Texas
Kentucky vs. Texas viewing info, what to watch for, and predictions
Fresh off sweeping the season series against the Tennessee Volunteers, the Kentucky Wildcats will now travel to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns this Saturday. Game time is set for 8 PM ET on ESPN.
This being the Horns’ first year in the SEC, this will be the first conference matchup between the two teams. That said, it will be just the third-ever meeting between the programs. The last came in 1993 in the Maui Invitational (Kentucky won 86-61), followed by the 2014 meeting in the Big 12/SEC Challenge (Kentucky won 63-51).
Picked to finish seventh in the conference, the Longhorns are underperforming compared to expectations. With a 4-8 record, they are currently tied with Georgia for 11th. However, six of their eight losses have come to ranked teams.
In addition, the Longhorns are ranked 33rd by NET and are one of the last projected teams in the latest ESPN Bracketology, so they still have plenty to play for. But to make the field, they’re going to need a big win at some point in the final weeks, and Kentucky is very vulnerable right now with Jaxson Robinson and Lamont Butler almost certain to be out.
Led by Rodney Terry, who is currently in his third season, the Longhorns have one of the most talented freshmen in the country in Tre Johnson, who previously had Kentucky as a finalist. However, the pieces around him have been inconsistent, leading to the team’s inconsistencies.
Kentucky gets everyone’s best shot, though, and needs to prepare for Texas at its best.
Let’s take a look at the matchup.
Control the Pace
Averaging less than 67 possessions per game, with an average possession length of more than 17 seconds, Texas likes to play at a slower pace.
Kentucky is one of the worst teams in the country in forcing turnovers, but their defensive intensity has picked up in the last two games. That is one area in which they could speed up the game.
However, that will be a difficult task without Lamont Butler spearheading the defense. The more likely scenario is to control the boards.
Texas has only won the rebounding battle in just four of their 12 SEC games, and they have not been a strong rebounding team for the season. The biggest threats that Kentucky will have to watch on the boards are Arthur Kaluma and Kadin Shedrick. However, Kaluma is iffy to play as he battles knee soreness.
Commit to the boards, and Kentucky can play the game at a pace they are comfortable with.
Point Guard Woes
The big story for this Kentucky team over the past several weeks has been injuries. Unfortunately, it has only gotten worse, not better, especially at the point guard position.
After missing three games with a shoulder injury, Lamont Butler returned against South Carolina, only for Jaxson Robinson to suffer a wrist injury in practice the day before. After Robinson reinjured his wrist against the Gamecocks, he is expected to be out for multiple games.
Then, Butler reaggravated his shoulder injury against Tennessee and is also expected to be out multiple games.
While Pope expects to have both of them back in time for March, the Kentucky staff will have to get even more creative with both true points guards out in Butler and Kerr Kriisa, and the stand-in point guard in Robinson out as well.
It will likely be a point guard by committee, with Travis Perry, Otega Oweh, Koby Brea, and Amari Williams all playing their part. Brea is the most interesting case.
On a points-per-possession basis, Brea is the highest-rated high-major player in the country as the pick-and-roll ball handler (1.412 PPP), per synergy. In the last two games, he has eight assists to zero turnovers. He also ran the point for much of Kentucky’s 20-6 run to end Tuesday’s win over a top-five Tennessee squad.
However, this will be the first game where the opponent knows Brea is going to be the lead guard for much of the game. Will he be able to handle an opponent that’s actually game-planned for him to be the primary ball-handler?
Team Effort
When a team is suffering through injuries, players have to step up. That is exactly what has happened for Kentucky over the last month that they have been dealing with injuries.
First, it was Ansley Almonor who stepped up in place of Andrew Carr. Of late, the trio of freshmen has stepped up in their own ways to help the Wildcats.
Trent Noah has a knack for the ball and getting rebounds. He’s also proving himself to be a shooting threat. Travis Perry has taken some point guard duties and is shooting 4/6 from 3 over the last four games, while Collin Chandler is using his athleticism on the defensive end.
This only helps the team in the long run when considering as March nears, providing more depth, but can they sustain the level of production as they are asked to play bigger roles due to injuries?
Opposing Players to Watch
G Tre Johnson 6-6, 190 lbs
- 19.3 PPG (Leads SEC)
- 2.6 APG
- 38.6% 3P (9th in SEC)
- Knee soreness vs Alabama
F Arthur Kaluma 6-7, 225 lbs
- 12.9 PPG
- 7.9 RPG (7th in SEC)
- 39.7% 3P
F Kadin Shedrick 6-11, 231 lbs
Time: 8 PM ET on February 15th
Location: Moody Center in Austin, Texas
TV Channel: ESPN
Announcers: Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes will be calling the action.
Online Stream: ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens will have the call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
Rosters: UK | UT
Stats to Know: UK | UT
KenPom: UK | UT
Team Sheet: UK | UT
Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has yet to release the odds for this game, so check back Friday. KenPom is the lone site in the Wildcats’ favor, giving them a 52% chance at victory. BartTorvik is nearly a coin flip at 48%, while ESPN is at 44.7%, and EvanMiya is at 39.4%.
Predictions: While the percentages vary a bit, the score projections are all within one score. Again, KenPom is the sole projection to pick Kentucky, going with an (81-80). EvanMiya (81-78), BartTorvik (82-81), and Haslametrics (80-78) are all choosing Texas. Winning a road game in the SEC is tough, especially without a full roster. That said, this Wildcats team is resilient, and I believe they find a way, so I’m going with a 79-73 victory, Kentucky!
Send us your Kentucky vs. Texas score predictions in the comments section!
Go CATS!
A North Texas man reported missing earlier this week was found dead Friday, and police say a co‑worker has confessed to fatally shooting him and stealing his car.
