Saturday Quickies: Beat Seton Hall Edition

Good morning, Big Blue Nation! It’s the weekend and we have Kentucky Wildcats basketball to look forward to once again!

After a week break from games, the Cats are in New York City to face off against the Seton Hall Pirates in Madison Square Garden. While this is a neutral floor game, it’s the Cats first game away from Rupp since they played Duke in Indianapolis.

Seton Hall isn’t a Power Five team but they come from the revamped Big East and were a tournament team last season. The Hall is, maybe outside of UNC Greensboro, the best team Kentucky has played since Duke.

The Pirates are coming off of a home loss to the spunky Louisville Cardinals and will be looking to notch a win against a top ten opponent. The key today is: defense, defense, defense.

If the Cats can defend like they did against UNC Greensboro, then I have little worry about a victory today.

The game tips at noon on Fox.

Tweets of the Day

Josh Allen has accomplished more in one season than just about any Kentucky player in history. He continues to climb up the draft board. The fact that he is going to play in the Citrus Bowl tells you all you need to know about this young man.

I think the maturation of Ashton Hagans is the key for this team to be great and not just really good.

Quickies

PJ Washington is “not a numbers guy” | Lexington Herald Leader- Besides a team game stretch, it’s been a disappointing start for PJ Washington in his sophomore season. While coach Kenny Payne says Washington is inconsistent, Washington’s father states that winning is what matters to his son, not putting up monster numbers.

I think if PJ put up monster numbers more often then the Cats will have a better chance at winning.

Nick Richards is the odd man out | Cats Pause- Reid Travis has emerged as the best player the Cats have in the post, PJ Washington has been inconsistent but he has the potential to be dominant, and EJ Montgomery gets better every game. That leaves Nick Richards on the bench.

Undefeated Cats to take on undefeated Cards | WDRB- Both the UK Women and the UofL Women are 8-0 to start the season. They will face off at 2:00 PM in the KFC Yum! Center. A win here for Matthew Mitchell will prove these Cats are for real.

Seton Hall vs. UK odds and predictions | CBS- The Cats are a six point favorite today in New York. Myles Powell is the player for Seton Hall that Ashton Hagans will have to lock down if Kentucky wants to put this one away.

UK aware of the stakes of the Citrus Bowl | Cats Pause- Mark Stoops and his team know that if the Cats win the Citrus Bowl vs. Penn State, the program takes another giant step forward. Make no mistake about it: it’s a big deal.

Women’s volleyball swept out of the tournament | Lexington Herald Leader- We are about sick and tired of Nebraska around here. After the Huskers took Wandale Robinson from the Cats, their defending national champ volleyball team knocked Kentucky out of the Sweet Sixteen.

Joel Embiid frustrated in role after the Jimmy Butler trade | ESPN- It didn’t take long for Embiid and Butler to have an issue. We saw this one coming a mile away. Now, they don’t have issues with each other, but Embiid is feeling like he’s not being used correctly due to the addition of Butler.

Dan Issel encouraged by NBA data | WDRB- Dan Issel has made it his mission to bring an NBA franchise to Louisville. He is encouraged by the numbers that suggest an NBA team would flourish in Louisville.

No bad choices in the Heisman | Sporting News- While Tua Tagovailoa has been the Heisman favorite for the entirety of the season, Kyler Murray and Dwayne Haskins have emerged as legitimate contenders for the trophy. And all three deserve it.

Army clear favorites over Navy | SB Nation- Navy has dominated the modern series between the two teams but Army has developed into a top 25 type of team and they come into today’s contest as a heavy favorite.

I will be on ESPN Louisville 680/105.7 FM Frankfort today after the Cats take on Seton Hall. Call in at 267-9680 for instant analysis, Coach Cal’s presser, and much more!

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