Kentucky Wildcats Basketball will lead the SEC Network into live coverage today

In case you somehow missed it, the SEC Network debuted last night and from the short amount of time I watched, virtually every SEC team got their moment in the sun.  Today, the SEC Network veers into live game broadcast and the Kentucky Wildcats Basketball team will be the first SEC team televised live with their Exhibition game in the Bahamas.  The next three Kentucky games will be televised at 1:00 PM the next three days, but there is going to be plenty of Kentucky content broadcast over the next few days.

Next Thursday morning will be a dream for insomniacs as the SEC Network will broadcast the “Best of Kentucky” football and air some historic games. Here is part of the UK based programming schedule from the SEC Network.

"Friday, Aug. 15: 1 p.m. ET – UK Men’s Basketball vs. Dominican RepublicSaturday, Aug. 16: 1 p.m. ET – UK Men’s Basketball vs. Champagne Chalones-Reims BasketSunday, Aug. 17: 1 p.m. ET – UK Men’s Basketball vs. Dominican RepublicWednesday, Aug. 20: 8 p.m. ET – Kentucky Football PreviewThursday, Aug. 21: Midnight ET – BEST OF KENTUCKY (SEC Storied: Going Big; 2007 UK vs. LSU; 2007 UK vs. Louisville; 2009 UK vs. Georgia; 2010 UK v.s South Carolina)"

courtesy UKAA

Granted, the SEC Network will be convenient for UK Basketball and Football, but you can not overestimate what this will do for sports like UK Volleyball as most of their games will now be on a national stage.

Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

With the Bahamas Tour at its halfway mark, John Clay looked at the stats and has some observations from the numbers thus far.

"A standout stat is that with the two-platoon system used by John Calipari, no player has played more than 22 minutes. In fact, all of Calipari’s 10 regulars have played 18 to 22 minutes in each game so far. Almost all, anway. Derek Willis played 16 minutes in the irst game against Puerto Rico. Alex Poythress has been a model of consistency to this point. The junior has scored in double-figures in all three games. He turned in a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes on Tuesday. He just missed a double-double on Monday, scoring 16 points and grabbing eight boards. While Poythress has scored 41 points on the tour, freshman Karl Towns is right behind that with 39. Towns has made 15 o 26 shots and produced a double-double Monday with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes. Towns also has five assists in the three games. Aaron Harrison has picked up where he left off from last year’s NCAA Tournament in terms of shooting, especially from behind the arc. Harrison has taken nine three-pointers andburied four. He has made 12 of 18 shots overall."

Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

It looks as if DeMarcus Cousins has avoided a serious injury as his MRI has revealed no structural damage.  Cousin’s future with Team USA is up in the air however as he will sit out Saturday’s exhibition game but he does appear to be able to play in the future.  The injury occurred as he got tangled up with former Cat Anthony Davis and despite the memories of the gruesome Paul George injury, Boogie still appears to want to play and represent Team USA.  

"“Definitely scary, not just the fact that he went down, but the fact that I actually was the one who dove on him,” Davis told The Associated Press. “I kind of feel bad and I hope he’s fine, because he really wants to be here. He really wants to play.” Despite Cousins’ minor injury and George’s more gruesome injury, D’Alessandro said the Kings have no qualms about Cousins’ and forward Rudy Gay’s participation for Team USA. “We’re still very excited about this opportunity,” D’Alessandro said. “We want our guys playing and practicing during the offseason, and what better environment to do that. (They are) playing at the highest level with the top people. “They are playing with purpose, playing for your country. … They’re competing every practice, every game, against better-conditioned athletes, and they’re picking up something beyond basketball from Coach K (Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski) and Jerry Colangelo (managing director of USA Basketball).”"