Links: Former Kentucky football assistant coach is playing for a conference title
Notes and links for Friday:
▪ Remember former UK offensive coordinator Randy Sanders? Now the head coach at East Tennessee State, Sanders has his Buccaneers in line to win the Southern Conference if ETSU can beat Mercer on Saturday. ETSU is 9-1. Mercer is 7-2. Both teams are 6-1 in conference play. Note: Former UK defensive coordinator Steve Brown is an assistant coach on Sanders’ staff.
▪ Kentucky’s Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald is an unlikely college football success story, writes Josh Moore of the Herald-Leader.
▪ Kentucky’s Darian Kinnard is a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy.
▪ Kentucky band members discuss the challenges of playing “Call to the Post.”
▪ These UK football seniors could return for another year.
▪ Five things to know about the Ohio Bobcats, Kentucky’s men’s basketball opponent on Friday night at Rupp Arena. It’s a 7 o’clock tip on the SEC Network.
▪ Kentucky men’s basketball mini-packs on sale now. (Another sign that ticket sales are not what they used to be?)
▪ If you missed it, my column on lovable Kentucky center Oscar Tshiebwe.
▪ Malik Cunningham has a career night as Louisville football blasts Duke 62-22.
▪ Paul Petrino, brother of Bobby Petrino, is out after nine years as head coach at Idaho.
▪ Western Kentucky visits No. 11-ranked Memphis on Friday night in a college basketball battle. The Hilltoppers defeated Penny Hardaway’s team 75-69 last year in the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic, but both teams have different rosters this season.
▪ Mark Story writes on Western Kentucky’s conference affiliation dilemma.
College football notes and links
▪ John Talty writes about how a search firm prepares for the college coaching carousel. There are already job openings at USC, LSU, Virginia Tech, Washington and Washington State, to name a few. And the season isn’t over yet.
▪ Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that there are nine teams with a legitimate shot of making the College Football Playoff.
▪ If Miami fires Manny Diaz as head coach, will the Hurricanes go after Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin? Infamous Miami booster Nevin Shapiro thinks so..
▪ Mothers are offering protection for Florida quarterbacks Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson.
▪ Bowl eligibility is up for grabs when Tennessee plays host to South Alabama on Saturday. Both teams are 5-5. Tennessee finishes its regular season with Vanderbilt next Saturday.
▪ The son of a South Carolina football legend is breaking out for the Gamecocks.
▪ South Carolina football still trying to fix communications on offense.
▪ Texas A&M regents to consider adding $205 million to athletics renovation budget.
College basketball notes and links
▪ Xavier upset No. 19 Ohio State 71-65 in Cincinnati. Kentucky plays Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas on Dec. 18.
▪ Colin Castleton scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Florida mauled Milwaukee.
▪ South Carolina held off UAB 66-63. The Gamecocks held UAB to 34.4 percent shooting from the floor.
▪ Shaka Smart and Marquette improved to 4-0 with a 78-72 win over Ole Miss in Oxford. Justin Lewis led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds.
▪ LSU rolled over McNeese State 85-46. Will Wade’s Tigers led 43-16 at the half.
▪ Tennessee is confident that freshman Kennedy Chandler is ready for this weekend’s spotlight. The Volunteers play No. 5 Villanova in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament in Uncasville, Conn., on Saturday.
▪ Zach Clemence is turning into a freshman to watch for Kansas basketball.
▪ Missouri basketball defeated Northern Illinois 54-37.
▪ Former Missouri basketball standout Kim English has George Mason at 4-0 after an upset of No. 20 Maryland on Wednesday night.
▪ Texas Tech’s Terrence Shannon has been cleared to play after review. “All questions related to his NBA Draft process have been resolved,” a Texas Tech news release stated.
SEC men’s basketball on Friday
- 7 p.m. - Ohio at Kentucky (SEC)
- 7 p.m. - Auburn at South Florida (ESPN Plus)
- 8 p.m. - Oakland at Alabama (ESPN Plus)
- 9 p.m. - Georgia Tech at Georgia (SEC)
- 9 p.m. - Ole Miss at Elon (ESPN3)
SEC football on Saturday
- 12 p.m. - Charleston Southern at Georgia (ESPN Plus)
- 12 p.m. - Prairie View A&M at Texas A&M (ESPN Plus)
- 12 p.m. - Tennessee State at Mississippi State (ESPN Plus)
- 12 p.m. - New Mexico State at Kentucky (SEC)
- 3:30 p.m. - Arkansas at Alabama (CBS)
- 4 p.m. - Florida at Missouri (SEC)
- 7 p.m. - Auburn at South Carolina (ESPN)
- 7 p.m. - Vanderbilt at Ole Miss (SEC)
- 7:30 p.m. - South Alabama at Tennessee (ESPNU)
- 9 p.m. - UL Monroe at LSU (ESPN2)
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 8:50 AM.
