Sports
How to watch Kentucky vs Kentucky State basketball game: Channel … – Courier Journal
LEXINGTON — It took one word for Kentucky associate coach Orlando Antigua to answer the question Tuesday morning.
Has the UK coaching staff discussed Louisville’s exhibition loss to Kentucky Wesleyan on Monday?
“No,” Antigua said.
While the struggling Cardinals continue looking for answers entering Year 2 of coach Kenny Payne‘s tenure, Antigua has long settled into his role with the Wildcats. Antigua is in the middle of his second stint in Lexington under coach John Calipari; Antigua was an assistant from 2009 to 2014 before leaving to take over South Florida’s program. He rejoined the Wildcats prior to the 2021-22 campaign after four seasons (2017-21) as an assistant at Illinois.
Even if Louisville’s loss to Kentucky Wesleyan — and others like it, such as former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino‘s St. John’s squad falling to Division II Pace University, 63-59, on Sunday — isn’t top of mind for Antigua and the Wildcats, the results are evidence no victory is guaranteed.
Every game, Antigua said, is “an opportunity for us to try and go get better.”
That next chance comes Thursday, when Kentucky caps the preseason with its exhibition finale versus Kentucky State, which tips off at 7 p.m. at Rupp Arena.
“We’ve got enough things to worry about here than to be worried about anybody else’s program,” Antigua said. “So we just want to try to continue to improve. … You have to show up, and you’ve got to play, and if a team is good and they get hot and make shots, anybody can lose.
“So we’re fully aware of that. We’ve just got to go out and try to be the best version of ourselves on that night.”
Freshman guard D.J. Wagner wasn’t at his best in last week’s exhibition win over Georgetown College. Wagner, a five-star signee in the Wildcats’ top-ranked 2023 recruiting class, had four points on 2-of-9 shooting (0 of 3 from beyond the 3-point arc). He also logged one assist despite starting and playing 27 minutes — the second-most court time of any Wildcat behind Tre Mitchell (33 minutes).
“There (are) so many facets to the game. It’s not just your offense,” Antigua said. “(Wagner is) such a complete player that one area of the game shouldn’t affect all the rest of your areas of your game. You’re running the team, you’re defending, you’re calling out and keeping us organized and those kinds of things.
“I think he did a lot of good things. But, obviously, a lot of things to build on.”
The same goes for the rest of the team, Antigua said, where he wants to see continued growth Thursday in multiple phases, including transition defense, rebounding (offensive and defensive) and defending without fouling.
With the regular season less than a week away, however, Antigua likes what he’s seen so far.
“We love how connected they are. Obviously you guys got a chance to see a little bit of that up in Canada in a short period of time,” he said. “But they come from great families.
“They really like each other — and that’s a key ingredient in being able to put teams together to have an opportunity to win: how much they care for one another and how much they like each other.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Kentucky’s exhibition finale vs. Kentucky State, including time, TV and streaming info, and more:
UK and Kentucky State are slated to tip off at 7 p.m. Thursday at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky vs. Kentucky State will not air on a traditional television channel.
Darren Headrick (play-by-play) and Cameron Mills (analyst) will call the game via a livestream carried on SEC Network+.
Authenticated subscribers can access SEC Network+ via TV-connected devices or by going to WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.
Tom Leach (play-by-play) and Jack Givens (analyst) will have the UK radio network call on 840 AM in Louisville and both 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington or online at UKAthletics.com.
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Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
