Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats are getting ready to host the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers for an in-state battle in Rupp Arena. This is a game that is always fun as it brings different parts of Kentucky together to share in the state’s favorite pastime, which is basketball.

WKU is 3-2 on the season with wins over Lipscomb, Jackson State, and Campbellsville. The Hilltoppers lost to Wichita State and Grand Canyon.

While Kentucky steamrolled Lipscomb, they are a solid team, and Western Kentucky was able to take them down 66-61, so the Wildcats can’t look past this matchup. This shouldn’t be an issue as Coach Pope respects the game and doesn’t let his team look past an opponent.

While WKU is a solid mid-major team, ESPN doesn’t seem to think the Wildcats will have any issue taking down the Hilltoppers, as they give Kentucky a 97.5% chance to win this game.

The best player for the Hilltoppers is guard Don McHenry, who is averaging 17.2 points per game five games into the season. The 6’2 guard is shooting 32.4% from three on the season, but he lets a lot of them fly, so the Wildcats can let him get hot from deep.

The goal for this Kentucky team when they take on WKU should be to keep working on defense and rebounding while the offense keeps doing what it has been doing all season long. If the Wildcats can keep improving in these two areas, they will be hard to beat come SEC play and March.

LYNCHBURG, Va. — — Quinton Cooley rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns, Billy Lucas added 131 yards and a score, and Liberty gained 419 on the ground with four touchdowns in a 38-21 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday.

Liberty (8-2, 5-2 Conference USA) has won eight-plus games for the sixth consecutive season to keep alive hopes of a second straight trip to the conference championship game. The Flames play Sam Houston (8-3, 5-2) on Friday.

Liberty scored 21 straight points to close the first quarter, the last covering 90 yards in just 45 seconds to take a 21-7 lead.

Amarian Williams made two interceptions, including one with 2:03 remaining to seal it. Caden Veltkamp was intercepted three times before finishing 20 of 34 for 262 yards and two touchdowns for Western Kentucky (7-4, 5-2).

Cooley reached 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight season. The Flames entered ranked No. 5 nationally in rushing yards/game (249.8). Quarterback Kaidon Salter also carried 11 times for 66 yards and a touchdown. Three other players had at least two rushes for Liberty, which ended with 63 carries.

The Flames, in their season finale at Williams Stadium, avoided dropping multiple conference games at home for the first time since 2005.

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Thanks to a balanced effort from the senior class, the No. 12 Kentucky Volleyball team captured at least a share of an eighth-straight Southeastern Conference championship on Sunday afternoon, downing Arkansas in straight sets (26-24, 25-20, 25-13) on Senior Day inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.

The Kentucky seniors have been an integral part of the program since they first stepped on the court, a theme that continued in the match against the Razorbacks as seniors Emma Grome, Megan Wilson, Eleanor Beavin, and Erin Lamb all played key roles in the Cats’ sweep of Arkansas.

Following the match, UK head coach Craig Skinner attributed the team’s success to a staff dedicated to preparation, and a team of athletes who embraced the challenge involved in competing for a championship.

“I’ve gotta give a lot of credit to our staff,” Skinner said. “Our staff was unbelievable this year, Ben (Josephson), and Merideth (Jewell), and Madison (Lilley) did a hell of a job coaching this team and getting them prepared to play against great competition, so that’s the first thing.

“And the second thing, when you recruit athletes to compete for championships they know the expectations and the standards and that’s what they want. We’ve been shooting for the top ever since I’ve gotten here and we don’t wanna go anywhere else.”

Offensively, Grome paced the Kentucky attack to 40 total kills on a .312 hitting clip. Four Wildcats totaled six or more kills, led by sophomore Brooklyn DeLeye who finished with 13. It was Wilson who stole the show Sunday, however, as the senior right side found the floor with 12 kills on a sweltering .500 clip. In her second match back from injury, Lamb added seven kills to the winning cause and Jordyn Dailey totaled six.

Kentucky stifled the Razorbacks at the net as they racked up 8.0 rejections and held Arkansas to .130 hitting. In the third and final set, Arkansas totaled only four kills with three errors as the Cats coasted to the set and match victory. Brooke Bultema led the way with 5.0 blocks, Wilson had 4.0, Dailey finished with 3.0, and Grome and DeLeye each had a pair.

Molly Tuozzo continued to anchor the back line as she totaled 19 digs to lead all players. DeLeye added 11, Grome had 10, and Beavin had seven.

Beavin made her biggest impact from behind the service line, as the senior served up a match-high four aces. Lamb and DeLeye each had two of their own and Grome finished with one.

With the win, Kentucky improves to 19-7 on the season and 13-2 in the SEC. The victory locked up at least a share of the SEC title for the Cats for a program-best eighth-consecutive year.

UK will conclude the regular season on Wednesday as they travel to Columbia, Missouri for a matchup with No. 25 Missouri. If Kentucky leaves Columbia with a victory, they will claim the conference championship outright as Florida and Texas sit a game behind them in the standings. First serve against the Tigers is set for 7:00 pm ET.

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