Tag: Kentucky Wildcats

Will Levis sets a record for former Kentucky quarterbacks in the NFL

Quarterback Will Levis set a record for the longest pass by a former Kentucky player in the NFL.

Former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, now with the Tennessee Titans, completed the longest touchdown pass by a Wildcat football alumni in NFL history.

Down 16-3 in the third quarter of Sunday’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, Levis found wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine thirty yards downfield. The receiver beat his man, and streaked up the sideline for a touchdown.

The pass ended up going for 98 yards, which was the longest completed by a former Kentucky quarterback in NFL history.

Related: Where SEC football is at in latest US LBM Coaches Poll

Beyond Kentucky, it was important in a few other respects as well. For one, it tied for the longest pass in Titans history — matching Jacky Lee’s 98-yard touchdown throw to Willard Dewveall from Nov. 25, 1962. It is also the longest passing touchdown in the NFL so far this season.

Although the Titans still lost 23-13, the pass still showed some of the promise Levis displayed at Kentucky that got him drafted.

The Titans took Levis with the first pick of the second round (33rd overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft. Although he hasn’t yet looked like a premium NFL quarterback, Levis has had a few flashes in the pan — like with Sunday’s touchdown.

Levis transferred to Kentucky in 2021 after spending his first two years at Penn State. He appeared in 24 games between 2021-2022 for the Wildcats, throwing for 5,233 yards and 43 touchdowns.

Duke basketball drops from the top 10 of the AP Poll after Kentucky loss

Despite their big win over Wofford this weekend, the Duke Blue Devils couldn’t stay in the top 10 of the AP Poll on Monday.

The Associated Press revealed the updated men’s basketball AP Poll on Monday, and the Duke Blue Devils slipped down to 12th after their Tuesday loss to the Kentucky Wildcats.

Superstar freshman Cooper Flagg scored 26 points in the loss, but two costly turnovers on the final two possessions helped the Wildcats erase a nine-point halftime deficit. Kentucky, now led by first-year head coach Mark Pope, vaulted up 10 spots to No. 9 thanks to the win.

Duke’s tumble also meant that the North Carolina Tar Heels emerged as the highest-ranked ACC team. UNC lost one of its first three games as well, but the 92-89 road loss to top-ranked Kansas kept the Tar Heels at No. 10.

The Jayhawks, whom Duke plays on Tuesday in Las Vegas, remain firmly in front of the rankings. Kansas received 49 out of a possible 61 first-place votes, keeping them above the Connecticut Huskies, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Auburn Tigers, and Iowa State Cyclones in the top five.

Duke’s next opponent, the Arizona Wildcats, dropped eight spots to 17th after a loss to the Wisconsin Badgers.

Duke basketball narrowly hangs within the top 10 of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

The Duke Blue Devils (barely) stayed within the top 10 of the USA TODAY Sports Men’s College Basketball Coaches Poll.

Despite suffering their first loss of the season on Tuesday, the Duke Blue Devils grabbed the last spot within the top 10 of the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll on Monday.

Head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] and his team obliterated Wofford at Cameron Indoor Stadium over the weekend, but the performance won’t be enough to erase lingering doubts created by the midweek defeat. The Kentucky Wildcats outscored Duke 24-11 over the final 10 minutes to steal a 77-72 win, and superstar freshman [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] turned the ball over twice on the last two possessions after scoring 26 points.

If Scheyer and the Blue Devils want a chance to erase that memory from all the voters, however, they’ll have chances over the next week. Duke’s next two opponents both sit within the top 20 with Arizona at No. 17 and the Kansas Jayhawks still in the top spot.

Check out the complete results of this week’s coaches poll below:

Rank Team Record Points
1 Kansas 4-0 665 (21)
2 UConn 3-0 632 (3)
3 Auburn 3-0 608 (2)
4 Gonzaga 3-0 599 (1)
5 Iowa State 2-0 516
6 Purdue 4-0 513
7 Houston 2-1 470
7 Alabama 3-1 470
9 Tennessee 4-0 462
10 Duke 3-1 421
11 Kentucky 3-0 381
12 North Carolina 2-1 377
13 Creighton 4-0 348
14 Marquette 4-0 319
15 Baylor 3-1 313
16 Cincinnati 3-0 229
17 Arizona 2-1 228
18 Indiana 3-0 208
19 Florida 4-0 168
20 Illinois 3-0 133
21 St. John’s 4-0 119
22 Texas Tech 3-0 95
23 Texas A&M 3-1 94
24 Arkansas 2-1 82
25 Wisconsin 4-0 75

Dropped Out

No. 22 Ohio State; No. 24 Rutgers

Receiving Votes

Rutgers 56; Xavier 43; Ole Miss 39; BYU 28; Saint Mary’s 18; Pittsburgh 18; Texas 14; Michigan State 9; Mississippi State 5; Oregon 4; Nevada 4; Ohio State 3; Dayton 3; Wake Forest 2; VCU 2; UCF 2

Latest AP Poll reveals much about Kentucky’s bowl chances

Kentucky football remains unranked in the AP poll, and needs two more wins to be bowl eligible.

