Kentucky-Oklahoma Leftovers: Tom Hart's KSR References, new hairstyles, and more

Kentucky’s win over Oklahoma was a fun one, from the play on the court to the TV broadcast. We’ve had plenty of coverage of the 94-78 victory, the Cats’ seventh in the last eight games. We can’t continue to break down the night without talking about Tom Hart.

KSR’s favorite announcer was on the call for ESPN2 alongside Dane Bradshaw. We haven’t had the two on a Kentucky game since the loss to Missouri on Jan. 7, so Hart had plenty of KSR references in the arsenal; I counted at least eight.

“Hello, basketball lovers!” – I was told to be ready right at the start of the broadcast, which Tom Hart was kind enough to give BBN a heads up would begin on ESPNU while Notre Dame and Louisville wrapped up. That said, I still missed the first KSR Easter Egg, a reference to Ryan Lemond’s Wild Eggs Valentine’s Day ad. I checked the tape, and I’m convinced that ESPN did Tom dirty by clipping his line off the top when they cut to the exterior shot of Rupp. “Hello, basketball lovers” would have fit perfectly ahead of “Welcome to the SEC on ESPN. This is Rupp Arena.”

Digital Business Cards – While describing Kentucky’s roller-coaster season, Hart dropped his first reference to Billy Rutledge, who is ready to network with his digital business card on Radio Row at the Super Bowl: “Speaking of identity, if they had a digital business card, it would probably glitch every time you tried to scan it.”

Reversible Quarter Zips – Another reference to Billy R. Sports, who brought several reversible quarter zips to San Francisco that he can turn inside out to shake up his look. “It’s like you reversing your quarter zips to get a couple more wears out of it. Keep it fresh!”

Speedo uniforms? – While talking about Kentucky’s denim uniforms and Mark Pope’s rumored denim suit, Hart quipped that he was happy Kentucky didn’t have “Speedo uniforms” to throw back to. I can’t confirm this was a reference to Ryan Lemond, who jokes about wearing Speedos all the time, but it makes sense.

“I’ll believe it on TV before I believe it on Facebook, right?” – Matt Jones discussed the influx of AI-generated fake news on Facebook on the show recently. Hart passed along the PSA to ESPN2 viewers.

Lexington road conditions – The city of Lexington has taken some heat for its job clearing the snow and ice from the roads during the winter storm, including from our own Drew Franklin and Ryan Lemond. Hart joined the chorus, saying after a rebound by Kiril Elantontsev, “Maybe he could have brought some of his road-clearing skills from Siberia to Lexington.” He had two more references to road conditions in the second half.

“Are you serious!” – After Denzel Aberdeen’s turnaround banked jumper with 30 seconds left, we got our final Billy “R You Serious” Sports reference.

“Working up a lather” – Kentucky’s fast start vs. Arkansas was a big topic on the radio show on Monday, with Ryan Lemond sharing Goose Givens and Tom Leach’s observations from the pregame show that the players were worked up into a “lather” during warm-ups. Hart used the phrase while describing Kentucky’s practice he dropped by earlier this week.

Hart even got a KSR reference in on social media during the game, responding to Matt’s tweet with a mention of Billy’s career ambitions.

Other Fun Moments from Wednesday night

Jaland Lowe and Otega Oweh’s new hairstyles: Otega Oweh’s new cornrows got plenty of screentime, but did you see Jaland Lowe’s hair, too? Lowe cut off his ponytail, a style he showed off before the game on Instagram. New shoulder, new ‘do, right? Speaking of the shoulder, that’s a heck of a brace.

Kam Williams’ rehab: Kam Williams is also back in Lexington after his surgery, wearing a big boot on his foot and riding a scooter. Denzel Aberdeen gave him some grief for his rehab behind the scenes.

Ty Bryant and Willie Rodriguez in the house: Two of Kentucky Football’s biggest returners were there to cheer the basketball team on. Defensive back Ty Bryant and tight end Willie Rodriguez got some time on the jumbotron, and even stopped by the official UK pregame radio show to chat with Buzz Baker.

Brandon Garrison’s son: Akarii was one of the stars of the postgame, celebrating Garrison’s best game yet on the court after the buzzer and sitting on his lap during the postgame radio conversation with Goose Givens. Akarii even was by Garrison’s side during media interviews in the back, playing with his own Kentucky basketball.

Mark Pope’s toboggan: Mark Pope left Rupp almost right after the game to go pick up his daughter, Avery, from the airport after her 15-month service mission. He was in such a hurry that he threw on his UK toboggan without checking to make sure it was on straight, making for a fun postgame photo opp alongside Jason Hart.

Hopefully, we get to do this all over again after Kentucky beats Tennessee on Saturday.

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