< PreviousMike Pratt previews the Kansas game 8 @KentuckyMBB 10 @KentuckyMBB 2020 UK Sports Partnership Football Program Ad (8.5x11) 265-20801.indd 12020 UK Sports Partnership Football Program Ad (8.5x11) 265-20801.indd 111/13/20 11:01 AM11/13/20 11:01 AMWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.110920 BBN Tonight RUPP Ad.indd 1110920 BBN Tonight RUPP Ad.indd 111/9/20 4:39 PM11/9/20 4:39 PMAround the SEC Around the Country 2020-21 SEC Standings Team SEC Overall Home Road Arkansas 0-0 2-0 2-0 0-0 Alabama 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Missouri 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Georgia 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Texas A&M 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Vanderbilt 0-0 1-0 1-0 0-0 Auburn 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 Kentucky 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 LSU 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-1 South Carolina 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 Mississippi State 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 Florida 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Ole Miss 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Tennessee 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 * Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Mason Jones, ARK .........................................................22.0 Breein Tyree, MISS .........................................................19.7 Anthony Edwards, UGA.................................................19.5 Kira Lewis Jr., ALA .........................................................18.5 Saben Lee, VANDY ........................................................18.2 * Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Reggie Perry, MSU .........................................................10.1 Austin Wiley, AUB ...........................................................9.3 Nick Richards, UK ...........................................................7.8 Kerry Blackshear Jr., UF ...................................................7.5 Rayshaun Hammonds, UGA ............................................7.3 * Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Ashton Hagans, UK .........................................................6.4 Andrew Nembhard, UF ...................................................5.6 Kira Lewis Jr., ALA ...........................................................5.2 J'Von McCormick, AUB ...................................................4.5 Sahvir Wheeler, UGA ......................................................4.4 * Steals Player-Team ................................................................... SPG Dru Smith, MIZZOU .......................................................2.1 Ashton Hagans, UK .........................................................1.9 Kira Lewis Jr., ALA ...........................................................1.8 Skylar Mays, LSU .............................................................1.8 Devontae Shuler, MISS ....................................................1.7 * Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Yves Pons, UT .................................................................2.4 Nick Richards, UK ...........................................................2.1 Josh Nebo, TAMU ............................................................1.9 Abdul Ado, MSU .............................................................1.9 Austin Wiley, AUB ...........................................................1.6 *2019-20 statistics. Player statistics currently unavailable for 2020-21 season 2020-21 Associated Press Rankings As of Nov. 20, 2020 (preseason) Team Points Record 1 Gonzaga (28) 1,541 0-0 2 Baylor (24) 1,540 0-0 3 Villanova (11) 1,501 0-0 4 Virginia (1) 1,364 0-0 5 Iowa 1,273 0-0 6 Kansas 1,221 0-0 7 Wisconsin 1,150 0-0 8 Illinois 1,105 0-0 9 Duke 1,073 0-0 10 Kentucky 1,038 0-0 11 Creighton 922 0-0 12 Tennessee 919 0-0 13 Michigan State 820 0-0 14 Texas Tech 790 0-0 15 West Virginia 651 0-0 16 North Carolina 465 0-0 17 Houston 438 0-0 18 Arizona State 402 0-0 19 Texas 380 0-0 20 Oregon 375 0-0 21 Florida State 351 0-0 22 UCLA 336 0-0 23 Ohio State 270 0-0 24 Rutgers 190 0-0 25 Michigan 160 0-0 14 @KentuckyMBBFrom Press Row 16 @KentuckyMBB New-Look Champions Classic will Offer Same Stiff Competition The more things change -- ahem, 2020 -- the more they stay the same. The Champions Classic wasn't immune to all the changes 2020 has had in store for everyone. Kentucky's game vs. Kansas was originally scheduled for the United Center in Chicago, was