Kentucky

Patience Pays Off for Kentucky During Late Night with Lightning Delays

Published

1 year ago

September 1, 2024

Patience Pays Off for Kentucky During Late Night with Lightning Delays

Brock Vandagriff has been waiting his whole life for the chance to start in a college football game. Ahead of this momentous occasion, he had a feeling he would not be able to sleep. Once he finally arrived in the team locker room, he was ready to roll, but the quarterback had to wait, and wait, and wait.

Kentucky’s season-opening game was delayed for more than two hours before the Cats finally kicked off against the Golden Eagles. During those two hours, Big Blue Nation was getting rowdy in the stands, ready to cheer on the Wildcats. Vandagriff was prepared to hit the field but had to remain patient. Once he started throwing the ball, we learned that patience is one of his strengths.

“It was kind of the first time I’ve ever had any monster delay like this. It’s definitely different,” the quarterback said after midnight on Sunday morning.

“There were several times where we’re getting up, putting our shoulder pads on, getting ready to walk out. ‘Naw, you gotta go back.’ It happened two or three times. Then finally, people just took off their shoulder pads and were laying on the ground. It’s definitely different, trying to get mentally ready three different times. But at the end of the day, both teams had to do it.”

Despite the circumstances, the Kentucky Wildcats had no other choice but to stay locked in and mentally prepared.

“It’s a game. It’s a game, right? Right. The record’s on the line, right? Stay locked in. Ball is ball,” said Jamon Dumas-Johnson. “We were going to stay out here till midnight to play if we had to.”

Patience Turns Into Production

Kentucky’s patience paid off. It took no time for Dumas-Johnson to pop. He picked off a pass on his second play in a Kentucky uniform. Vandagriff and the Kentucky offense did not immediately settle in, but once they found a rhythm, they were Brocking and rolling. Vandagriff completed 12-of-18 passes for 169 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. He also used his legs to move the chains, rushing for 35 yards.

“He played like I thought he would, and he’s not perfect, and none of our team is,” said Mark Stoops. “But I think there’s a lot to build on that. We all know that the challenge is going to step up starting this week, but I really like what I saw.”

Patience eventually produced points as Vandagriff kept plays alive with his legs before dialing up balls down the field. The offense was hitting another gear in the third quarter when he connected with Ja’Mori Maclin for a 46-yard gain. His final pass of the day was a touchdown to Jordan Dingle, the final play from scrimmage before lightning prematurely ended the game.

More postgame coverage is on the way on the KSR YouTube Channel. Subscribe today to see press conferences, interviews, Rapid Reaction, and more.

Late Night is an Early Wake Up Call for Vandagriff

The initial lightning delay lasted longer than the 1:43 that Kentucky actually spent on the field against Southern Miss. Stoops was pleased with his team’s limited performance and proud of their composure through the lengthy distraction. Now it’s time to get some rest and move on to next week’s matchup with South Carolina.

“We’ll make the most of it and I’m proud of our guys. We got to get back to work. We got a league game next week, so we’ve got to get some sleep. It’s late for these guys getting out of here. They got to get home and try to get some sleep. I’m sure they’re going to go right home and get to bed,” Stoops joked.

Stoops doesn’t have to worry about his quarterback. After a rough night of sleep, Vandagriff was ready to exhale and unwind following his first collegiate start.

“It’s gonna be tough waking up for church tomorrow,” said Vandagriff. “Last night wasn’t the best night’s sleep, but that’s normal at this point. But obviously this is way past my bedtime, even on a normal night. It’ll be rough waking up for church, but we’ll be there.”

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Related Topics:Brock Vandagriff (21 - Prince Avenue Christian School)Featured Jamon Dumas-Johnson (21 - St. Frances Academy)

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Kentucky

Kentucky Women’s Basketball gets historic win over No. 5 Oklahoma

Published

16 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Kentucky Women’s Basketball gets historic win over No. 5 Oklahoma

The No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats moved to 16-2 on the season after a massive win over the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners by a final score of 63-57. Kenny Brooks’ squad’s successful season rolls on with a second top-five win, the most the UK women’s team has ever had in a single season.

The Wildcats pulled out a close win thanks to senior Tonie Morgan, who totaled 22 points (8/19 FG), eight rebounds, and four assists. Morgan also played all 40 minutes on Sunday evening against the Sooners as her stellar season continues.

The Wildcats also played strong defense all night. As a team, they totaled four steals and eight blocks. Clara Strack, the 6-foot-5 senior, led the team with three blocks. Strack also recorded her ninth double-double of the season. They held the Sooners to 24-67 shooting (36%) from FG range and 2-19 from deep (11%).

The Wildcats held the Sooners scoreless in the last four minutes and moved to 3-1 in SEC play and now have three top-25 wins this season after previously winning at Louisville and at LSU.

Between the transfer portal, a men’s basketball win, and a women’s basketball win, it has been a great weekend in the Bluegrass!

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Kentucky

Mark Pope updates injury status of Jayden Quaintance

Published

1 day ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Mark Pope updates injury status of Jayden Quaintance

The Kentucky Wildcats had to return to the court Saturday night without their star center in Jayden Quaintance.

Coming back to the court from an ACL tear last season, Quaintance shined in his opening game against St. John’s and has eased himself back into game-play after nine months off the court. That is why it came as a surprise on Friday night when he was listed as out on the injury report.

Well, we got some more insight into why he was held out against Mississippi State in the pregame radio show. When asked about the injury, here is what Mark Pope had to say.

