Saturday links:
Western Kentucky defeats West Virginia 63-57 in the Myrtle Beach Invitational, reports Brad Stephens of the Bowling Green Daily News. “We knew they were going to come out and play hard defense,” sophomore guard Josh Anderson said. “In our head going into the game, we just knew that if our offense wasn’t going, we were going to have to come back and play defense too. I felt like we did a good job on that.”
Louisville beat visiting Vermont 86-78 on Friday, reports Danielle Lerner of the Courier-Journal. “With the victory, first-year coach Chris Mack became the fourth Louisville coach to win his first three games for the Cardinals, joining C.V. Money, Peck Hickman and David Padgett.”
Kentucky football’s seniors want to go out with a bang, reports Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader. “Those players include linebackers Josh Allen and Jordan Jones; offensive linemen George Asafo-Adjei and Bunchy Stallings; defensive linemen Tymere Dubose and Adrian Middleton; defensive backs Derrick Baity, Mike Edwards, Lonnie Johnson, Darius West and Chris Westry; wide receivers Dorian Baker and David Bouvier, tight end C.J. Conrad, and specialists Miles Butler and Tristan Yeomans.”
Five storylines for Middle Tennessee against Kentucky, from Luis Torres of the Murfreesboro Daily Journal. “Can Brent Stockstill keep hot streak going? MTSU quarterback Brent Stockstill is on a roll. Over the past three games, Stockstill is averaging 287 yards passing and is completing more than 70 percent of his throws along with eight touchdowns and one interception. Stockstill and the offense struggled earlier this season throwing deep against Vanderbilt and Georgia.”
Les Miles appears to be headed to Kansas, reports Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star. “Kansas is finalizing a contract to make Les Miles its next football coach, according to a report from Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger. Miles, who turned 65 on Saturday, is best known for his 12-year tenure at LSU from 2005-16, where he went 114-34 overall and won a national championship in 2007.”
Can the Bengals coaching staff control the chaos in Baltimore? asks Paul Dehner, Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “How is all this going to work? For coaches who bathe in preparation, priding themselves on long hours spent scripting, watching tape, practicing and devising a protocol for every contingency, the question should be simple to the point of instinctual. Sunday, in one of the most important games of the Bengals’ season, there is no way to prepare for what will happen on the sidelines.”
North Carolina’s freshmen are making a splash of their own, writes Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News and Observer. “Nassir Little, being both human and aware of his surroundings, is capable of observing and acknowledging the inferno of hype surrounding the four freshmen up the road at Duke. He’s also confident enough in the trio of freshmen at North Carolina, of which he was the most heralded component, to believe it has been grievously and unjustly overlooked in comparison.”
More links:
▪ Why EJ Montgomery needs to play more for Kentucky basketball
▪ After five-year wait, Kentucky basketball has an in-state signee
▪ Podcasts: Talking to Kentucky and Middle Tennessee beat writers
Related stories from Lexington Herald Leader
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