Kentucky Wildcats -- SEC Country

Kentucky Basketball season has inched ever closer and in what is becoming an annual tradition John Calipari hosted over 90 NBA scouts for a UK Basketball pro day. SEC Country columnist Kyle Tucker joins Curtis Burch to discuss the results of that pro day. What stood out to him were some of the measurements and how the players did in drills. Nick Richards and PJ  Washington measured really well.

Well, Kentucky did it again. For the third consecutive home game, the Wildcats' fate wasn't known until the final seconds. And in two of those three games Kentucky came out on top as it did Saturday in a 40-34 victory against Missouri.  Curtis and Joe break down the game in Monday's episode of Wildcat Country. What was going on with Kentucky's secondary? Why did coach Mark Stoops not go for the knockout punch on 4th and 2 at the end of the game? What the heck happened on the second to the last play of the game when it looked like Kentucky linebacker Josh Allen knocked the ball out of a Missouri receiver's hands to help bleed the clock? Those are all topics discussed on today's podcast.

We start off this podcast with more of an update on the recruitments of Bol Bol and Shareef O'Neal (yes that is Shaq's son). Kyle Tucker talked to Bol's mother Ajok and she wanted answers on why her son was cut from the USA U-19. Bol, a 7-foot-3 prospect in the 2018 class from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., might bring O'Neal along for his official visit next weekend to Big Blue Madness. O'Neal is a four star 6-foot-9 forward in the class from the Crossroads School in Los Angles, Calif.

We have football updates and big basketball recruiting news in this episode of Wildcat Country. First, Joe and Curtis get you caught up with the news of the week with the football team, and then Kyle joins the podcast with an update on Bol Bol's recruitment.  Bol, a 7-foot-3 prospect in the 2018 class, and his mom apparently want answers from John Calipari. As you'll remember, Calipari coached the Team USA U-19 squad this summer in Egypt in the FIBA World Cup. But Bol, one of the top prospects in the nation, didn't make the overseas trip. He was cut in training camp in Colorado Springs.

Buckle up, college basketball. This thing ain’t over, and if Dan Wetzel is right, the worst is yet to come. Wetzel, Yahoo Sports columnist and co-author of the 2000 book “Sole Influence: Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America’s Youth,” joined SEC Country’s Kentucky podcast Tuesday to sift through the scandal rocking college hoops. He made a prediction that should be terrifying to fans of the sport’s biggest programs.

In this episode, Curtis and Joe recap the highlights of Kentucky coach Mark Stoops' weekly Monday press conference. The Wildcats are coming off a 24-20 win against Eastern Michigan, and now the attention turns to Missouri. Kentucky and Missouri kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Kroger Field.  Missouri has been blown out in three consecutive contests, but the defensive-minded Stoops is still concerned with the Tigers' offensive firepower.

In this episode of Wildcat Country, we break down Kentucky's 24-20 win against Eastern Michigan on Saturday night. It wasn't pretty, but the Wildcats admitted that they play down to the level of their competition. It's a dangerous strategy that could haunt coach Mark Stoops' squad moving forward.  We go over the report card from Saturday night in which the defense received positive grades. And the offense? Not so much.  But the bottom line is that Kentucky is off to a 4-1 start and the schedule sets up really well for the Cats moving forward. Missouri looks like a sure-win on Saturday. After that Kentucky faces Mississippi State, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt in order. Could the Wildcats be favored in all but one of those games?

In this episode of Wildcat Country, we discuss John Wall's and Karl-Anthony Towns' thoughts on the FBI investigation, Kentucky's game against Eastern Michigan and then at the end we add some culinary talk. Basketball talk has dominated the week, but Kentucky and Eastern Michigan kick off at 4 p.m. ET Saturday at Kroger Field. Kentucky will look to bounce back after a 28-27 loss to Florida last Saturday.

Episode 17: Former Kentucky players share their thoughts on disgraced Louisville coach Rick Pitino by Kentucky Wildcats -- SEC Country

In this episode of Wildcat Country, Curtis Burch and SEC Country columnist Kyle Tucker discuss the big story of the day, which was the arrest of four Division 1 assistants and the implication of Louisville in the report from the FBI. The story has rocked college basketball and could be one of the biggest scandals in college athletics in years, so the guys at Wildcat Country break down every angle.

In Tuesday's episode of Wildcat Country, Curtis and Joe recap what Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said at his weekly Monday press conference. Talk of the two blown coverages against Florida is still swirling, and Stoops shouldered all of the blame Monday.  "That’s on me," Stoops said. "I can’t believe it happened, but it did and I take responsibility for that."

On this edition of Wildcat Country, SEC Country columnist Kyle Tucker and SEC Country Kentucky Football beat writer Joe Mussato with host Curtis Burch and discuss Kentucky's heartbreaking loss to Florida to extend the streak to 31 games. All three were on the field and the end of the game, in addition to breaking down the game they talk about the mindset of the fan base.

Joined this week by Sporting News columnist Mike DeCourcy, who like SEC Country was in Colorado Springs for John Calipari's Team USA tryouts and tells us what Kentucky basketball got out of the experience.

Joined by ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg to breakdown the 2017-18 Wildcats and the state of SEC hoops.

Episode 011: National recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer breaks down Kentucky's 2017 class by Kentucky Wildcats -- SEC Country