Evansville upsets first ranked team, No. 1 Kentucky

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

A former Kentucky Wildcats player was able to guide his current team to a huge upset. Walt McCarthy went into his former college home to get the win.

The Evansville Purple Aces upset No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats, 67-64, on Tuesday night. There were 19,101 people in attendance at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky to see the upset.

Evansville Purple Aces celebrates its first win over a ranked team, Kentucky Wildcats (Photo by Evansville Purple Evans Athletic Department)

This is the second time to begin the men’s college basketball season that the No. 1 team went down. One week ago to begin the season, the Wildcats defeated then-No. 1 Michigan State Spartans at Madison Square Garden in New York.

According to ESPN’s Stats & Info, Evansville is just the fourth Division I program to win its first-ever road win over an AP-ranked opponent come against a No. 1 ranked team. The last two do it was the Nebraska Cornhuskers over then-No. 1 Missouri Tigers during the 1981-82 season.

In addition, Old Dominion Monarchs also did it during the 1980-81 season over then-No. 1 DePaul Blue Demons. The first team to do it was the Georgia Bulldogs over then-No. 1 Kentucky during the 1954-55 season.

With this win, the Purple Aces are 2-0 on the season. The Wildcats fell to 2-1 on the season.

Since the game was tied at 53 with 8:03 left in the game, the Purple Aces scored 14, while the Wildcats just scored 11.

Evansville led by six points following Noah Frederking’s three-pointer with 4:37 left in the game. Keion Brooks Jr. made a layup to cut the lead to 61-57.

Several possessions later, Wildcats’ Ashton Hagans made a three-throw to cut the lead to three points. However, with 2:26 left, Purple Aces’ K.J. Riley made two free throws to put them back up five points at 63-58.

Hagans then cut the lead to three points at 2:12 following a layup at 63-60. But with 1:41 left, Riley made a two-point basket for a 65-60 lead.

Kentucky then went on a 4-0 run, as Immanuel Quickley and Tyrese Maxey made two layups. This cut the Evansville lead to 65-64.

Then with six seconds left, Sam Cunliffe made two straight free throws to seal the win. 

Riley led the team with 18 points. He was just one of two players, who scored in double-figures, as Cunliffe also scored 17 points.

The Purple Aces had 26 points off of the bench.

Quickley led the Wildcats with 16 points. He was also one of two double-digit players, as Maxey also scored 15 points.

Kentucky had just 24 bench points.

Coach Calipari remains at Kentucky

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

John Calipari has re-signed with the Kentucky Wildcats on Monday. He will remain their men’s basketball head coach.

Calipari was offered a lifetime deal from the school, according to reports. The 60-year-old Moon Township, Pennsylvania native will end his career with the Wildcats.

John Calipari reacts to a call against the Kansas State Wildcats (Getty Images)

The UCLA Bruins were interested in hiring Calipari that forced the Wildcats to sign him to a new deal. The Bruins will now focus their attention on another coach.

Former Bruins head coach Steve Alford was fired early in the season. He was replaced on an interim basis by Murray Bartow.

Calipari has been the leader of the program since the 2009 season. During his tenure, he has won NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship in 2012.

As the Wildcats head coach, he has a 305-71 record. He also has a 136-38 conference record.

He has guided the team to two Championship games. Besides the win in 2011-12, the team was the runner-up in 2013-14. 

This season, the Wildcats finished with a 30-7 record. They also had a 15-3 conference record within the Southeastern Conference. 

Kentucky was 19-3 at Rupp Arena. The team went 11-4 on the road. 

The team was eliminated in the Elite Eight to the Auburn Tigers on Sunday. The Wildcats were defeated 77-71 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

Kentucky blows out No. 1 Tennessee

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher 

The No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers have been defeated for the second-time this season. The No. 5 Kentucky Wildcats blew out the Volunteers on Saturday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. 

The Wildcats improved to 21-4 with the win. They are now 10-2 within the Southeastern Conference. 

PJ Washington attempting a shot against the Tennessee Volunteers (Photo by Kentucky Wildcats Athletic Communications)

The Volunteers are now 23-2 on the season. This is their first conference loss, as they fell to 11-1.

This loss snapped Tennessee’s 19-game win streak. Their last loss was to then-No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks in the NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

PJ Washington led the Wildcats with 23 points. He also had five rebounds, one assist, two steals, and two blocks. 

