>>College Basketball Round Up
(Undated) — In college basketball action tonight, Memphis hosts North Alabama, number-13 Tennessee welcomes McNeese State, and Vanderbilt visits VCU.
Kentucky Gets Past Pesky Bellarmine, 60-41
Kentucky head coach John Calipari knew exactly what he was getting when he scheduled a game against Bellarmine. The UK head man knew he would face a smart, disciplined, tough-minded team led by a coach who has won 400 games in 17 seasons. That’s exactly what the Cats got, especially over the first 15 minutes of the game. Kentucky missed its first six shots and had three early turnovers, falling behind 6-0 in the early going. UK was three of its first 10 with seven turnovers through the game’s first nine minutes. The good news for the Cats was that the Knights only made four of their first 16 shots from the floor, keeping the score close early. Ultimately tied at 21 all at halftime, it was the fewest points in a half for UK since scoring 18 at Missouri on Feb. 3, 2018 at Missouri in the first half. The Cats would go on to a 60-41 victory on Tuesday night behind 18 points from Antonio Reeves and 12 from Jacob Toppin.
Cardinals Falter Against No. 22 Maryland in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
No. 22/25 Maryland burst out of halftime making its first five 3-pointers, and Louisville men’s basketball couldn’t recover in a 79-54 loss Tuesday at the KFC Yum! Center. The Terrapins (7-0) shot 50% overall and made 6 of 11 3s in the second half, leading by as much as 33 with 6:08 left in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge clash.
#18/15 Cardinals Host #4/5 Ohio State in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
The Louisville women’s basketball team closes out its two-game homestand with the second top-five team they have faced so far this season. The Cardinals welcome #4/5 Ohio State to the KFC Yum! Center as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. This will be the final season of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge as next season begins the ACC/SEC Challenge that will take its place. The Cardinals are 5-2 all-time in the challenge and are 3-1 in home games. It will be the fourth time the Cardinals face a ranked opponent in the event and Louisville is 3-1 in those games. Last season, the Cardinals topped #12/9 Michigan, 70-48, on Dec. 2. This will just be the second ranked opponent the Cardinals face in the young season. Last year, they were 10-4 against AP Top-25 teams, the most wins against ranked opponents in a single season in program history. So far this year, Louisville defeated #3/5 Texas, 71-63, on Nov. 20 in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
WKU Defeated by Hot Shooting Lipscomb
WKU women’s basketball struggled early against Lipscomb on Tuesday night and was unable to recover, falling to the Bison, 84-66. Acacia Hayes was WKU’s leading scorer with a career high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Three other Lady Toppers joined Hayes in double figures. Jaylin Foster had 11 points and Josie Gilvin and Hope Sivori added 10. On the boards, Foster, Aaliyah Pitts and Macey Blevins led the team with five each. Foster also had four assists to lead the team and Gilvin had a team-leading three steals. Lipscomb shot 59.1 percent from 3-point range on the night, connecting on 13 3-pointers. From the field, the Bison shot 59.6 percent. On the other side, WKU shot just 18.5 percent from three (5-of-27) and 37.1 percent from the field (23-of-62).
Tops Take on Austin Peay on Wednesday Night
WKU Hilltopper Basketball is riding a three-game win streak into Wednesday night’s match-up at Austin Peay. The game will stream on ESPN+ starting at 7 p.m. CT and listen on 95.3 FM and 1230 AM WHOP beginning at 6:30. WKU most recently beat South Carolina State at home 90-64 on Saturday, while Austin Peay fell to Howard 56-55 on the same day.
MBB Ticket Sales Increase Heading Into Valley Opener
When the Murray State men’s basketball team takes the floor at the CFSB Center Thursday for their historic opener in the Missouri Valley Conference, they’ll Missouri Valley Conference Logo know that Racer Nation has come through again with outstanding support. The Murray State ticket office reports returning season ticket sales have been renewed at a rate of 96 percent and a 10 percent increase in total seats sold over the 2021-22 season has also been realized for the Racers’ inaugural season in The Valley. Thursday’s game finds the Racers hosting the Illinois State Redbirds in a 7 p.m. tip at the CFSB Center. It’s a White Out game as CFSB is providing 5,000 special t-shirts to commemorate the historic game.
Racers Visit UTM Wednesday
The Murray State women’s basketball team will make the short trip to Martin, Tennessee Wednesday for a mid-week, non-conference clash with UT Martin at 6 p.m. at the Elam Center.