Kentucky Football is staring down a significant battle for a bowl game following — especially considering the most recent AP Poll.

Nobody should be shocked that Kentucky football wasn’t ranked in week 13’s poll. The Wildcats haven’t been ranked all season, and sit at 4-6 on the year after Saturday’s 48-6 win over Murray State.

The real question surrounds bowl eligibility. With two games left this year, Kentucky has to win out to make a bowl game. For the Wildcats, this might be an uphill battle as they’re set to face off against two tough opponents over these final two weeks.

This upcoming Saturday, November 23, marks a matchup for the Wildcats in Austin. Kentucky is set to travel to DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium for a matchup against the third-ranked Texas Longhorns.

Related: Seven SEC teams ranked in latest Coaches Poll

Texas is a national title contender, sitting at 9-1. Their only loss came earlier this year against the eighth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs.

They’ll follow up that tough matchup with a rivalry week game in Lexington. The Wildcats are set to host Louisville in Lexington on Saturday, November 30.

Although unranked following a 38-25 heartbreaker to Stanford over the weekend, Louisville is still an upper-class college football team. They were ranked l9th last week prior to the loss, and still received fifteen top-25 votes in week 13’s poll.

With Kentucky needing to win out against the two, the Wildcats might need a miracle to make a bowl game this year.

Duke basketball drops two spots to fifth in KenPom rankings after Kentucky loss

After Tuesday night’s loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, the Duke Blue Devils dropped down two spots in the KenPom rankings.

The Duke Blue Devils suffered their first loss of the season on Tuesday night, dropping a 77-72 game to the Kentucky Wildcats after getting outscored 24-11 over the final 10 minutes.

As a result, head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] and his team slipped down two spots to fifth in the KenPom adjusted efficiency rankings on Wednesday mornings.

The Blue Devils began the year second in the rankings (which contrast adjusted points scored versus adjusted points allowed per 100 possessions) thanks to freshman stars like [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag]. The 17-year-old phenom turned the ball over twice in the final 15 seconds against the Wildcats, but he scored 12 of Duke’s last 14 points to keep them afloat to begin with.

“I trust his instincts,” Scheyer said after the game. “I probably could have put him in a better position, to be honest, but he’s got to touch it and trust that good things are going to happen.”

The Auburn Tigers jumped Duke over the weekend thanks to their win over Houston, and the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Connecticut Huskies shuffled above the Blue Devils on Wednesday. Arizona, Duke’s next ranked opponent, sits one spot below them in sixth.

Kentucky lept up 10 spots to 20th after the stunning upset.

Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer still wants the ball in Cooper Flagg’s hands at the end

Despite his two late turnovers on Tuesday night against Kentucky, Duke basketball star Cooper Flagg still has Jon Scheyer’s full confidence.

[autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] scored 26 points against the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday night, 12 more than any other member of the Duke Blue Devils, but the lasting memory from his performance came in the final 15 seconds.

Flagg turned the ball over twice on Duke’s last two possessions, letting the ball get swatted away from behind on one before losing control of his dribble and going out of bounds on the next. The ensuing Kentucky possessions created the five-point margin of defeat.

Despite the miscues, head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] didn’t sound particularly interested in reexamining his end-of-game strategy afterward.

“I trust his instincts,” Scheyer said of his star freshman. “I probably could have put him in a better position, to be honest, but he’s got to touch it and trust that good things are going to happen.”

The third-year coach also fairly pointed out that Flagg’s prior success was the only reason the Blue Devils had a chance to begin with. The forward scored 12 of Duke’s last 14 points, routinely making go-ahead or game-tying plays in the previous minutes.

“I wish you could say that every time, it’s going to work out,” Scheyer continued. “That’s not reality.”

Flagg, for his part, sounded like he appreciated the vote of confidence from his coach, regardless of the result.

“I’m glad he had that trust in me to put the ball in my hands,” Flagg said. “And I’m looking for it in that moment. It didn’t work out, but I’m still going to look for it no matter what.”

Flagg and the Blue Devils return home for a Saturday game against Wofford.

