC. The ninth-ranked Wildcats will travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. EST. One week ago, Kentucky fell at home to Alabama, while Vandy students stormed the court after upsetting No. 6 Tennessee. Will the Wildcats bounce back or will Mark Byington get his second Top 10 win of the season? The KSR crew weighs in.
Adam Luckett
Kentucky wants to play with tempo and shoot threes. Vanderbilt wants to play with tempo and shoot threes. Each team will spread the floor. You could say that this game is the Spiderman meme.
The Wildcats have a better roster. That should lead to a road victory.
New Vanderbilt head coach Mary Byington is going to want to push the pace and does not have much size in the frontcourt. That should give Mark Pope’s team some advantages. Expect a fun game at Memorial Gym with buckets coming in bunches.
Vanderbilt’s three-point defense (No. 268 nationally) has been bad all season and that will matter on Saturday. Kentucky wins the three-point volume battle and controls the game even if it gets a little tight down the stretch.
Score: Kentucky 90, Vanderbilt 85
Nick Roush
Part of me is worried that Memorial Magic has returned. Not only did the Commodores get the win over the Vols, they got a put-back with less than a second left to knock off South Carolina. Here’s the thing about that gym — Kentucky hasn’t lost there since 2011.
The teams that give Kentucky fits on the road in SEC play are the ones who like to slow it down and play a knock-down, drag-em-out style. Vandy wants to play just as fast as Kentucky. They want to shoot a lot of threes. If they hit a bunch, the Cats might be in trouble, but these are similar teams with very different levels of talent. Kentucky will just be too much for Vanderbilt to handle in a high-scoring affair.
Score: Kentucky 101, Vanderbilt 90
Zack Geoghegan
Vanderbilt’s only home loss this season came against No. 14 Mississippi State. The Commodores stunned No. 6 Tennessee 11 days later in Nashville. The magic in Memorial Gym might be back with first-year head coach Mark Byington exceeding expectations, but Mark Pope won’t let the arena’s aura impact his team. Vandy has dropped three of its last five SEC games.
Byington has his team playing smart basketball. The ‘Dores rarely turn the ball over and do an excellent job of forcing opponents into mistakes. They like to play fast the same way Kentucky does but don’t shoot as often or as efficiently from deep as the Wildcats. North Texas transfer guard Jason Edwards is going to get up plenty of shots. This is a transfer-heavy group that goes nine players deep. Both teams are coming off losses to Alabama. There are plenty of similarities to Pope’s first season.
The one major difference? Talent. Kentucky has more from top to bottom. AJ Hoggard is a solid veteran guard and Devin McGlockton is a rebounding fiend (8.2 RPG) at 6-foot-7, but UK can match them and then some. Keeping Vanderbilt to under 20 free throw attempts will be key. A full week off from games will have the ‘Cats healthy as they’ve been in weeks as they cruise to a feel-good road win.
Score: Kentucky 84, Vanderbilt 77
Tyler Thompson
After upsetting No. 6 Tennessee last week, Vandy will try to recreate more Memorial Magic vs. No. 9 Kentucky, but I feel good about the Cats’ chances coming off the midweek bye and with Big Blue Nation taking over Memorial. Blue always gets into Vandy, but with this game taking place on a Saturday and excitement high under Mark Pope, I’m expecting an especially loud and proud contingent of Kentucky fans in the funky old opera house.
The ‘Dores have been impressive this season and are in the conversation for the NCAA Tournament, but the Cats are fresh and will be eager to get the taste of the loss to Alabama out of their mouths. As my coworkers have said, both teams play a similar style, which should lead to a high-scoring game; in those scenarios, take the team with more talent, and that’s Kentucky.
Vanderbilt will make some runs and give its fans chances to get loud, but ultimately, the “Go Big Blue” chants will be louder. Kentucky wins, building some momentum heading into another Tennessee road trip next week.
Score: Kentucky 90, Vanderbilt 83
Jack Pilgrim
In my first trip to the Crow’s Nest, the goal is to kill any chance at Memorial Magic the Commodores hope to recreate after pulling off the upset win over Tennessee. Had they lost that in-state battle, I’d probably be a lot more nervous than I am — same vibes as the Alabama game. Just as the Crimson Tide played with heart and desperation looking to get back on track at Rupp Arena following a double-digit home loss, you’d rather Vanderbilt be coming off an emotional home upset that led to a court storming their last time in Nashville over a tough loss, hungry to make a statement.
