< Previous10 @KentuckyMBB$ 600+ IN SAVINGS EVERY WEEK WITH DIGITAL COUPONS Scan here to start saving. Official Grocer of UK Athletics.WEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m. 12 @KentuckyMBB14 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Champions of the State With both schools boasting new head coaches, a new chapter in the historic Ken- tucky vs. Louisville rivalry began last Satur- day, as the Wildcats got a legendary perfor- mance from point guard Lamont Butler to win their third-straight in the series, 93-85. Butler scored a career-high 33 points, the second most by a UK player ever in the rivalry, and went a perfect 10-10 from the field and 6-6 from 3-point range on his way to earning MVP accolades. Four other Wildcats joined Butler in dou- ble figures, including Otega Oweh, who had nine of his 17 points over the final two minutes of the game to help seal the victory for the Cats. Some additional notes from the win: • Kentucky is 10-1 for the first time since 2016-17 • Five Wildcats scored in double figures, the seventh-time in 11 games that UK has had at least five players hit double digits in scoring • UK shot a season-best 52.4 percent from deep, making 11 of a season-low 21 attempts • Wildcats now lead the all-time series, 40-17, against the Cardinals USBWA Tabs Lamont Butler National Player of the Week Lamont Butler’s legendary performance vs. Louisville this past Saturday continues to reverberate throughout the basketball world as the UK point guard was selected as one of five U.S. Basketball Writers Association na- tional Division I players of the week, it was announced on Tuesday. Returning from a brief two-game absence due to injury, Butler scored a career-high 33 points in the Wildcats’ rivalry victory over Louisville last Saturday, going a perfect 10- of-10 from the field and 6-of-6 from 3-point range. Butler’s 33 points were the second most ever by a Wildcat against Louisville, and his six-made threes tied for the most by a UK play- er in the rivalry. He also dished out a game- high six assists in the 93-85 victory inside Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. The 10-for-10 shooting performance tied for the third-best in program history. Only Rodney Dent (12 for 12 vs. Morehead State on Dec. 17, 1993) and Kenny Walker (11 of 11 vs. Western Kentucky on March 16, 1986) had better outings. The 6-for-6 performance behind the arc trails only Wenyen Gabriel’s 7-for-7 day in the SEC Tournament on March 10, 2018. Since 1996-97, Butler is the only Division I player to make all of his shots, score at least 33 points and chart at least six assists. He’s just the second SEC player to finish with 30 or more points and hit all his shot attempts in the last 20 seasons. The 33 points are the most by a Division I player with a perfect field-goal percent- age in any game this season. In addition to the USBWA hon- ors, Butler was also selected as the Co-Player of the Week by the South- eastern Conference. The Moreno Valley, California native is averaging 15.1 points, 4.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds in nine games this season. CBS Sports Classic When UK meets Ohio State on Saturday, it will mark the 11th straight year of Ken- tucky participating in the CBS Sports Clas- sic, which annually brings together four of the nation's most successful college basket- ball programs. UCLA (11), Kentucky (8), North Carolina (6) and Ohio State (1) have combined for 26 national championships and 66 Final Four appearances. UCLA, Kentucky and UNC rank first, second and third, respectively, in national championships, while all four participating programs rank in the top six all-time for Final Four berths. The schools have also combined for more than 8,500 victories. The Wildcats own a 5-5 record all time in the event, and are 0-2 against Ohio State. Last season, UK secured an 87-83 win over North Carolina in Atlanta. The event returns to Madison Square Garden for the second time, having been held there in 2022. In the Big Apple Kentucky has historically performed well under the bright lights of New York. The Wildcats are 38-16 in games in the New York City area, including wins in 10 of the last 14 games. In the modern-day version of Madison Square Garden, UK is 14-6. The latest ap- pearance in "the Mecca of Basketball" was a 63-53 loss to UCLA on Dec. 17, 2022, in the CBS Sports Classic. Know Your Opponent Ohio State was picked eighth in the Big Ten preseason poll and is 7-4 to start the 2024-25 campaign with noteable wins over Texas and Rutgers. Kentucky will mark the fourth Southeastern Conference oppo- nent for the Buckeyes already this season, with OSU having gone 1-2 in its first three matchups against foes from the SEC. Sophomore Devin Royal (15.6 ppg) and junior Bruce Thornton (14.8 ppg) and have led the scoring efforts for Ohio State. The team has been dangerous from deep, shooting 40.6 percent from behind the arc, the top mark in the Big Ten. Freshman John Mobley Jr., has been OSU's top threat from 3-point range, shooting .536 percent on 30- 56, ranking third in the nation in 3-point percentage. 