This was Washington’s fourth straight game scoring 20-plus points. He scored a season-high 29 points against the Seton Hall Pirates on Dec. 8 in an 84-83 loss at the Citi Hoops Classic. 

He was one of four players, who scored in double-digits. Keldon Johnson had 19 points, while Tyler Herro scored 15 and Reid Travis had 11. 

The Wildcats had nine bench points. EJ Montgomery led the bench with six points and four rebounds. 

Jordan Bone led the Volunteers with 19 points. He also had one rebound and six assists. 

This is his sixth straight game scoring in double-figures. He had a season-high 24 points against the Samford Bulldogs in a 83-70 win on Dec. 19. 

He was one of three Tennessee players, who scored in double-figures. Admiral Schofield scored 17 points, while Grant Williams had 16 points. 

The Volunteers bench had nine points. John Fulkerson, Yves Pons, and Jordan Bowden had three points each. 

Wildcats defeat Tar Heels in CBS Sports Classic in Chicago

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats defeated No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday night. The Wildcats won 80-72 over the Tar Heels in the CBS Sports Classic at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

The Wildcats improved to 9-2 with the win. Kentucky has now won their last two games after suffering a loss to the Seton Hall Pirates on December 8th.

Keldon Johnson taking a jumper against the North Carolina Tar Heels (Photo by Quinn Foster | UK Athletics)

The Tar Heels fell to 8-3 with the loss. North Carolina had its two game win streak snapped with this defeat.

Two of their three losses have come to ranked teams. They lost to then-No. 7 Michigan Wolverines, 84-67, on November 28th.

The team also lost 92-89 to the Texas Longhorns on November 22nd.

Keldon Johnson led the Wildcats with 21 points. He also had two rebounds and three assists.

Johnson was one of four Kentucky players, who scored in double-figures. Reid Travis had 20, while Tyler Herro added 15, and PJ Washington contributed 11.

The Wildcats had six bench points. Immanuel Quickley, Nick Richards, and EJ Montgomery had two points each off the bench.

Cameron Johnson led the Tar Heels with 17 points. He also had four rebounds, two assists, and one steal.

Johnson was one of three North Carolina players, who scored in double-digits. Luke Maye scored 16, while Kenny Williams added 11.

The Tar Heels had 13 bench points. Seventh Woods led the bench with seven points. He also had one rebound, three assists, and one steal.

Blue Devils blow out Wildcats in State Farm Champions Classic

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The Kentucky Wildcats had a better preseason ranking than the Duke Blue Devils. However, the No. 4 ranked team gave the No. 2 ranked team a lopsided loss.

The Blue Devils won 118-84 over the Wildcats in the State Farm Champions Classic in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

R.J. Barrett getting ready to dunk the ball in the 2018 McDonald’s All-American Game (Getty Images)

Duke improved to 1-0 on the season. Kentucky fell to 0-1 on the season.
The Blue Devils’ 34-point win is the third-largest win ever in a game between Associated Press Top 5 teams, according to ESPN’s Stats & Information. It’s also the largest loss for Kentucky head coach John Calipari in his head coaching career, either at the NCAA or NBA level.

All four of Duke’s freshman (R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones) outscored Kentucky’s roster by themselves, with an 89-84 score. Barrett and Williams broke the previous record for the most points by a Duke freshman in their debut.

Barrett had 33 points, while Williamson had 28. Marvin Bagley III had the previous record of 25 points during the 2017-18 season. Barrett was also just one point shy of breaking Bagley III’s freshman record with 34 points against Texas.

The Mississauga, Ontario, Canada native — who played high school basketball at Montverde Academy in Florida — led the Blue Devils with his 33 points. He also had four rebounds and six assists.

He was one of three Duke players, who scored in double-figures. Williamson had his aforementioned 28, and Reddish also contributed 22.

The Blue Devils had 22 bench points. Jack White and Alex O’Connell led the bench with nine points each.

White also had 11 rebounds, three assists, and two steals. O’Connell had three rebounds.

Keldon Johnson led the Wildcats with 23 points. He also had four rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.

He was one of three Kentucky players, who scored in double-figures. Reid Travis had 22 points, while Tyler Herro contributed 14 points.

Kentucky had just nine bench points. E.J. Montgomery had eight points. He also had six rebounds and one assist.

Schofield leads Tennessee over Kentucky

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The No. 23 Tennessee Volunteers shocked the No. 17 Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday night. The Volunteers won 76-65 at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Volunteers improved to 10-4 on the season. This win snapped a two-game losing streak.

