Texas Tech basketball: Kentucky game preview and broadcast info
Here are some remarks from Kentucky’s John Calipari and his team as well as all the broadcast info Texas Tech basketball fans need for today’s matchup with Kentucky.
Apparently the good people of Kentucky are a bit taken aback by the fact that at Saturday’s pregame tailgate party before the Texas Tech basketball team faces the Wildcats, students of age will be offered free beer. That’s been such a revelation that it made it all the way to head coach John Calipari when he was asked about it in his pregame press conference earlier this week.
"“They’re giving free beer to students,” Calipari asked. “At the game? On campus? Wow. I mean, it’s been hat day, cap day, shirt day, blackout, whiteout, red-out. Now it’s beer day. I have not heard of that before.”"
Buckle up boys and girls, it’s going to be a wild ride. After all, we haven’t seen a sporting event in Lubbock this highly-anticipated since the 2008 football game against No. 1 Texas.
However, it doesn’t seem to make sense to assume that Kentucky will be intimidated or shaken by anything the 15,098 fans inside the U.S.A. do on Saturday. (Though the row of students in Speedos under the UK basket could scar anyone for life.)
Everywhere the Wildcats go, they get the opponent’s best shot. Playing at places like Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, and Arkansas on a nearly annual basis and facing some of the most prestigious programs in the country on the regular, the Wildcats are battle-tested and road-hardened.
"“Once you’re kind of on the court, I wouldn’t say it does anything but bring your adrenaline up a little bit,” said freshman Johnny Juzang. “I don’t think it’s like a huge factor, but it’s definitely something—the energy. You feel the energy, but I wouldn’t say it throws you off or anything.”"
Also helping the Cats is the fact that they are unusually veteran-laden. Normally boasting a roster full of one-and-done players in prominent roles, UK features only one true freshman this year in the starting five while also starting three sophomores and a junior.
Where a frenetic home crowd could play a role is not so much in throwing the Wildcats off their game but in lifting the Red Raiders to a new level. Perhaps the crowd will give the home team the motivation to dive after loose balls a half-second sooner, fight just a little harder on the glass, or play a sep faster and that could make a significant difference.
Students have been camping out for this game since Wednesday and it’s going to be the event of the year. It’s nothing the Wildcats haven’t seen but it is the type of game that Tech basketball fans have been waiting a lifetime for. And it’s finally here.