Mark Byington is very good, constructing his debut roster from scratch following Jerry Stackhouse’s departure. It’s similar to Coach Pope’s takeover, tirelessly hitting the portal to find culture and system fits that work well together rather than the best individual talent. That’s led to the program’s best start in a decade and a half, undersized but plenty of positional versatility and skilled, and they’re probably going to the NCAA Tournament because of it.
Kentucky is a bigger, better, more talented version of that, though, and that’s going to be something Vanderbilt can’t overcome — even with a sold-out Memorial Gym working in its favor. It’s going to be a fun and entertaining game with a ton of points, maybe one that stays tight longer than one would hope, but the Wildcats will spread it out at the end and head home with a comfortable win.
Score: Kentucky 98, Vanderbilt 89
Drew Franklin
Memorial Gym has been hot lately, with two thrilling wins for Vanderbilt the last two times the Commodores played at home. However, the magic will wear off Saturday when Kentucky comes to town in a bounce-back opportunity for the Wildcats. Mark Pope’s first UK team has been good at those. Kentucky is 3-0 after a loss this season, with two top-15 wins in those three instances. I expect Pope has again collected the proper data, made the necessary adjustments, and said all of the right things to inspire his team to rebound again.
Jaxson Robinson is my predicted high scorer for the game. Robinson scored 27 points the last time he went on the road in the SEC, and I think that night in Starkville gave him the confidence to do it again. He’ll have 20+ in a Kentucky win in Memorial Gym.
Score: Kentucky 86, Vanderbilt 79
Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt: How to Watch, Listen
- Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Television: ESPN (Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes)
- Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
- Online Radio: iHeart
- Satellite Radio: Sirius 160 or 191
- Live Stats: StatBroadcast
You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tip-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard.
Kentucky
Fayette County school board chair, KEA sue to block Kentucky law that would oust current members
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — Fayette County Board of Education Chair Tyler Murphy and the Kentucky Education Association have filed a lawsuit challenging a newly enacted Kentucky law that would overhaul the governance structure of Fayette County Public Schools and force all current board members out of office at the end of 2026.
The lawsuit names the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Fayette County Board of Elections and Fayette County election officials as defendants.
At the center of the legal challenge is Senate Bill 4, which lawmakers passed over Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto earlier this year.
Under the law, the seven-member Fayette County Board of Education would be reduced to five district-based seats, the lawsuit reads. The terms of all current board members would end Dec. 31, 2026, and new elections would be held for the restructured board.
The lawsuit argues the law is unconstitutional and asks the court to block its implementation, including any election-related actions tied to the measure.
Court filings contend the legislation unlawfully targets a single school district and interferes with the terms of duly elected local officials. Plaintiffs also argue the law violates provisions of the Kentucky Constitution governing local elections and public officeholders.
Attorneys included exhibits detailing criticism of Murphy and Fayette County Public Schools leadership from state lawmakers, including a petition seeking Murphy’s removal and a letter from state Sen. Chris McDaniel calling for the resignations of Murphy and Superintendent Demetrus Liggins.
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the law is invalid and requests expedited review from the court due to upcoming election deadlines.
No hearing date had been announced as of Wednesday.
The lawsuit comes as Fayette County Public Schools continues to face scrutiny over budgeting decisions, district spending and governance issues that have drawn attention from state lawmakers over the past year.
In a statement, Representative Matt Lockett criticized Murphy as he highlighted what he stated are district failures under Murphy.
“This lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt to distract from the disaster that Fayette County Public Schools is under Tyler Murphy’s leadership as board chair. Under his watch, the district has spiraled into a financial crisis so severe that it is now seeking to borrow up to $110 million simply to keep the lights on and make it through the school year. Students have been failed. Families have been failed. Teachers and staff have been failed. Taxpayers have been failed. And the Lexington community has been left paying the price for years of mismanagement and poor oversight.
