The Kentucky Wildcats started off well with seven straight wins to open the Mark Pope era, followed by a dud at Clemson. They shot poorly and had physical problems, which led to their first loss of the season. Unfortunately for the Lexington team, the competition is getting tougher and the distance from home is getting even greater. Next up? The No. 7 Gonzaga Bulldogs in Battle in Seattle – a top-10 matchup that begins at 10 p.m. ET at Climate Pledge Arena.

Can Kentucky get back on the winning streak against the second-largest offense in the country? KSR has everything you need to know about the match as we wait for the late tip.

Kentucky vs. Gonzaga: How to watch and listen

• Time: 10 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN2 (Jon Sciambi, Jimmy Dykes)
• Home radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
• Online radio: iHeart
• Satellite radio: Sirius 106 or 190
• Live statistics: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, starting an hour before kick-off, or join the conversation on KSBoard.

Review of the previous season

Kentucky: KenPom 11

• 11/4: 103-62 W vs. Wright State
• 11/9: 100-72 W vs. Bucknell
• 11/12: 77-72 W vs. No. 6 Duke
• 11/19: 97-68 W vs. Lipscomb
• 11/22: 108-59 W vs. Jackson State
• 11/26: 87-68 W vs. Western Kentucky
• 11/29: 105-76 W vs. Georgia State
• 12/3: 70-66 L at Clemson

Gonzaga: KenPom 4

• 11/4: 101-63 W vs. Baylor
• 11/10: 88-80 W vs. Arizona State
• 11/15: 113-54 W vs. UMass Lowell
• 11/18: 80-67 W at San Diego State
• 11/20: 84-41 W vs. Long Beach State
• 11/27: 86-78 L (OT) vs. West Virginia
• 11/28: 89-73 W vs. Indiana
• 11/29: 90-65 W vs. Davidson

Series story

Thanks to Mark Pope’s time as WCC coach at BYU, this is a bit complicated and has some moving parts. As for head-to-head matchups between Kentucky and Gonzaga, there are only three – an 80-72 win for the Wildcats in 2002 at the Maui Invitational, followed by losses of 88-72 and 89-85 in this new home. and home series from 2022-24.

As for Pope specifically, he hasn’t had much luck against the Bulldogs over the years, posting a 1-9 record in nine matchups at BYU and a 10th at Utah Valley. His only win came in 2019-20, his first season with the Cougars, when he won 91-78 against the No. 2 team in the country.

Kentucky vs. Gonzaga odds via Circa Sports

Spread: Gonzaga -6.5
In total: 167

The Wildcats blew the lead in their first five games of the season before narrowly missing that mark in back-to-back matchups against WKU and Georgia State and then losing as slight favorites at Clemson. KenPom predicts an 86-80 loss for Kentucky, giving Pope’s team a 29 percent chance of claiming the victory.

Kentucky projected starters

(Starting lineup based on last game)

#1 – Lamont Butler
6-2 – 208 – GUARD – GRADUATE
12.9 PPG, 3.9 APG, 3.1 RPG

#00 – Otega Oweh
6-4 – 215 – GUARD – JUNIOR
16.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.5 SFL

#2 – Jaxson Robinson
6-6 – 192 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
12.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.4 APG

#7 – Andrew Carr
6-11 – 235 – FORWARD – FINAL STUDENT
10.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.5 APG

#22 – Amari Williams
7-0 – 262 – CENTER – GRADUATE
9.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.9 BPG

Gonzaga projected starters

#0 – Ryan Nembhard
6-0 – 180 – GUARD – SENIOR
10.6 PPG, 10.8 APG, 2.6 RPG

#99 – Khalif battle
6-5 – 185 – GUARD – GRADUATE
13.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.6 APG

#11 – Nolan Hickman
6-2 – 190 – GUARD – SENIOR
11.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.5 APG

#1 – Michael Ajayi
6-7 – 228 – GUARD – SENIOR
7.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.0 APG

#13 – Graham Ike
6-9 – 250 – FORWARD – REDSHIRT SENIOR
13.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 0.9 APG

Statistical comparison

(via Kentucky’s Game Notes)

Fun stats from the UK game notes:

• Kentucky has a 103-72 all-time record in matchups with two AP top-10 teams. This will be the second top-10 battle between Kentucky and Gonzaga in the last three years.
• The Wildcats average 92.9 points per game, good for second nationally with four 100-point performances. Her 19.9 assists per game is No. 1 in the SEC and No. 8 nationally
• UK makes 10.6 3-pointers per game, good for first in the SEC and 22nd in Division I
• Two players are close to joining the 1,000-point club: Kerr Kriisa and Koby Brea are three and nine points away, respectively.

Pre-game storylines

BATTLES OF THE POPE AGAINST GONZAGA

The Kentucky coach said he had another “PTSD” coaching exercise against Few and Gonzaga after going just 1-9 in his career against the Bulldogs. His only victory came in a court-storming game in Provo, where the Cougars pulled off an upset of the second-place Zags, 91-78. “We have had some epic battles and he has emerged victorious in too many of them. Hopefully we can balance that out a little bit,” Pope said. It must take place in a hostile neutral environment in Seattle, just a few hours from Spokane compared to the 2,400 mile journey from Lexington.

The shooting needs to get back on track

The Wildcats have a combined 26.8 percent shooting percentage from three and have not shot more than 27.6 percent in their last three meetings, never scoring more than eight points in a single game. Facing a team that averages 90.4 points per contest on 49/35/82 splits, Kentucky will have no choice but to get back on track from deep against one of the most dangerous offenses in college -Basketball with an average of five different players wants to compete in double figures for the Bulldogs.

WILL LAMONT BUTLER PLAY?

A key to competing in Seattle? The availability of Kentucky’s starting point guard. Butler hurt his ankle in the loss to Clemson and Pope said the injury was “a little bit of an issue.” Will he be able to give it a go against the Bulldogs? He said the team is “very hopeful that we’ll have him back” but couldn’t confirm that one way or the other. Butler is currently averaging 12.9 points, 3.9 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 22.5 minutes per game, making him the team’s all-rounder in the backcourt.

A BATTLE OF THE DEEP

Kentucky is one of the deepest teams in college basketball, but so is Gonzaga – they’re actually pretty close across the board. Eight different Bulldogs play at least 17 minutes per game, with two players averaging at least 30 minutes. Of these eight, five achieve between 10.6 and 13.8 points, and another three achieve at least 6.3 points per competition. As for the Wildcats, they have nine players playing at least 16 minutes per game and five scoring between 10.0 and 16.0 points per game.

Join the discussion on KSBoard

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Quick response on the KSR YouTube channel

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