Good morning and welcome to one of the most exciting sports weeks of the year. Tonight marks the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship as Florida and Houston battle it out in San Antonio to close the college hoops season. Tip-off is at 8:50 p.m. ET on CBS, with the Gators entering as one-point favorites. It’s Florida’s first shot at a title since their back-to-back wins in 2006 and 2007, while Houston returns to the final stage for the first time since the 1980s. I’m backing Houston—any team that knocks out both Tennessee and Duke deserves the crown.
On the women’s side, UConn dominated South Carolina 82–59 to claim its first national championship since 2016 and the program’s 12th overall. Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd each dropped 24 points, while Paige Bueckers added 17. South Carolina, undefeated in finals until now, suffered a rare and painful loss. Head coach Dawn Staley even let slip an F-bomb on national TV during the blowout.
Turning to roster moves, Kentucky’s Kerr Kriisa is heading to Cincinnati for his sixth college season. He played just nine games this past season due to injury but remained a vocal presence on the bench. He thanked Big Blue Nation in his farewell before joining the Bearcats.
Kentucky also landed Pitt transfer Jaland Lowe, an All-ACC point guard, bringing Coach Mark Pope’s roster to 10 players so far. The team now features five expected returners, three freshmen, and two transfer pickups. Still missing? A solid shooter and more size. Potential additions include sharpshooter Wesley Yates III and high-scoring Jaron Pierre Jr. Mackenzie Mgbako, a former Indiana forward, visited recently. Spaniard Alvaro Folgueiras is also a name to watch once he returns from overseas. Meanwhile, San Francisco’s Tyrone Riley had a Zoom call with Kentucky but ultimately decided to stay put.
Today also marks an unusual racing Monday at Keeneland. Races originally scheduled for the weekend were postponed due to weather, including heavy flooding across Kentucky that caused evacuations in places like Frankfort and Carrollton. General admission to Keeneland is free today and tomorrow to make up for the delay.
And let’s not forget—Masters week is officially here. While Augusta National’s signature golf moments won’t start until Thursday, the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday offers a nice warm-up. Today, expect media coverage and plenty of hype as we count down to tee-off.
I’ll be hosting the KSR show all week with Billy Rutledge by my side. Tune in from 10 a.m. to noon as we break down all the headlines and talk Kentucky sports.
Go Cats.
