It’s the moment everyone has been waiting for: the finals of the BBN Invitational. KSR’s new and improved LIVE BLOG will bring you all the sights and sounds from Rupp Arena as Kentucky hosts Western Kentucky (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU).
Both the Cats and the Hilltoppers are undefeated in the BBN Invitational thus far, beating Lipscomb and Jackson State. While Kentucky won its games by an average of 39 points, Western only defeated Lipscomb by five, 66-61, and Jackson State by 17, 79-62. The Hilltoppers are 3-2 overall this season, beating Campbellsville and losing to Wichita State and Grand Canyon. Hank Plona is in his first season as head coach, taking over for Steve Lutz, who resigned to take the job at Oklahoma State. Western Kentucky returns three of its top five scorers and 65.2% of its scoring from last year’s team, which lost to Marquette in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Don McHenry once again leads the Hilltoppers in scoring with 17.2 points per game.
Refresh the feed below for updates and our takes on the game, from both Rupp Arena and the couch. You can also join the conversation on the KSBoard Game Thread or by texting your observations to 859-587-3828 (standard messaging rates apply).
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11/26/2024 07:22:15 PM
If you still believe in the Rule of 71, it just hit. Kentucky leads by 14, 71-57, with 7:18 to go. WKU forward Babacar Faye just fouled out with 16 points and 6 rebounds.
11/26/2024 07:17:20 PM
Now we’re talking! A big three by Otega Oweh just pushed Kentucky’s lead to 14, 69-55, with 8:54 to go, prompting Western Kentucky to call a timeout. Oweh is up to 18 points now. The Hilltoppers haven’t hit a field goal in over three minutes.
11/26/2024 07:14:17 PM
Koby Brea had missed four threes before his sixth attempt dropped in. He, Otega Oweh, and Andrew Carr are helping Kentucky reestablish control of this game. Two free throws by Oweh have the Cats up 13 now, 66-53 with 9:18 to go.
11/26/2024 07:07:35 PM
The lead is down to seven, 57-50, at the under-12 timeout. The Cats keep firing from outside but they keep missing too, now just 5-22 from three. Kentucky has missed its last seven field goals.
Jasper Johnson got a nice ovation during the timeout, though.
11/26/2024 07:05:13 PM
Kriisa is infusing the Cats with some needed energy right now as Western continues to hang around.
11/26/2024 06:59:17 PM
The former Kentucky wide receiver had the honor of being tonight’s Y. Maybe he can stop by the football facility and give the team a pep talk ahead of the Governor’s Cup too.
11/26/2024 06:58:20 PM
A future Cat is taking in tonight’s game while home for the holidays. 2025 signee Jasper Johnson is with his family courtside tonight.
11/26/2024 06:56:22 PM
Western Kentucky isn’t going away quietly. The Hilltoppers cut Kentucky’s lead to nine before Otega Oweh pushed it back to 11 with just over 15 minutes to go. Amari Williams continues to struggle. He’s up to six turnovers so far.
11/26/2024 06:47:03 PM
Kentucky scored four quick points to force Western Kentucky to call a timeout just over a minute in. Two of those came off free throws by Lamont Butler, and two more off an Andrew Carr bucket off a no-look pass by Butler. Kentucky’s lead is now 16, 49-33.
11/26/2024 06:27:44 PM
The first half has come to an end, with Kentucky leading the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky 45-33. Tyrone Marshall picked up his third foul with about 12 seconds remaining, sending Jaxson Robinson to the line to hit two free throws to push Kentucky’s lead to 12. Robinson has eight points so far, trailing Andrew Carr and Otega Oweh, who both have nine.
It wasn’t the prettiest half. The Cats turned it over seven times and are just 4-14 from the three-point line. It’s been a particularly rough night for Amari Williams, who is responsible for four of those turnovers and is 0-3 from the field tonight. Still, the Cats lead by double digits. The first half’s only for collecting data anyway, right?
11/26/2024 06:16:23 PM
Watch out, Koby Brea’s warming up. The best three-point shooter in college basketball hit his first three of the night (after two earlier misses) to put Kentucky up 16. Western’s Babacar Faye got a bucket on the other end to cut that margin to 14, but the Cats are starting to settle in after a rough start.