The suspect, Gregory D. Lewis, 34, remains in custody and faces a forthcoming capital murder charge, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.
Lewis is accused of killing 31‑year‑old Thomas King, who had been last seen in his Taco Casa work uniform. King was reported missing on Tuesday after failing to return home Monday from the fast‑food restaurant in the 1100 block of Bridgewood Drive.
Car found at Arlington motel
Police said King’s car was found at the Quality Inn on I‑20 in Arlington, and surveillance video showed Lewis arriving in King’s vehicle shortly after King left work.
Detectives identified the man in the video and arrested him on unrelated charges.
Body discovered on Fort Worth’s East Side
King’s body was located on Friday in an open field on Fort Worth’s East Side, authorities said.
According to police, Lewis confessed to shooting the victim and stealing his car.
Medical examiner review pending
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
CBS News Texas has reached out to Taco Casa for comment.
Texas
Exclusive | Mexican mayor urged relatives in US to vote for Texas Dem for Congress who would ‘take care’ of their city
WASHINGTON — A Mexican mayor earlier this month urged her constituents to get their relatives in Texas to vote for House Democratic candidate Bobby Pulido because he would “take care” of their city if elected to Congress.
“We need to get out the vote for him,” said Patricia Frinee Cantú Garza, mayor of General Bravo in Nuevo León, less than two hours from the US border, in a recent Spanish-speaking Facebook reel,which The Post reviewed and translated.
“Talk to your families in the United States. Make sure they go vote,” Garza added, noting that she would be presenting the keys to the city to Pulido, a two-time Latin Grammy winner, on April 3.
“When he becomes a congressman,” she also said, “we want him to take care of Bravo.”
The city ceremony celebrating Pulido in General Bravo never received enough funding and was cancelled, the Mexican outlet El Norte reported.
Pulido has headlined concerts in General Bravo as recently as November 2023. Local officials promoted the show and the current mayor and her husband, then-mayor Edgar Cantu Fernandez, appeared.
“Bobby doesn’t know the mayor and has never met her,” a Pulido campaign spokesperson said in a statement. “He declined the invitation, didn’t attend the event, and isn’t responsible for unsolicited comments made by other people.”
Bradley Smith, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, said the statements wouldn’t pose legal or ethical issues for Pulido — but that the remarks may have a political cost, given the focus on foreign involvement in US elections in recent years.
“If you were making financial contributions, that would be a different thing, but just to exhort people to vote,” Smith said, “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem for them.”
Jessica Furst Johnson, a partner at the Republican-aligned campaign finance and election law firm Lex Politica, noted that event appeared to function as an in-kind contribution to Pulido’s campaign but it would be difficult to determine without “more details.”
Congressional Republicans have thus far failed to pass a bill this session aimed at beefing up identification requirements for voters when registering, though many have said laws as currently written are too lax and could lead to non-citizens casting ballots.
State investigations and audits have shown in recent years that thousands of non-citizens ended up being registered, but few have ever illegally voted. Those who have are federally prosecuted.
Pulido is challenging incumbent GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz in the Texas district this November and has faced questions from the press about his ties to Mexico, where he has said he maintains a home for parts of the year.
The Latino music star admitted to splitting time with his family between there and Texas just two years before launching his campaign, telling a YouTube show in a 2023 interview that he’s a “summer Mexican” but “winter Texan.”
“We live on the border,” he has also said. “My wife and I have a house in Mexico. So, we travel there, and we spend time over there.”
There was no indication of a current mortgage on a property either there or in the US, according to financial disclosures that Pulido filed April 15 with the House. Those filings also revealed he holds a checking account at a Mexican bank.
“Bobby lives in his family home in Edinburg, Texas, where he was born, raised, and is raising his own family,” the Pulido campaign rep noted. “He is in complete compliance with all House disclosure rules — the property you are referencing is not his primary residence so is not required to be listed.”
AUSTIN, Texas — Criticism is mounting over the threat to withhold public safety grants from Austin and other major Texas cities, with opponents arguing the move is politically motivated as both the governor and attorney general seek office this year.
“Defunding the public safety for political reasons was wrong when the Democrats did it; still wrong when the Republicans do it,” the former executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, Charley Wilkison, wrote on X.
Criticism is mounting over the threat to withhold public safety grants from Austin and other major Texas cities, with opponents arguing the move is politically motivated as both the governor and attorney general seek office this year. (Photo: CBS Austin)
The statement came hours after Governor Greg Abbott threatened to cut $2.5 million in public safety funding to Austin. The governor expressed opposition to Austin’s decision to update its policy governing how police handle administrative warrants used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in immigration detentions.
“The city has updated its general orders to align with state and federal law and also to protect the Fourth Amendment of Austin residents who should be free from unlawful search and seizure,” said Austin City Councilmember Mike Siegel.
ALSO| Gov. Abbott threatens to withhold $2.5 million from Austin regarding APD ICE policies
KEYE
Houston and Dallas are also facing similar threats from the governor.
“The statement from the governor’s office was really disappointing and frankly it’s wrong on the law and it’s wrong on what’s good for public safety,” Siegel said.
In a statement provided in response to a request for an interview, the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas said, “Law enforcement officers continue to be dragged into political warfare while real public safety issues are ignored.”
The president of the Austin Police Association did not respond to a request for comment regarding the potential impact on officers.
A request for comment to the governor’s office received a previously issued statement from Abbott’s press secretary, which read: “A city’s failure to comply with its contract agreement with the state to assist in the enforcement of immigration laws makes the state less safe. It can have deadly consequences. Cities in Texas are expected to make the streets safer, not more deadly.”
Siegel defended the city council’s position, stating, “I can speak for myself as one of 11 voting members of our city council. We’re not going to sell our values for a couple million dollars in public safety grants.”
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