< Previous10 @KentuckyMBB 2020 UK Sports Partnership Football Program Ad (8.5x11) 265-20801.indd 12020 UK Sports Partnership Football Program Ad (8.5x11) 265-20801.indd 111/13/20 11:01 AM11/13/20 11:01 AMWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.110920 BBN Tonight RUPP Ad.indd 1110920 BBN Tonight RUPP Ad.indd 111/9/20 4:39 PM11/9/20 4:39 PMAround the SEC Around the Country 2020-21 SEC Standings Team SEC Overall Home Road Alabama 9-0 14-4 8-1 4-1 Florida 6-3 10-4 5-1 3-3 LSU 6-3 11-5 8-2 2-3 Tennessee 5-3 12-3 10-2 2-1 Missouri 4-3 11-3 6-1 4-2 Arkansas 5-4 13-5 11-1 2-4 Kentucky 4-4 5-10 3-3 2-5 Auburn 4-5 10-8 6-2 2-5 Mississippi State 4-5 10-8 8-3 2-2 Georgia 3-6 10-6 9-3 1-3 Ole Miss 3-6 8-8 6-3 2-5 South Carolina 2-4 4-6 3-1 0-4 Texas A&M 2-6 8-7 6-3 2-3 Vanderbilt 1-6 5-8 5-4 0-4 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Cameron Thomas, LSU ..................................................22.3 Scotty Pippen Jr., VANDY ...............................................21.7 Iverson Molinar, MISS ST ...............................................17.6 D.J. Stewart Jr., MISS ST .................................................17.6 Trendon Watford, LSU ...................................................17.3 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Tolu Smith, MISS ST.........................................................8.6 Dylan Disu, VANDY ........................................................8.3 Jeremiah Tilmon, MIZZOU ..............................................8.1 Darius Days, LSU ............................................................7.9 Emanuel Miller, TAMU ....................................................7.7 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Sahvir Wheeler, UGA ......................................................7.4 Scotty Pippen Jr., VANDY .................................................5.5 Jalen Tate, ARK ................................................................4.4 Ja'Vonte Smart, LSU .........................................................4.1 Jermaine Couisnard, USC ................................................3.9 Steals Player-Team ................................................................... SPG Justin Kier, UGA ..............................................................2.3 Dru Smith, MIZZOU .......................................................1.8 Herbert Jones, ALA ..........................................................1.8 Luis Rodriguez, MISS .......................................................1.8 Tyree Appleby, UF ...........................................................1.7 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Isaiah Jackson, UK ..........................................................2.9 Colin Castleton, UF .........................................................2.3 Connor Vanover, ARK ......................................................1.9 Abdul Ado, MISS ST ........................................................1.9 Yves Pons, UT .................................................................1.8 2020-21 Associated Press Rankings As of Jan. 31, 2021 (week 11) Team Record Points 1 Gonzaga (61) 17-0 1,597 2 Baylor (3) 16-0 1,539 3 Villanova 11-1 1,458 4 Michigan 13-1 1,402 5 Houston 15-1 1,348 6 Texas 11-3 1,228 7 Ohio State 14-4 1,133 8 Iowa 12-4 1,079 9 Oklahoma 11-4 966 10 Alabama 14-4 958 11 Tennessee 12-3 869 12 Illinois 11-5 850 13 Texas Tech 12-5 797 14 Virginia 11-3 752 15 Creighton 13-4 732 16 Virginia Tech 13-3 718 17 West Virginia 11-5 669 18 Missouri 11-3 589 19 Wisconsin 13-5 452 20 Florida State 10-3 393 21 UCLA 13-3 260 22 Florida 10-4 196 23 Kansas 11-6 171 24 Purdue 12-6 130 25 Drake 16-0 117 14 @KentuckyMBBFrom Press Row 16 @KentuckyMBB Kentucky Returns After Weekend Pause for COVID-19 Safety Rea- sons Kentucky's game at Missouri, which was previously scheduled for Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET, was rescheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPN2. In conjunction with Southeastern Confer- ence COVID-19 and UK Athletics COVID-19 management requirements, the schedule was adjusted after the UK program was put on a pause over the weekend following a combi- nation of positive testing, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals with- in the program. Kentucky’s game vs. Texas on Saturday, part of the annual SEC/Big 12 Chal- lenge, was canceled because of the pause. The health and safety of Wildcat stu- dent-athletes, coaches and staff remains UK Athletics’ No. 1 priority. Kentucky is 13-1 all-time vs. Missouri, including 4-1 in games played in Columbia, Missouri. UK has won three straight games in the series, including the Wildcats’ last match- up at Missouri in 2019. Even with the cancellation of the Texas game, UK is in the middle of a stretch that features five straight opponents ranked in the top 40 of the NCAA Evaluation Tool. The streak started with the LSU game and, as of now, will end next week at home vs. Arkan- sas. It's a Different Game with Four to Play Kentucky has a mix of talented veterans and highly-rated freshmen. The Wildcats look the part as the fifth-tallest squad in the country. John Calipari's squad has put to- gether a stout defense, and though the of- fense has struggled, the pieces are there with nine players registering at least two games in double-figure scoring