Kentucky suffers its fourth straight loss. When will the Cats win another game?
A strange college basketball season took another dubious turn for Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.
UK suffered a 64-63 loss to Notre Dame in Rupp Arena for its fourth consecutive defeat, falling to 1-4 on the young season. The Cats trailed by 22 points at halftime and by as much as 24 points before cutting the lead to one in the final minute and missing a buzzer-beater that would have secured a victory.
This is UK’s first 1-4 start since the 1984-85 season and just the second such start since Adolph Rupp took over as head coach of the program in 1930. Kentucky hasn’t won a game since defeating Morehead State in the season opener.
So, when will the Cats next victory come? In this COVID-era slate that features only high-major opponents from here on out — unless that Detroit Mercy game gets rescheduled for a second time — wins won’t be easy for a brand new team of players with little court time together due to an abbreviated preseason.
Here’s what’s ahead for these Cats:
UCLA in Cleveland
Next Saturday’s game will pit Kentucky vs. the Bruins in the annual CBS Sports Classic.
UCLA started the season off with a loss to San Diego State — the Aztecs are now ranked No. 24 nationally — and the Bruins have won five straight games since, including a win over Marquette on Friday night. They play Long Beach State on Tuesday night before facing UK.
Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang is averaging 9.5 points in 23.0 minutes per game after missing the first four games of the season with a foot injury.
At Louisville
The annual UK-U of L rivalry is scheduled to renew Dec. 26 in the Yum Center. The Cardinals are 4-0 and ranked No. 25 nationally. They most recently defeated a talented Western Kentucky team by 21 points and also have early season victories over Seton Hall and Providence.
Louisville had to pause its basketball activities due to COVID-19 concerns earlier this month, but the Cards are back in the gym and tentatively scheduled to face North Carolina State on Wednesday night (though that conference game could still get pushed back).
U of L has suffered some preseason injury issues that linger on, and it’s unclear what the roster will look like when the team comes back from its COVID pause. Senior guard Carlik Jones was the Cards’ leader (17.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists) through the first four games.
Vs. South Carolina
The Gamecocks continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The team has a 1-2 record (with a win over Tulsa and losses to Liberty and No. 7 Houston) but three of South Carolina’s games have been canceled, including Monday’s scheduled contest at George Washington.
South Carolina, which is currently on pause due to COVID-19, will have another update on its status Wednesday and has games scheduled against Clemson and South Carolina State before the planned Southeastern Conference opener in Rupp Arena on Dec. 29.
The Gamecocks were picked to finish eighth in the SEC in the preseason.
At Mississippi State
Kentucky’s first scheduled SEC road game is set for Jan. 2 in Starkville, where Mississippi State is 3-2 so far this season. The Bulldogs have wins over Texas State, North Texas and Jacksonville State with the early season losses coming against Clemson and Liberty.
Mississippi State, picked to finish 12th in the SEC this preseason, plays Dayton on Saturday and is set to face Georgia in its SEC opener, three days before the Kentucky game.
Coming into Saturday, the Bulldogs were 12th in the SEC and No. 79 nationally, according to the latest KenPom ratings. Georgia and Vanderbilt are the only SEC teams with a lower ranking.
Vs. Vanderbilt
If the Cats lose this one Jan. 5, they’ll really be in trouble.
Vanderbilt has won its only game so far this season — a 77-71 victory over Valparaiso on Nov. 27 — but the rest of its schedule has been scrapped due to COVID-19 concerns. Vandy, which paused basketball activities three days after the season opener, is set to return to the court for just its second game Sunday against Mississippi Valley State.
On Wednesday, the ‘Dores are set to host Richmond, which handed Kentucky its first loss of the season.
Vanderbilt was picked to finish 14th and last in the SEC, and KenPom has the Commodores ranked as the worst team in the conference and 127th nationally. Vandy finished 3-15 in league play last season and lost all 18 of its SEC games the season before that.
This story was originally published December 12, 2020 at 2:37 PM.
