LEXINGTON — Immediately after Kentucky basketball‘s noteworthy victory over Duke in the Champions Classic last week in Atlanta, coach Mark Pope disputed the Wildcats won “without” Jaxson Robinson. A fifth-year senior guard, Robinson scored only one point — which came at the free-throw line — after missing all four of his shots from the field (0 for 3 on 3s).
“Talk about a ‘gravity guy,'” Pope said. “You just throw Jax on the court, and four guys are leaning towards him. His numbers may not be huge, but he has an impact when he walks in the gym.”
Pope doubled down on that assertion two days later.
“On the offensive side, there’s more ways he can grow, for sure. And he’s really hungry to do that,” Pope said Thursday. “He’s an extraordinary offensive player, and when you are, you garner a lot of attention. He certainly is the headliner on every single scout, and sometimes just the sheer gravity that you afford your teammates on the floor is the biggest contribution — and it certainly was in the (Duke) game.”
To say nothing of Robinson’s influence defensively.
“We do ‘points given up,'” Pope said. “Jaxson was responsible for giving up two points in the entire game. You think about the matchups that he had, he was actually elite. He had some massive toughness plays down the stretch.”
Now, Robinson will look for a bounce-back effort offensively tonight, as No. 11 UK hosts Lipscomb at Rupp Arena.
Here’s what you need to know to follow along from home:
UK and Lipscomb are slated to tip off at 7 p.m. tonight at Rupp Arena.
Betting odds: Odds for the game were not yet available at the time of publication. They will be added to this story.
The contest between the Wildcats and Bisons will not air on a traditional TV channel.
Instead, it will stream live on SEC Network+. Andrew Kappes (play by play) and Travis Ford (analyst) will have the call.
Authenticated subscribers to SEC Network+ can watch the contest on WatchESPN.com, the WatchESPN app or ESPN+.
Those without access to SEC Network+ can access coverage via a subscription to ESPN+. (To sign up for ESPN+, click here.)
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.
You can also listen online via 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.