1K Wildcats With Kerr Kriisa and Koby Brea crossing the 1,000 career points threshold in con- secutive games vs. Gonzaga and Colgate, Kentucky now has six players (Ansley Al- monor, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, Kerr Kriisa and Amari Williams) who have all eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau for their collegiate careers. Jaxson Robinson is nearing the milestone, needing just 28 more points.Thank You to Our CORNERSTONE PARTNERSNEAround the SEC Around the Country 2024-25 SEC Standings and Statistics Team SEC Overall Home Road Florida 0-0 11-0 5-0 1-0 Oklahoma 0-0 11-0 5-0 0-0 Tennessee 0-0 11-0 6-0 2-0 Auburn 0-0 10-1 5-0 0-1 Kentucky 0-0 10-1 6-0 0-1 Ole Miss 0-0 10-1 6-0 1-0 Mississippi State 0-0 10-1 5-0 1-0 Missouri 0-0 10-1 10-0 0-1 Vanderbilt 0-0 10-1 6-0 1-0 Georgia 0-0 9-1 6-0 1-0 Alabama 0-0 9-2 4-0 2-1 Arkansas 0-0 9-2 6-0 1-0 LSU 0-0 9-2 7-0 1-0 Texas 0-0 9-2 6-1 1-0 Texas A&M 0-0 9-2 5-0 0-1 South Carolina 0-0 8-3 6-1 1-1 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Johnson, Tre - Texas .....................................................19.90 Edwards, Jason - VU ...................................................19.18 Lanier, Chaz - UT .......................................................18.91 Clayton Jr., Walter - UF ................................................18.45 Broome, Johni - AUB ...................................................18.09 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Broome, Johni - AUB ...................................................11.55 Murray-Boyles, Collin - SC ............................................9.55 Williams, Amari - UK ....................................................9.09 Chest, Corey - LSU ........................................................8.60 Nelson, Grant - UA ......................................................8.18 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Zeigler, Zakai - UT ........................................................7.64 Fland, Boogie - ARK ......................................................5.73 Murray, Jaylen - UM ......................................................4.73 Fears, Jeremiah - OK ......................................................4.64 Taylor IV, Wade - T&AM ...............................................4.55 Steals Player-Team ...................................................................SPG Matthews, Cameron - MISS ST ......................................2.55 Mashack, Jahmai - UT ..................................................2.55 Tanner, Tyler - VU ..........................................................2.55 Robinson II, Anthony - MO ............................................2.45 Pedulla, Sean - UM........................................................2.36 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Broome, Johni - AUB .....................................................2.73 Ivisic, Zvonimir - ARK ....................................................2.30 Cyril, Somto - UGA .......................................................2.00 Collins, Daimion - LSU ..................................................2.00 Shedrick, Kadin - Texas ..................................................1.91 (statistics through December 18 games) 2024-25 Associated Press Rankings As of December 16, 2024 (week 7) Team Record Points 1 Tennessee (50) 10-0 1537 2 Auburn (12) 9-1 1483 3 Iowa State 9-1 1416 4 Kentucky 10-1 1325 5 Duke 8-2 1324 6 Alabama 8-2 1210 7 Florida 10-0 1169 8 Kansas 8-2 1056 9 Marquette 9-2 926 10 Oregon 10-1 903 11 UConn 8-3 808 12 Texas A&M 9-2 758 13 Gonzaga 7-3 737 14 Oklahoma 10-0 732 15 Houston 6-3 582 16 Purdue 8-3 498 17 Ole Miss 9-1 459 18 UCLA 9-1 436 19 Cincinnati 8-1 325 20 Michigan State 8-2 322 21 Memphis 8-2 287 22 Dayton 9-2 281 23 San Diego State 7-2 250 24 Michigan 8-2 209 25 Clemson 9-2 175 18 @KentuckyMBBWe’re your Shield. 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