Jon Scheyer calls the Duke basketball cramp problem ‘concerning’ after Kentucky loss

For the third time in three games on Tuesday night, a Duke basketball freshman left the game with cramps in the second half.

The Duke men’s basketball team lost to the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday night, a second-half collapse that saw the Blue Devils get outscored 24-11 over the final 10 minutes.

Freshman center [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag]’s absence played a big role in the late-game swing. The 7-foot-2 star finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, but he spent a large chunk of the second half on the bench as he dealt with cramps.

With Maluach needing to leave the game, cramps become an alarming trend for the first-year Blue Devils. Star forward [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] exited the first two games against Maine and Army with the same problem, and head coach Jon Scheyer sounded well aware of the connection after the game.

“Yeah, I mean, look, it’s concerning,” Scheyer said. “I think part of it is we have young bodies…Again, we’re not trying to just dip our toes in the water, we need Cooper to play a lot. And Khaman.”

“That’s something we’ve got to take a hard look at,” he concluded.

The Blue Devils host Wofford at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday, but the following two games come against Arizona on the road and Kansas at a neutral site. So the faster any potential problems get solved, the better.

The best photos from Tuesday’s Duke basketball game against the Kentucky Wildcats

Check out the best photos from the Duke basketball game against Kentucky on Tuesday night.

The Duke Blue Devils lost for the first time in the 2024-25 season on Tuesday night, giving up a nine-point halftime lead to the Kentucky Wildcats in Atlanta.

Superstar forward [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] turned the ball over twice in the last 13 seconds, two critical mistakes in the 77-72 loss, but the 17-year-old still scored 12 of the Blue Devils’ last 14 points to finish with a game-high 26.

The real mistakes came from behind the 3-point line as the Blue Devils made just four of their 22 attempts from distance. Outside of Flagg, Duke went 0/8 from the floor and 2/4 from the free-throw line in the final 10 minutes, letting the Wildcats outscore them 24-11 in that span.

Check out the best photos from the third Duke basketball game of the season.

Outside of Cooper Flagg, Duke scored two points in the last 10 minutes against Kentucky

The Duke Blue Devils scored 14 points over the final 10:50 against Kentucky on Tuesday, and 12 of them came from one player.

Duke basketball fans likely left State Farm Arena or turned off their televisions in shock on Tuesday night when the Blue Devils lost to the Kentucky Wildcats.

Duke led their fellow blue blood by nine points at halftime, but after scoring 61 points in the first 30 minutes, the Blue Devils only managed 11 points over the closing stretch.

Superstar freshman [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] drew lots of the visible blame for his two turnovers in the final 15 seconds, turning a tie game into a 77-72 loss, but the 6-foot-9 forward actually kept the game within striking distance by himself during the last 11 minutes.

With 10:51 left in the second half, Purdue transfer Mason Gillis picked up a loose ball and made a short floater to give the 58-53 advantage. It was the last shot made from the floor by someone other than Flagg.

Even ignoring Kon Knueppel’s last-second heave at the buzzer, the Blue Devils missed their final seven shots and two of their last four free throws. Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor, after teaming up for 22 points in the first half, combined for just four in the second.

Flagg, who ended the night with 26 points, put 12 of the team’s last 14 points on the board.

How many points did Cooper Flagg score against the Kentucky Wildcats?

Here’s how Duke freshman phenom Cooper Flagg performed against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Basketball fans won’t remember the late baskets [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] made against the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday night.

The 17-year-old superstar kept the Blue Devils afloat for the second half, tacking on 12 of their final 14 points to lead Duke in scoring for the first time this season. After all of that production and some heroic blocks and buckets to halt the Kentucky charge, however, he turned the ball over twice in the final 15 seconds to help the Wildcats pull off a stunning upset.

With three more ranked matchups on the schedule in the next three weeks, Flagg and his teammates will have chances to erase that memory in the near future, but the Blue Devils let one get away in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Here’s a quick recap of Flagg’s productive night, late turnovers aside.

Cooper Flagg points scored vs. Kentucky:

Despite the late mistakes, Flagg finished with a game-high 26 points. He was the only Blue Devil to make a shot from the floor in the final 10:50, and he paced the team with 12 rebounds. He rounded out his night with two assists and two blocks.

Did Duke win?

The Blue Devils lost, 77-72, despite leading by nine points at halftime. Kentucky held the Duke offense to 26 points over the final 20 minutes.

Cooper Flagg’s next game:

The Duke Blue Devils will return to the court at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday against Wofford, their final tune-up before a road game against Arizona and a neutral-site game against Kansas.