CBB Thursday News and Notes

>>College Basketball Roundup

(Undated) — Number-5 Tennessee got upset by Vanderbilt 66-65 in college basketball action. The Vols are now 19-and-5 and will host Missouri Saturday night. The Commodores improved to 12-and-12 and will head to Florida on Saturday. Memphis crushed South Florida 99-81. The Tigers are now 18-and-6 and will host Temple on Sunday. Kentucky fell to Arkansas in its last game. The Wildcats dropped to 16-and-8 and will head to Athens to play Georgia on Saturday. Louisville recently lost to Pitt. The Cardinals are 3-and-21 and will hit the road to play Number-20 Miami on Saturday.

Kentucky Plays Host to Alabama on Thursday for Pink Game

The University of Kentucky women’s basketball program will play host to Alabama on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum. The game, which will mark the program’s annual Play4Kay game.

Cardinals Travel for Midweek Battle with Virginia

The University of Louisville women’s basketball team is heading down the final stretch of the regular season and they are on the road for a midweek matchup. Louisville is traveling to Charlottesville to take on Virginia on Thursday. The matchup between the Cardinals and Cavaliers will start at 7 p.m. ET.

Lady Toppers Head South to Take on Middle Tennessee

WKU women’s basketball will have another major opportunity to make moves in the Conference USA standings on Thursday night in Murfreesboro against Middle Tennessee. The Lady Toppers are just one game back in the standings from the Blue Raiders heading into Thursday’s showdown.  The game is set for a 6 p.m. tipoff.

Tops Host Rival Blue Raiders for White Out Game on Thursday Night

WKU Hilltopper Basketball and the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders are set to match up for the 144th time in program history on Thursday night. The game will tip at 7 p.m. CT. Both teams are coming off home wins over UTSA and UTEP from last week. The Hilltoppers defeated UTEP on Saturday 74-69 while MTSU beat UTSA 84-60. WKU leads the all-time series between the two programs 97-46, including a 54-17 mark in Bowling Green, dating back to the 1914-15 season. Head coach Rick Stansbury is 4-7 all-time in his career against the Blue Raiders. White Out: All fans are encouraged to wear white!

On the road again, Govs duel Lions for the first time in 60 years

Looking to get back in the win column and help keep its postseason hopes alive, the Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team squares off with North Alabama for the first time in 60 years in a 7:45 p.m., ASUN Conference showdown, Thursday, at Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama. With six games left to play, Austin Peay enters the week three games back of the tie for ninth place and the final spots in the ASUN Conference Tournament. At 2-10 in conference play, the Governors are chasing Jacksonville and North Florida – two teams they will play next week – who are tied for ninth place at 5-7 and hold the ASUN’s last two postseason spots. North Alabama enters Thursday’s contest at 6-6 in the ASUN and tied with Queens and Bellarmine for sixth place in the conference. The Lions are 7-2 at home this season and will host a Governors team that is just 1-9 on the road and 2-10 away from the Dunn Center.

Govs welcome Ospreys for Thursday showdown in the Dunn

After earning a pair of road wins last week, Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team returns home for an ASUN Conference matchup against North Florida for “Greek Night” and “Teacher Appreciation Night” at 6 p.m., Thursday, in the Winfield Dunn Center. Austin Peay (14-7, 9-2 ASUN) has earned three-straight wire-to-wire wins and currently sits in a three-way tie for second in the ASUN standings. The Governors began a two-game road trip to Kentucky with a 72-52 win against the Knights last Thursday, in which the team turned the ball over just five times – the fewest in any road game in program history and tied for the fewest of any game. APSU then had six score in double-figures to earn its ninth ASUN win of the season in an 82-69 victory against EKU, Saturday. Shamarre Hale leads Austin Peay with 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. She also is on pace to break the program’s single-season field-goal percentage, as her 68.7 field-goal percentage is 3.2 percent higher than the current program record held by APSU alumna, D’Shara Booker. The Ospreys are the Govs’ sixth first-time opponent this season and fourth in ASUN Conference play, with APSU garnering a 3-2 record in such games this season. North Florida (6-15, 3-8 ASUN) currently is 10th in the ASUN standings after dropping games to Stetson and league-leading Florida Gulf Coast last week. Lyric Swann leads the Ospreys with 14.2 points per game this season and is tied for second on the team with 30 steals and 4.2 rebounds per game.

Louisville Alumni Team ‘The Ville,’ Freedom Hall to Host The Basketball Tournament Regional

The Basketball Tournament (TBT), the 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all event, announced Wednesday that the city of Louisville and Freedom Hall will serve as a host site for one of TBT’s regional events, as well as a TBT quarterfinals game. “The Ville,” a Louisville alumni team, will be the host team in the eight-team regional event. TBT’s Louisville Regional and quarterfinals game are set to take place in late July, and tickets for the event will be on sale April 1. This summer will mark TBT’s first time in Louisville in the 10-year history of the tournament, and the first time a Louisville alumni team has competed in the event. “The Ville” will feature former Louisville basketball stars still playing professionally. The staff will feature former Louisville men’s basketball coaches Mark Lieberman and Jordan Sucher, and former Louisville basketball player Luke Hancock. Commitments for the playing roster include Peyton Siva, Kyle Kuric, Steven Enoch, Rakeem Buckles and Dillon Avare.

Vernon Hatton Named 2023 SEC Legend

Former Kentucky men’s basketball All-American and national champion Vernon Hatton will represent the Wildcats as a member of the 2023 Southeastern Conference Legends at the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.