this season. The issues Calipari and Co. are having were never more evident than at Alabama last week. In what has become an on-going trend this season, UK has been in nearly every con- test this season but has been unable to close out games in the final minutes. "Let me say this about my team: They fought like crazy," Calipari said after a val- iant effort against the Southeastern Confer- ence-leading Tide. "We changed how we played them. They end up, one of those teams that scores all of those points, and, you know, they're in the 60s. Think about that. We guarded it differ- ent, we played it a little different, we still gave them a couple of 3s. But, you know, I mean, we had our chances. We, again, got out-toughed. Just makes me sick. We got out-toughed. Not through- out the game. We fought like crazy. The last three minutes, dudes backed away. Playing – you ready? – not to lose vs. play- ing to win." Whatever the case may be, the numbers are telling. UK is outscoring its opponents by 20 points over the first 36 minutes of regu- lation in games this season but is mi- nus-37 in the final four minutes of regu- lation in games (does not count any of the overtime periods vs. Mississippi State). Kentucky held Alabama to 39.2% shooting and has held five of its last six opponents to less than 40% from the floor, including four straight games. Ken- tucky held Alabama to six 3-pointers, the Tide's second-lowest total in a game this season. The Kentucky bench outscored Alabama 21-13. The Wild- cats held the Tide without a field goal for the first 10:12 of the second half and the only points the home team netted were 10 from the charity stripe during that stretch. The Wildcats ultimately limited Alabama to just six field goals in the second half, but three of them came over the final 3:09 of game time to help propel the Tide to a 10-0 run and erase a 54-52 lead by the Wildcats with 4:27 to play. It's been a familiar feeling for Kentucky. The Wildcats let a late six-point lead at Geor- gia slip away. They had chances to beat Lou- isville and Notre Dame in the final minutes. Games against Kansas and Auburn were right there to take. "For 37 minutes, we fought like crazy," Calipari said. "I know we're getting closer. But you just want to win these games. Just like the LSU game. You want to win the games. Just like the two before those. These are wins for us. And we're letting go of the rope or not mentally tough enough to not turn it over, make the play you need to make, be able to function with the stuff swirling. We're not there yet. But, you know what, I'm not stopping." Defense! Although Kentucky's record may not reflect it, UK's defense this season has been very good. The Wildcats are yield- ing 68.3 points per game, 40.4% shooting by the opposition overall and 30.2% from behind the arc, while averaging 6.1 blocks and 6.6 steals per game. Through games on Jan. 30, Kentucky ranked 14th nationally in defensive effi- ciency, according to KenPom.com. Ken- Pom.com also rates UK's effective field- goal percentage defense (45.8%) and block percentage (15.6) among the top 50 in the nation. Kentucky has yielded more than 1.0 points per possession in just four games. Five times this season, Kentucky has lost despite holding teams to 66 points or less. Under John Calipari, that had only occurred 13 times in 407 games prior to this season -- essentially occurring once every 31 games under his direction. UK is 206-23 under Calipari when holding the opposition to 40% or less from the field but only 4-4 this season. The Wildcats have held five of their last six opponents to less than 40% from the floor, including four straight games. 2020-21 Basketball Schedule Texas A&M Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday February 23 Florida Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m. Saturday February 27 Ole Miss Oxford, Miss. 9 p.m. Tuesday March 2 SEC Tournament Nashville, Tenn. TBA Wed.-Sun. March 10-14 NCAA Tournament Final Four® Indianapolis | TBA March- April TBA Auburn Auburn, Ala. L, 59-66 Saturday January 16 LSU Lexington, Ky. W, 82-69 Saturday January 23 Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. L, 59-70 Tuesday January 26 Texas Lexington, Ky. Canceled Saturday January 30 Missouri Columbia, Mo. 9 p.m. Tuesday February 2 Tennessee Lexington, Ky. 8 p.m. Saturday February 6 Arkansas Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday February 9 Auburn Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m. Saturday February 13 Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 7 p.m. Wednesday February 17 Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. 1 p.m. Saturday February 20 Georgia Athens, Ga. L, 62-63 Wednesday January 20 Morehead State Lexington, Ky. W, 81-45 Wednesday November 25 Richmond Lexington, Ky. L, 64-76 Sunday November 29 Kansas Indianapolis L, 62-65 Tuesday December 1 Notre Dame Lexington, Ky. L, 63-64 Saturday December 12 North Carolina Cleveland L, 63-75 Saturday December 19 Louisville Louisville, Ky. L, 59-62 Saturday December 26 Mississippi State Starkville, Miss. W, 78-73 (2 OT) Sunday January 3 Vanderbilt Lexington, Ky. W, 77-74 Tuesday January 5 Florida Gainesville, Fla. W, 76-58 Saturday January 9 Alabama Lexington, Ky. L, 65-85 Tuesday January 12 Georgia Tech Atlanta L, 62-79 Sunday December 6 Home Away/Neutral 18 @KentuckyMBB Next >