>>College Basketball Roundup
(Undated) –College basketball returns tonight. Kentucky welcomes South Carolina to Lexington. Pre-game at 4:30 pm on 98.7 Lite FM. The Wildcats dropped out of the rankings after losing to Number-4 Alabama. Kentucky is 10-and-5 on the year. Tennessee is now ranked fifth overall after crushing the Gamecocks over the weekend. The Vols improved to 13-and-2 and will host Vanderbilt tonight. The Commodores lost to Number-20 Missouri in their last game and dropped to 8-and-7. Louisville recently lost to Wake Forest. The Cardinals are 2-and-14 and travel to Clemson tomorrow night. Memphis beat East Carolina in its last game. The Tigers improved to 12-and-4 and will head to UCF tomorrow.
UK Athletics to Retire Jersey of Mike Pratt
Mike Pratt, who earned All-America and Academic All-America honors as a University of Kentucky basketball player and served 21 seasons as an analyst on UK radio broadcasts, will have a jersey retired in his honor, Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart announced Monday. The ceremony will take place Feb. 4 during UK’s home game vs. Florida. Pratt, who died June 16, will be represented by his wife, Marcia, and additional members of the family.
James Named ACC Rookie of the Week
Louisville men’s basketball redshirt freshman Mike James has been named ACC Rookie of the Week, the league announced Monday. This is the first weekly award of James’ young career, and he’s the first Cardinal to earn Rookie of the Week honors from the league since his current teammate Jae’Lyn Withers did so in March 2021. James, a 6-foot-5 guard/forward from Orlando, Fla., had a breakout stretch for UofL last week, averaging 21.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game across the Cardinals’ home contests against Syracuse and Wake Forest. James made 16 of 28 total shots in the two games (57%) and 9 of 16 3-pointers (60%). He set a then-career high for scoring in a narrow 70-69 loss to Syracuse with 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting, including a 4-for-6 clip from long range. He followed that up with another banner day Saturday in an 80-72 loss to Wake Forest with a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds. James’ 24 points are tied for the second-most by an ACC freshman this season, and they were the most by a Louisville freshman since 2017. He’s only the fifth Louisville freshman since 1952 to have a game with at least 24 points and eight boards. James was crucial in Louisville’s second-half comeback effort against Wake Forest, as the Cardinals trimmed an 18-point deficit with seven-plus minutes left to three with less than three minutes remaining. The freshman had 11 points and three 3s during that four-minute burst, including a final long-range shot that made it a one-possession game with 2:40 to go.
Young Named MVC POTW For Third Time
For the third time this season, Katelyn Young has been named as the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week. She is the only MVC player this season to win the award multiple times. The junior averaged 30.0 points and 9.0 rebounds over two games, which was fueled in large part by a 43-point, double-double performance against Drake. She shot 61.0-percent from the field (25 -41) on the week, 3-for-8 from 3-point range and 7-for-11 from the free throw line. Young set a season-high for the Racers for points in the first half Sunday with 28 and ended the first 20 minutes of the game by scoring 28 of her team’s 32 points. She finished with a career-high 43 points, which is the third most points scored by a Racer in program history and most scored by a Valley player since 2017. Ashley N. Hayes holds the MSU record for points in a game with 46, while Mariah Robinson and Joi Scott follow at 44 and 43, respectively. The 19 field goals scored by Young Sunday, tied the program record that was set by Joi Scott in 2006. She is now just one of five players in MVC history to score 19 or more field goals in a game, joining Drake’s Lorri Baumann and Wanda Ford, Missouri State’s Jackie Stiles and Indiana State’s Melanie Boeglin.
0-College Extended For Remainder of WBB Season
For the remainder of the 2022-23 season, all Murray State women’s basketball games will be free of charge for all children aged 0 to College. After the success of the promotion over the holiday break, the initiative has been extended to include the remaining eight Missouri Valley Conference home games this season. Kids aged 0-College can attend the remaining games with no additional ticket needed.
MSU Searching For Road Formula at UNI
The Murray State Racers (9-7, 4-2 MVC) travel to Cedar Falls to take on the UNI Panthers (8-8, 4-2 MVC) Tuesday at the McLeod Center on the Northern Iowa campus. The Racers took an 82-64 setback at Drake Saturday in a game where they shot 44 percent, but gave up 11 threes to the Bulldogs. MSU led early 12-9 and never got any closer than 11 points in the second half. JaCobi Wood scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting, but MSU’s leading scorer, Rob Perry was held to less than half his season average with seven points. The Racers scored their seventh game of 32 points or more in the paint, but took their first loss in that scenario, while they gave up 36 points in the paint to the Bulldogs.
West Sixth Brewing Announces New Beer Made in Collaboration with Western Kentucky University
West Sixth Brewing, one of Kentucky’s largest craft breweries, has announced a new collaboration beer with Western Kentucky University. The beer, which is called 1906 Lager, will be made exclusively for Western Kentucky University to celebrate WKU, its fans, and their continuous support of the Kentucky community. 1906 Lager is officially licensed through CLC, WKU’s licensing partner, and West Sixth Brewing is now a Hilltoppers’ sponsor as well.