KSR Today: Bye Week relief, a WBB win and MBB prepares for Bucknell
We usually call it bye week blues when these pauses in the schedule hit, fans yearning for a long day of tailgating at Kroger Field before walking into a good old fashioned butt whooping put on by Kentucky football — especially with the rest of the country rounding third and heading home on the season. There's simply nothing like a crisp fall weather and the Cats playing well, inarguably one of the best times of the year.
This period feels different, though. The football program is in a tough spot with no clear answers and three games to go to salvage bowl eligibility, highly unlikely considering one of those matchups is at No. 5 Texas. It's trending toward getting worse before it gets better, making this weekend's pause in the schedule almost refreshing to an extent. A little space is good every once in a while. Can't be hurt during a bye week, although some national folks are still getting their shots in.
That's not very nice, but hey, we get it. Nothing to do but use this opportunity to regroup and come back next weekend ready to roll with Murray State coming to town. Until then, we've got plenty to enjoy, particularly with the start of Kentucky basketball season — the women's program enjoying a big win Thursday while the men's team prepares to host Bucknell on Saturday.
Mark Pope previews BucknellWe'll work through order of operations here, Coach Pope sitting down with local gasbags like myself at noon yesterday to talk about what worked in the opener vs. Wright State and what we should expect vs. Bucknell tomorrow. Fascinating to hear from the head coach of your basketball team before a game, right?
Pope had plenty to say about the Bison, who enter the matchup with a 2-0 record following wins over Delaware and Southern Indiana to open the season.
"Good team, veteran team. Three seniors, two juniors. But more importantly, guys that have been together for a long time," Pope said. "You look at their roster: four-year guy, four-year guy, four-year guy, at Bucknell, which is super cool. It's a real credit to the program and to the staff and to the players. And so we have a veteran group that has played together for a long time, that understands what they're trying to do.
"They get pretty deep into the actions and have a good sense of what they're doing. I think it's creative stuff. They have some explosive scorers, really capable backcourt, a big who holds down the middle really, really well. Can shoot it. They shoot it from all five positions. So good team and it'll be another good challenge for us."
Preparedness will clearly not be an issue with the new coaching staff in Lexington. Listen to everything Pope had to say below:
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Kenny Brooks earns second win as a CatA few hours after Pope spoke, Coach Brooks and the women's team took care of business in a 70-41 win over Northern Kentucky to open the season 2-0. Clara Silva led the way with 18 points and five blocks in 22 minutes off the bench, followed by Georgia Amoore with 13 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three blocks. Dazia Lawrence also added 10 points — all coming in the second half. As a team, the Wildcats shot just 43 percent from the field and 20 percent from three against a tough defensive team in the Norse.
The slow start led to a sloppy, albeit convincing 29-point win that Brooks can work with.
"Northern [Kentucky] is gonna be a good basketball team. They're very methodical and patient in their offense to make you work. So, it was a really good test for us," Brooks said after the victory. "... I'm excited. We got loads of potential, but it's a work in progress, and, you know, I am guilty as anyone. I wanted to be full swing right now, but it's something we need to work on."
KSR's Phoenix Stevens and Katie Hutchison continue to roll out excellent game coverage. Catch up if you missed any of it:
The excitement hasn't slowed down for the Cats following their massive commitment from Acaden Lewis this past weekend, Pope adding one of the best point guards in high school basketball to make it three pledges in 2025 ahead of next week's early signing period.
He sat down with Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ in this week's edition of Here Comes the Boom to talk about his commitment and his thoughts on the class while sharing his pitch to five-star forward Caleb Wilson .
Tune in:
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A big weekend for college basketballNo. 23 Kentucky vs. Bucknell on Saturday at 4 PM ET on SEC Network+ is the headliner for us, obviously, but there's plenty of good basketball to enjoy during the bye week.
Check out the ranked schedule tonight and some of the bigger games on Saturday:
Friday, Nov. 8
Saturday, Nov. 9
That's the good stuff.