This is Tennessee’s first win of 2018. This is also the second-time they defeated a ranked team, as they defeated No. 18 Purdue Boilermakers, 78-75, on November 22nd, 2017.

The Wildcats fell to 12-3 on the season. This loss snapped Kentucky’s three-game win streak.

This is Kentucky’s first loss since an 83-75 loss to the UCLA Bruins on December 23rd, 2017.

Admiral Schofield led the Volunteers with 20 points. He also had nine rebounds, four assists, one block, and four steals.

Tennessee had three players, who scored in double-figures. Grant Williams was the other scorer in double-figures with 18 points.

The Volunteers had 17 bench points. Lamonte Turner led the bench with 11 points.

Quade Green led the Wildcats with 14 points. He also had four assists and one steal.

Kentucky had three players, who scored in double-figures. PJ Washington had 13 points.

The Wildcats had 18 bench points. Wenyen Gabriel led the bench players with 11 points.

Powell now a Wildcats fan?

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The most-famous escort in college basketball history is now a Kentucky Wildcats fan? Katina Powell, who published a book called “Breaking Cardinal Rules,” may have a new college basketball team.

She was spotted in Wildcats gear recently. She even wrote “Game Ready!!! Let the hating begin…” on Facebook.

The Wildcats defeated the Cardinals, 90-61, on Friday at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats improved to 10-2 with the win, while the Cardinals fell to 10-3.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Wildcats with 24 points off the bench. PJ Washington also added 16 points in the win.

Basketball Clipart

Powell, in her book, wrote about how there were parties by the Cardinals for basketball recruits. At the parties, there were escorts and alcohol, which were organized by former basketball assistant coach Andre McGee.

Powell said that there were two dozen stripping and sex parties from 2010 through 2014, all inside Bill Minardi Hall. It happened at a college dorm that was named after former Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino’s brother-in-law.

UCLA give #1 Kentucky a loss

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

The #11 UCLA Bruins shocked #1 Kentucky Wildcats, 97-92, at Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon. The loss snaps the Wildcats 42-game win streak.

It’s the second straight year that UCLA has beaten Kentucky.

Wildcats head coach John Calipari ejected at South Carolina

Early in the first half of the Kentucky Wildcats vs. South Carolina Gamecocks game, head coach John Calipari was ejected. He received two technicals and exited the game with 17:34 remaining.

With the Wildcats leading 5-2, Calipari got into an argument with official Doug Sirmonds. Coach Cal was not pleased when Wildcats Jamal Murray bowled over Gamecocks’ Mindaugas Kachinas for an offensive foul.

Both players were contesting a rebound. In a previous play, the officials did not blow their wises when Gamecocks’ Michael Carrera jumped over two Kentucky players and scored.

Shortly after receiving his first technical, he walked over to Sirmons and voiced his displeasure with the call. He continued to argue vehemently, which caused his second technical.

He was so frustrated that several people tried to hold him back, including assistant coach Tony Barbee, along with players Murray, Isaiah Briscoe and Marcus Lee. Afterwards, he left the arena and went to the locker room.

This is the second time that he’s been ejected at South Carolina. He also was ejected on March 1, 2004 in a 72-67 loss.

Even without Calipari, the Wildcats are a better team than the Gamecocks, so they should be able to come out of this game with the win.

Wildcats’ Tyler Ulis injured against South Florida

The Kentucky Wildcats (5-0) are going to beat the South Florida Bulls (1-4) today at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida at the HoopHall Miami Invitational. But while they get the win this game, it’s important to know that guard Tyler Ulis was injured.

The Wildcats are currently defeating the Bulls 71-52 with less than nine minutes left in the game. Ulis had to leave the game with a hyper-extended elbow.

The sophomore suffered the injury in the first half of the game, as he attempted to recover a loose ball. As he was trying to do that, a Bulls player handed on his arm.

He was examined by the team, before being ruled out of the rest of the game.

With Ulis out of the game, Isaiah Briscoe came in off the bench and played the point guard.

He scored a career-high 21 points against Wright State Raiders a week ago. He’s averaging 14.2 points, 4/8 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game.

With Ulis listed as day-to-day, it’s up in the air right now if he’ll play against the Illinois State Redbirds on Monday night.

Ulis had eight points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 14 minutes for the No.1 ranked team in the country. Briscoe, who also started the game, had six points with six rebounds, seven assists, and two steals in 27 minutes.