Kentucky vs Jackson State score: Live updates, highlights from UK basketball game today

Posted by Admin November 22, 2024 Basketball

LEXINGTON — Jackson State is winless in five games this season. The Tigers have an average margin of defeat of nearly 27 points per outing. And they rank well outside the top 300 nationally (of 355 Division I teams tracked by the NCAA) in numerous categories.

Yet as Kentucky coach Mark Pope prepares his team to host JSU tonight, he said he expects an “incredibly competitive and probably salty and combative” game at Rupp Arena.

“This Jackson State team is playing really hard. They are competing,” Pope said. “Last year they were one of the better teams in the country getting to the free-throw line. … They’re playing with unbelievable energy.”

While the Wildcats are a heavy favorite, Pope said he has too much respect for the sport to ever look past an opponent. Even one his team is supposed to beat handily.

“Every game is massive,” he said. “This will be the biggest game we’ve played all season long, and that’ll never change, since we honor this game.”

Tonight will be the first time the two programs have ever met.

Follow along below with live updates from Rupp Arena:

The contest between the Wildcats and Tigers will not air on a traditional TV channel.

Instead, it will stream live on SEC Network+. Andrew Kappes (play by play) and Cameron Mills (analyst) will have the call.

Authenticated subscribers to SEC Network+ can watch the contest on WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.

Those without access to SEC Network+ can access coverage via a subscription to ESPN+. (To sign up for ESPN+, click here.)

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.

Betting odds: Kentucky is a 34 ½-point home favorite (-105) on BetMGM, which set the over/under at 159 ½ points (-110).

Oct. 23: exhibition vs. Kentucky Wesleyan ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 123, Kentucky Wesleyan 52
Oct. 29: exhibition vs. Minnesota State Mankato ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 98, Minnesota State Mankato 67
Nov. 4: vs. Wright State (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 103, Wright State 62
Nov. 9: vs. Bucknell (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 100, Bucknell 72
Nov. 12: vs. Duke (Champions Classic; State Farm Arena, Atlanta) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 77, Duke 72
Nov. 19: vs. Lipscomb, (Rupp Arena) ∣ SCORE: Kentucky 97, Lipscomb 68
Nov. 22: vs. Jackson State (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network+
Nov. 26: vs. Western Kentucky (Rupp Arena), 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Nov. 29: vs. Georgia State (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network
Dec. 3: at Clemson (ACC/SEC Challenge), 9:30 p.m., ESPN
Dec. 7: vs. Gonzaga (Climate Pledge Arena; Seattle), Time TBA
Dec. 11: vs. Colgate (Rupp Arena), 8 p.m., ESPN2
Dec. 14: vs. Louisville (Rupp Arena), 5:15 p.m., ESPN
Dec. 21: vs. Ohio State (CBS Sports Classic; Madison Square Garden, New York), 5:30 p.m., CBS
Dec. 31: vs. Brown (Rupp Arena), 2 p.m., ESPNU
Jan. 4: vs. Florida (Rupp Arena), 11 a.m., ESPN
Jan. 7: at Georgia, 7 p.m., SEC Network
Jan. 11: at Mississippi State, 8:30 p.m., SEC Network
Jan. 14: vs. Texas A&M (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
Jan. 18: vs. Alabama (Rupp Arena), noon, ESPN
Jan. 25: at Vanderbilt, 2:30 p.m., ESPN/2
Jan. 28: at Tennessee, 7 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 1: vs. Arkansas (Rupp Arena), 9 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 4: at Ole Miss, 7 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 8: vs. South Carolina (Rupp Arena), noon, ESPN/ESPN2
Feb. 11: vs. Tennessee (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 15: at Texas, 8 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 19: vs. Vanderbilt (Rupp Arena), 7 p.m., SEC Network
Feb. 22: at Alabama, 6 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 26: at Oklahoma, 9 p.m., SEC Network
March 1: vs. Auburn (Rupp Arena), 1/4 p.m., ABC/ESPN
March 4: vs. LSU (Rupp Arena), 7/9 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU
March 8: at Missouri, noon, ESPN/SEC Network

Record: 4-0

Ansley Almonor (forward, senior)
Koby Brea (guard, graduate)
Lamont Butler (guard, graduate)
Andrew Carr (forward, graduate)
Collin Chandler (guard, freshman)
Grant Darbyshire (guard, junior)
Brandon Garrison (forward, sophomore)
Walker Horn (guard, junior)
Kerr Kriisa (guard, senior)
Trent Noah (forward, freshman)
Otega Oweh (guard, junior)
Travis Perry (guard, freshman)
Jaxson Robinson (guard, graduate)
Zach Tow (forward, junior)
Amari Williams (center, graduate)

Jackson State went 15-17 overall last season, posting an 11-7 mark in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. Its season ended in a 73-62 loss to Texas Southern in the quarterfinals of the league tournament.

The Tigers are 0-5 this season. All five of their losses have been on the road: Houston, High Point, Xavier, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky.

Jackson State won’t play at home until Game 15. That will be Jan. 11, when it welcomes SWAC rival Alabama State to Jackson, Mississippi.

Click here to see the Tigers’ full 2024-25 schedule.

Want to learn the Tigers’ roster?

Click here for player bios and more.

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Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.