moved to ESPN's Wide World of Sports in Orlando over the sum- mer, and then, just weeks ago, changed to Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis without fans in attendance. The other two teams, Duke and Michigan State, will play earlier Tuesday night at Duke. Having said all that, the one consistent in the Champions Classic: The competition is always among the best of any event in col- lege basketball. That won't be any different this season against the Jayhawks. Despite losing four of their top five scorers from a season ago, one in which Kansas had its sights set on com- peting for a national title, the Jayhawks are still expected to be among the nation's best teams and in the thick of yet another Big 12 title race. Guard Ochai Agbaji is the leading re- turner from a season ago and has lived up to his increased responsibilities early in the season with a 17.5 scoring average, but it's sophomore guard Christian Braun who has stepped up the most so far. He's averaging a team-best 19.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 68.4% from the field with seven 3-pointers. Kansas is 1-1 on the season but took its lone loss to the top- ranked team in the country, Gonzaga. UK owns a 5-4 record in the Champions Classic after defeating Michigan State a sea- son ago. Duke leads the four-team field with a 6-3 mark, followed by Kentucky at 5-4, Kansas at 4-5 and Michigan State at 3-6. The Wildcats are 2-1 vs. the Jayhawks in the Champions Classic matchups, although Kansas won the last meeting in the event, 65-61, at the United Center in Chicago in November 2017. Kentucky won the last overall meeting in the series vs. Kansas, defeating the Jayhawks 71-63 in Rupp Arena in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in January 2019. That snapped a three-game skid. UK leads the overall series 23-9 and 8-2 at neutral sites. This will be the third time the Champions Classic has been held at Bankers Life Field- house in Indianapolis. The previous two games were polar opposites. The Wildcats pummeled Kansas in an unforgettable 72-40 win in November 2014 that propelled Ken- tucky to a 38-0 start to the 2014-15 season. However, the last time there, in November 2018, resulted in a shocking 118-84 UK loss at the hands of Duke, the worst loss in John Calipari's career. Chances are, with as talented as the two teams are, Tuesday's game won't repeat the script. Big-Game Cal, Cats John Calipari’s teams aren’t just good against the best teams in the country, they’re great. Not only does Kentucky own a 63-33 record (.655) vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams under John Calipari, UK is 7-4 when both teams are ranked in the AP top five. All-time, Calipari is 13-8 when both teams are ranked in the AP top five. When both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25, Calipari’s all-time record is 86-56, including a 55-29 mark at Kentucky. When both are ranked in the top 10 he has a 27-19 record, including 16-12 at UK. Kentucky answered the bell of big-time showdowns again in 2019-20. UK was 4-2 vs. AP Top 25 teams, including 2-1 vs. top- five teams at the time. By defeating top-ranked Michigan State to start the 2019-20 season, UK knocked off the No. 1 team in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. Kentucky downed Tennessee on Feb. 19, 2019. With the win over MSU to begin 2019-20, the Wildcats have nine victories over the No. 1 team in 25 tries in program history. Calipari improved to 6-4 vs. the No. 1 team in his career with the win vs. Michigan State, including 3-2 at Kentucky. According to ESPN, Calipari is the only coach with a winning (.600) percentage against No. 1 ranked teams with a minimum of 10 games faced against the No. 1. Bounce Back Kentucky doesn't lose often during the John Calipari era, but when the Wildcats do, they almost always bounce back. UK is 55-13 under Calipari following a loss (record does not count end-of-season losses). The Wildcats did it once last season, losing two straight in Las Vegas, but UK bounced back in a big way by closing the regular season with wins in 17 of its fi- nal 20 games, including the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship. Kentucky has only lost more than two games once under Calipari losing four straight during the 2017-18 season. Previ- ously, the last time UK lost four games in a row was in February 2009, when the Wild- cats dropped four straight games to end the regular season. It was the first time Calipari had lost four straight since the end of the 2004-05 season at Memphis. UK has never lost back-to-back home games under Calipari. Next >