“He’s (Quaintance) just had a little bit of swelling, so we’re just kind of monitoring it,” Pope said. “And the most important thing is just his health. So, it’s going to be a little start and stop as we go. That’s just the process.”

So, for now, it doesn’t sound like anything that will keep JQ out for too long, though it’s unknown if he’ll return for either of next week’s games at LSU and at Tennessee.

The Cats have started to piece it together in the front court, but there is no denying the potential Quaintance has. When healthy, he is an NBA lottery pick. Now let’s hope he can get back onto the court soon to help the Cats make a run.

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Kentucky

Kentucky vs Mississippi State score today, UK basketball game updates

Published

2 days ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Kentucky vs Mississippi State score today, UK basketball game updates

LEXINGTON — Two days after Kentucky basketball gave up a game-ending 15-2 run in a 73-68 loss to Missouri, Mark Pope was asked to explain what went wrong.

In a sense, Pope answered it with another question: What didn’t go wrong for his club in those final 4 ½ minutes?

“It was everything, actually,” Pope said during a news conference Friday. “It was so much misfortune. It was so much stuff in our wheelhouse that we inexplicably didn’t execute the way we normally do. It was some poor communication. It was some poor internalization of the scout. It was some missed shots. It was some coaching error.

“… (All) of those things lead to that terrible, terrible 4 ½ minutes.”

Stream Kentucky vs. Mississippi State

After falling to 0-2 in SEC play for the first time in two decades (2005-06), the Wildcats have no time to feel sorry for themselves. And Pope won’t allow it.

“I think everybody has mental fatigue everywhere right now — if you’re putting your whole heart and soul into it,” he said of his team (9-6). “But that’s our job: to not let that have any impact on today or yesterday or tomorrow. One of the things I love about sports is it teaches you that you have to. It doesn’t matter how bad things get. You can’t go back and rewrite what happened.”

Kentucky only can look forward, which begins with tonight’s matchup with Mississippi State at Rupp Arena. The Bulldogs (10-5, 2-0) enter on a six-game win streak.

Courier Journal sports reporter Ryan Black is at Rupp Arena and will have live updates throughout the game — here and on X, formerly known as Twitter — and complete coverage after. You can follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

Follow along with live updates from today’s game between the Wildcats and Bulldogs below:

TV channel: SEC Network
Livestream: Fubo (free trial)

The game between the Wildcats and Bulldogs will air nationally on SEC Network.

Authenticated subscribers can access SEC Network via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com or the WatchESPN app.

Those without cable can access SEC Network via streaming services, with Fubo offering a free trial.

Stream Kentucky vs. Mississippi State on SEC Network

Betting odds: Kentucky is a 10 ⅟₂-point favorite (-112) on DraftKings, which set the over/under at 153 ⅟₂ points (-112/-108).

Tom Leach (play-by-play) and Jack Givens (analyst) will have the UK radio network call on 840 AM in Louisville and both 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington.

You can also listen online via UKAthletics.com.

Oct. 17: Blue-White game (Click here to read takeaways from the intrasquad scrimmage.)
Oct. 24: exhibition vs. Purdue (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 78, Purdue 65
Oct. 30: exhibition vs. Georgetown University (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Georgetown 84, Kentucky 70
Nov. 4: Nicholls (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 77, Nicholls 51
Nov. 7: Valparaiso (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 107, Valparaiso 59
Nov. 11: at Louisville (KFC Yum! Center) | SCORE: Louisville 96, Kentucky 88
Nov. 14: Eastern Illinois (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 99, Eastern Illinois 53
Nov. 18: vs. Michigan State (Champions Classic; Madison Square Garden, New York) | SCORE: Michigan State 83, Kentucky 66
Nov. 21: Loyola University Maryland (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 88, Loyola Maryland 46
Nov. 26: Tennessee Tech (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 104, Tennessee Tech 54
Dec. 2: North Carolina (Rupp Arena; ACC/SEC Challenge) | SCORE: North Carolina 67, Kentucky 64
Dec. 5: vs. Gonzaga (Bridgestone Arena; Nashville) | SCORE: Gonzaga 94, Kentucky 59
Dec. 9: North Carolina Central (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 103, North Carolina Central 67
Dec. 13: Indiana (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 72, Indiana 60
Dec. 20: vs. St. John’s (CBS Sports Classic; State Farm Arena, Atlanta) | SCORE: Kentucky 78, St. John’s 66
Dec. 23: Bellarmine (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Kentucky 99, Bellarmine 85
Jan. 3: at Alabama | SCORE: Alabama 89, Kentucky 74
Jan. 7: Missouri (Rupp Arena) | SCORE: Missouri 73, Kentucky 68
Jan. 10: Mississippi State (Rupp Arena), 8:30 p.m.
Jan. 14: at LSU, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17: at Tennessee, noon
Jan. 21: Texas (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m.
Jan. 24: Ole Miss (Rupp Arena), noon
Jan. 27: at Vanderbilt, 9 p.m.
Jan. 31: at Arkansas, 6:30 p.m.
Feb. 4: Oklahoma (Rupp Arena), 9 p.m.
Feb. 7: Tennessee (Rupp Arena), 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 14: at Florida, 3 p.m.
Feb. 17: Georgia (Rupp Arena), 9 p.m.
Feb. 21: at Auburn, 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 24: at South Carolina, 7 p.m.
Feb. 28: Vanderbilt (Rupp Arena), 2 p.m.
March 3: at Texas A&M, 7 p.m.
March 7: Florida (Rupp Arena), 4 p.m.