Quickies: SEC Cluster Edition

With the Tennessee Volunteers’ defeat of the Florida Gators last night, there’s now a six-way tie for third place in the SEC. The Mississippi State Bulldogs, Kentucky, the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Missouri Tigers, Florida and the Alabama Crimson Tide are all 8-7 in conference play this year. Right behind the logjam are the LSU Tigers at 7-8.

There’s a lot to be decided in the conference, and not a lot of time to decide it. With the Wildcats playing the way they have the last two games, they could come out of this logjam in good shape.

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Your quickies

Yahoo! Sports: "If your school produced a first-round pick in the past three years, be worried." | Kentucky Sports Radio
Last week, Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports dropped a bombshell report saying over 50 schools could find themselves in trouble with the NCAA following the major FBI investigation sweeping college basketball. Tonight, both Thamel and Pat Forde released another report that should terrify the entire nation even further.

‘You’re gonna think I’m crazy.’ She’s never met Billy Gillispie, but she’s giving former UK coach a kidney. | Lexington Herald Leader
Ericka Downey was sitting on the closet floor of her home near Tulsa, Okla., in December, when she felt a tug.

Rick Pitino urges Louisville to take NCAA to court to keep title banner flying | Lexington Herald Leader
Former Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino urged the university Wednesday to fight the “unjust” NCAA ruling that vacated the Cardinals’ 2013 national title. “The NCAA cannot rewrite history by taking a banner down.”

Nick Mingione: Speculation about Mississippi St. baseball job 'obvious' | Courier Journal
Almost 10 years after John Cohen left Kentucky for Mississippi State, UK may face the prospect of losing another baseball coach to the Bulldogs.

Calipari hits on a lineup that gives Kentucky basketball a shot to win | Courier Journal
Positive things happened when Knox, Washington and Vanderbilt were on the court together, particularly when joined by Quade Green and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That five accounted for 77 of Kentucky's points (89 percent of the scoring) and 40 of its rebounds (87 percent).

Calipari visits 4-star junior wing D.J. Jeffries - Cats' Pause
Fresh off a win at Arkansas Tuesday night, John Calipari traveled 350 miles east of Fayetteville to visit Olive Branch (Miss.) 4-star junior wing D.J. Jeffries.

CatsIllustrated.com - Ranking the best receivers UK will face in 2018
Ole Miss' A.J. Brown and Missouri's J'Mon Moore were the best wide receivers Kentucky faced in 2017.

Current and former Kentucky stars help out this afternoon with Special Olympics | Kentucky Sports Radio
This afternoon, several current and former UK Athletics stars joined together for a great cause. Jack "Goose" Givens, Kyle Macy, Anthony White, Austin MacGinnis, Eddie Gran, Jon Hood, and Craig Skinner were just a few of the individuals to participate in today's UNIFIED event for Special Olympics at Rupp Arena.

Rajon Rondo treats 320 students to screening of Black Panther in Louisville | Kentucky Sports Radio
This weekend, former Wildcat Rajon Rondo took over 300 students in Louisville out to go see the new Black Panther movie. Rondo, a Louisville native, did this kind gesture as part of his "Assisting Youth Foundation," where he bought the movie ticket, popcorn, and a drink for each individual.

NCAA Tournament: How high is Kentucky basketball seed ceiling after Arkansas win? - SEC Country
Kentucky basketball is surging again after trouncing Arkansas on the road. How high is the Cats' NCAA Tournament seed ceiling now?

Kawhi Leonard, Gregg Popovich says, could be done this season. Will he leave Spurs? - The Washington Post
At this point, it's fair to wonder if a potential contract stalemate this summer could mark the end of Leonard's time in San Antonio.

Chris Broussard: Mark Cuban admitted to tanking to cover for Mavs' bad roster moves | FOX Sports
Chris Broussard and Eddie House join Colin Cowherd and Jason Whitlock to discuss Mavericks owner Mark Cuban admitting that the team has been tanking.

Josh Allen has 'the best arm' in the draft and is still the QB for the Browns at No. 1, says Mel Kiper Jr. | cleveland.com
Mel Kiper didn't back down from his somewhat bold pick of Josh Allen to the Browns at No. 1 in his mock draft 2.0.

LeBron James of Cleveland Cavaliers says he's against idea of re-seeding for playoffs - ESPN
LeBron James, who has been to the NBA Finals the past seven straight years, says he's against the idea of reseeding regardless of conference for the postseason.

Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors to play in Seattle | The Sacramento Bee
The NBA will return to Seattle's Key Arena during the 2018-19 preseason in a game pitting the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. It will mark the return of Kevin Durant to the city where his career began.

Pinson scores career-high 23, UNC holds off Syracuse 78-74 | FOX Sports
Theo Pinson scored a career-high 23 points, Joel Berry II added 18, including the tiebreaking layup with 1:36 left, and No. 10 North Carolina held off Syracuse 78-74 on Wednesday night.

Back from break, Warriors look to remedy slow starts - SFGate
To help ease his four All-Stars back into the regular-season grind, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gave them two days off after Sunday’s All-Star Game.