Articles by Jake Faigus

Technology

Kentucky basketball get crushed by Georgetown in preseason exhibition

The 2025 college basketball season is right around the corner, and with that comes news of scrimmages that every top team is competing in. The 2025 Kentucky basketball team is one of those teams, and played a big scrimmage before the year against Georgetown. However, the Hoyas blew past the Wildcats in the scrimmage with an eye-opening result before the season tips off. Since returning as an alum, Mark Pope has transformed Kentucky, but this could be an interesting sign. The Kentucky Wildcats had two massive preseason scrimmages against Purdue and Georgetown. After dominating Purdue, they looked lost against Georgetown, as the Kentucky Beat Reporter for the Courier Journal, Ryan Black, pointed out. The Kentucky offense struggled to find consistency in the game, and the defense struggled to slow down the Hoyas. The Wildcats were missing Jaland Lowe and Denzel Aberdeen, which was also a factor. This was their most significant margin of defeat in an exhibition since 1991. Black posted on X: “Kentucky’s 84-70 loss to Georgetown tonight is the largest margin of defeat for UK in any exhibition outing since losing to the Soviet Union by 29 points in January 1991.” On offense, Kentucky shot 33.3 percent from the field, 23.3 percent from deep, and an abysmal 65.7 percent from the free-throw line. Lowe and Aberdeen would have helped those numbers, but the team might still struggle due to its poor offense. Then, on defense, it was not much better for the Wildcats. Georgetown had three players score 14 or more points, led by a game-high 22 from Malik Mack, finishing the night with a 55.4 percent shooting clip as a team. Kentucky was led by Otega Oweh, who scored 17 points (4-12 FG; 8-11 FT) and also grabbed three rebounds. It is also worth noting that transfer Mo Dioubate chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds as the next leading scorer. Collin Chandler took over point guard duties and added 11 points and seven rebounds, but also shot 2-9 from the field and turned the ball over five times. The good news for Kentucky is that this game does not count because it’s an exhibition, but the bad news is that the Wildcats looked night and day different from the same time that nearly ran Purdue out of the gym. Kentucky has a lot of talent and should still be a contender for the national title this year, but the differences between these exhibition results should concern fans. This defense will be key, but Jayden Quaintance can help make it elite from down low.

Technology

Arizona State football assistant away from team on medical leave of absence

The 2025 Arizona State football team has been less dominant than last season despite getting a massive win two weeks ago against Texas Tech. They have three losses, most recently to Houston at home in a game where the Cougars punched them in the mouth. After the game, it was reported that special teams coordinator Charlie Ragle was taking a medical leave of absence. Multiple reports indicated that Ragle was taking a leave of absence on Sunday after the Sun Devils lost to Houston. Kenny Dillingham confirmed the reports on Monday at Arizona State’s weekly press conference. The Arizona State special teams unit has struggled overall this year, but Ragle’s taking a step back does not coincide with that. Instead, it is mainly because he has had health issues in the past, dating back to his time at Idaho State. “He’s been dealing with some things for quite a few years now,” Dillingham said Monday. “It’s just come to a head where he’s got to get proper and healthy. “I told him, however long that is, whether it’s two weeks, three weeks, one week, a month, a year, whenever you feel ready again, let’s have a conversation and go from there.” Ragle’s assistant, Jack Nudo, will assume the responsibilities of special teams coordinator. However, Dillingham said he will still be involved in the unit’s practice periods during the week, so he is not completely stepping away and will be involved in some capacity. The Sun Devils have had many issues on special teams this year, which seems to have weighed heavily on Ragle. He was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that could lead to blood clots around the heart, in 2022 while he was at Idaho State. Special teams are challenging to measure because they encompass the return game, punting, and kicking, but Arizona State is dead last in the Big 12 in special teams efficiency, with a rating of 24. Against Houston, they had two missed field goal attempts and four costly special teams penalties. It’s also worth noting that even though Arizona State had a massive win against Texas Tech two weeks ago, Kenny Dillingham still called the unit “atrocious.” Dillingham said he would be more hands-on with the unit, and they will need all the help they can get against Iowa State this weekend and for the rest of the season. This comes with the added noise that follows Dillingham after he was named a candidate for the LSU job.