Thursday Quickies: Upset in Vegas Edition

In a game that didn’t end until early this morning, Kentucky fell short in its matchup against Utah in Las Vegas by a score of 69-66. dropping the Cats to 8-2.

You could point to a lot of factors in the loss, but the most glaring is three-point shooting where Kentucky was a horrid 2-17 from behind the line, including just 1-12 from the trio of Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley, and Tyrese Maxey. Kentucky simply won’t win many games when those three shoot the ball that poorly.

Meanwhile, the Utes enjoyed success shooting the ball, knocking down nearly 55 percent of their shots including 8-15 three pointers.

This isn’t a back-breaking loss by any stretch of the imagination, but it will come back to hurt during the tournament selection process. Kentucky still possesses only one quality win on their resume with the victory over Michigan State to open the season.

That said, the Cats need to bounce back quickly because they have the opportunity to pick up two high-quality wins in the next 10 days with the matchup against Ohio State on Saturday and a rivalry showdown with Louisville the following Saturday.

To me, this game isn’t a reason to sound the alarm or throw in the towel just yet. This is a team still struggling to find an identity and we see a random non-conference loss like this from time to time as the team struggles to find its way early on in the season. This team should be a better shooting team than what they’ve shpwn. Hopefully that comes to fruition, because the next two games will be critical.

Tweet of the Day

Just an indicator of how well Stoops and Co. did recruiting offensive and defensive line players.

Quickies

Kentucky had multiple conversations with Beau Allen about Joey Gatewood - Cats Pause

Some fans were concerned that Gatewood’s arrival might cause tension with Allen, but it seems to be the opposite.

Joel Williams set to announce today - Cats Pause

Things seem to be trending well for UK leading up to the 3 p.m. announcement.

Kentucky hits it big with O-line, D-line signees - Herald Leader

Stellar play in the trenches is needed in the SEC, so the Cats loaded up.

Walker Wood is in the transfer portal - KSR

Best of luck to Walker wherever he ends up.

Kentucky’s recruiting strategy pays dividends - SI

Sports Illustrated goes in-depth about Kentucky’s recruiting success in Ohio and Michigan.

Karl-Anthony Towns blossoming with shooting ability - Bleacher Report

Also a line about how Calipari banned Towns from shooting threes at Kentucky.

Early signing period winners and losers - Yahoo

It was a good day for most of college football’s top programs, except LSU.

Tom Coughlin fired from Jaguars - ESPN

This on the heels of the NFLPA warning players about signing with Jacksonville.

Coach Herman Boone passes away at 84 - ESPN

Sad news about the man who was the inspiration behind “Remember the Titans.”