Rather than taking responsibility for the district’s financial failures and focusing on what is best for students, he has chosen to file a lawsuit challenging a law that was duly passed by the General Assembly and enacted through the constitutional process. He may be emboldened by recent rulings by activist judges, but there are no legitimate grounds for overturning a duly enacted statute simply because you can’t do the right thing by this community. The General Assembly has both the authority and the responsibility to establish standards for public offices and governance structures across the Commonwealth.
At a time when Fayette County schools are facing unprecedented financial turmoil, the focus should be on accountability, transparency, and fixing the problems that have brought the district to this point. The only filing Fayette County taxpayers should be expecting from Mr. Murphy is his resignation.”
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has been causing fear around the world, and a Lexington doctor is preparing in the event a case is found in Kentucky.
According to the CDC, there have been 49 deaths and over 300 confirmed cases across the two countries, with more suspected cases still being investigated.
UK Healthcare is working to become a Level 2 Special Pathogen Treatment Center through the National Special Pathogen System, which would allow the facility to treat Ebola patients in-house.
Dr. Nicholas Van Sickels, an infectious disease physician at UK Healthcare, said the current outbreak is serious, but Kentucky residents are not at significant risk.
“Ebola scares people just because of the mortality, the death rate, associated with it and some of the long term consequences when you do survive. Fortunately, the strain that we’re seeing in Eastern (Democratic Republic of Congo) is thought to be not as deadly, but either way it’s a very serious disease. It carries a lot of stigma and fear,” Van Sickels said.
Here in Kentucky, however, is a very safe environment, Dr. Van Sickels said.
Currently, Dr. Van Sickels says UK Healthcare operates as an assessment hospital, meaning it can evaluate patients with symptoms who have traveled to regions with active outbreaks, coordinate testing with the state, and transfer patients to higher-level care centers if needed.
Once the Level 2 designation is complete, UK Healthcare will be the only facility in Kentucky with that capability.
“We’re the only facility in Kentucky that is able to have a level 2 designation once we finish this grant award and get approved,” Dr. Van Sickels said.
In January 2026, UK Healthcare received a grant from the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC), the governing body of the National Special Pathogen System.
“It’s approximately half a million dollars to transform our institution,” Van Sickels said.
The funding has been used to run simulation drills in coordination with Lexington Fire, EMS, and the state health department. The grant also enabled UK Healthcare to upgrade its protective outerwear, with all seam points covered to provide additional protection. Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids.
During a recent site visit and simulation, evaluators identified vulnerabilities in the facility’s previous protective suits.
“When we had our site visit and had our stimulation, for example, they said that the seams that we had on our old suits, you could pull and stretch, and that they were rather porous,” Van Sickels said.
Van Sickels had been working on the preparedness project since the beginning of the year.
Citing lessons learned from the 2014 West Africa Ebola epidemic, which spread to the U.S. and resulted in 4 cases and 1 death.
“Ebola 2014 taught a lot of hospitals in the US about high consequence infections, established what is now NETEC, the educating body for our country, uh, about high consequence pathogens,” Van Sickels said.
“We’re constantly wanting to push preparedness, uh, because that is the key to success in evading further outbreaks,” Van Sickels said.
UK Healthcare expects to complete its Level 2 Special Pathogen Treatment Center designation by the end of summer.
The Kentucky Wildcats have had some fits with West Virginia over the past few days, as the baseball team was sent home by the Mountaineers on Monday night. Now, they have flipped a Wildcat commit.
Bryian Duncan Jr., a Cario, Georgia native, committed to the Wildcats in March and has now flipped to West Virginia. The 3-star running back had a recent visit to Morgantown, then announced his commitment to the Mountaineers.
Duncan, a 5-foot-9 player who can play out wide and at running back, is the No. 60-ranked ATH in the nation and the No. 89 player in Georgia, according to 247 Sports. He’ll play in the Big 12 with the Mountaineers, giving himself a good opportunity to become a true gadget guy with legit speed.
This isn’t a big disappointment for the Wildcats, as they’ll collect nearly 10 commitments as the summer rolls on and already have a pretty loaded RB room for the class of 2027. Kelsey Gerald and Mason Ball are two tailbacks who have already pledged their commitment to the program.
Head coach Will Stein and Co. have been stellar on the recruiting trail as they have the 13th-best class overall and the fourth-ranked class in the SEC, according to 247 Sports. Expect the Cats to pick up a few more commits here soon and rise in the rankings.
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