Kentucky leads 38-24 with 3:20 to go in the first half. Carr is up to nine points and six rebounds.
11/26/2024 06:12:26 PM
When you need a tough bucket, call Andrew Carr. The big man worked his way into the lane and scored to put Kentucky up 11, 31-20, with 5:09 left in the first half. The Hilltoppers have gone cold, hitting just one of their last 13 shots.
This is Kentucky’s biggest lead of the night. Keep it up, Cats…
11/26/2024 06:05:22 PM
It’s a six-point game at the Under-8 timeout. The Cats are ice cold from the outside, shooting just 2-11 (18.2%) from beyond the arc. They also have six turnovers. Western has nine.
It’s been an ugly game so far, but this play by Otega Oweh was beautiful.
11/26/2024 05:59:54 PM
Thanksgiving Week brought a good crowd to Rupp Arena. They’re all the way to the top on both sides and in one of the end zones, then only three or four empty rows at the very top of the other end zone. As you can see, there is WKU red sprinkled throughout the audience. Lots of kids at this one, too.
Cats lead 24-18 with 8:00 to go in the first half.
11/26/2024 05:48:49 PM
The Hilltoppers have pulled within three with a 7-0 run. Meanwhile, the Cats haven’t scored in the last two minutes. Western Kentucky clearly isn’t afraid to run with Kentucky, leading to some sloppy play (11 turnovers between both squads). Jaxson Robinson leads all scorers with six points, a pair of threes.
Time to see how the Cats respond to a little adversity.
11/26/2024 05:42:05 PM
WKU’s Don McHenry is the Hilltoppers’ leading scorer at 17.1 ppg, with games of 21, 23, and 21 points in his last four outings. The All-Conference USA guard came out firing early in Rupp Arena like a man hellbent on lighting up the scoreboard again. He took three shots immediately without any hesitation, hitting one of them before heading to the bench to catch his breath. He’s about to check in again and I expect more chasing the Rupp Arena shot attempts record when he does.
The record? Portland State’s Freeman Williams took 40 shots against UK in 1977.
11/26/2024 05:36:40 PM
A Lamont Butler “and-one” puts Kentucky up two, 9-7, with 15:57 to go. That’s two straight buckets for Butler, who scored off a steal on Kentucky’s previous play.
11/26/2024 05:34:38 PM
We’re all tied up at 5 early on, with Andrew Carr getting a dunk to start the game and Jaxson Robinson hitting a three to even the score with 17:26 to go.
11/26/2024 05:23:42 PM
At this point, it might not even be worth posting, but Kentucky is rolling with the same starting five vs. Western Kentucky:
00 Otega Oweh
01 Lamont Butler
02 Jaxson Robinson
07 Andrew Carr
22 Amari Williams
11/26/2024 04:54:29 PM
In his pregame talk with Tom Leach, Mark Pope explained what an “emotional reservoir” is and how he’s teaching his team about it. It’s a concept he came up with after working with the “P-squad,” a group of psychologists the last few years to help his team come into games with the ideal intensity levels.
Of course Pope has a “P-squad” of psychologists.
11/26/2024 04:46:44 PM
One of my favorite parts of covering Kentucky games is watching pregame warmups. Got here early enough to see the three freshmen going through shooting drills. Watching them shoot one after the other from the corner is kinda mesmerizing. Vibes are high 45 minutes out from tipoff.
11/26/2024 04:41:35 PM
Meanwhile in Nashville, the No. 14 Kentucky Women’s Basketball team leads Arizona State 42-23 in the Music City Classic. Clara Strack leads the Cats with 14 points and 5 rebounds, while Teonni Key has 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists.
In Maui, the UConn men’s basketball team just lost its second straight game, falling to Colorado. The defending national champs will now play in the 7th-place game. Dan Hurley seems to be handling it well.
11/26/2024 04:35:44 PM
No more “games on the computer”! We survived the final SEC Network+ game of the season. Tonight’s game will be on ESPNU with Roy Philpott and Pat Bradley on the call. You can also listen to Tom Leach and Goose Givens on the radio or just refresh this here live blog for updates and highlights.
Television: ESPNU (Roy Philpott, Pat Bradley)
Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
Online Radio: iHeart
Satellite Radio: Sirius 210 or 191
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
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