Rupp Arena

... and-

Rupp Arena.

You were in the arena.

We were dating.

And people always ask me the same question.

It's the one word, how? How do you win in a state that Trump won by 31 points the last time? How do you beat Mitch McConnell's handpicked candidate by five points? How do you beat two candidates that Donald Trump has not only endorsed, but when he came in to support a Republican incumbent, filled up Rupp Arena with people the night before the election? So for me, I think it's three parts.

Number one, I always stand up for my convictions.

I vetoed every anti-LGBTQ plus bill that's come to my desk.

That's the way I normally introduce myself when I travel is I say, I'm Andy Beshear.

I'm the Democratic governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

And people always ask me the same question, it's the one word, how? How do you win in a state that Trump won by 31 points the last time? How do you beat Mitch McConnell's handpicked candidate by five points? How do you beat two candidates that Donald Trump has not only endorsed, but when he came in to support a Republican incumbent, filled up Rupp Arena with people the night before the election? So for me, I think it's three parts.

Number one, I always stand up for my convictions.

10 of the first 14 are guarantee games versus high majors.

You hear Ryan Lemon talk about the terrible home schedule at Rupp Arena sometimes.

How about you don't have a home game until January?

That's tough.

Anthony Davis or John Wall or something.

If they came in there wearing a Florida jersey into Rupp Arena or Tim Couch is our football equivalent

of that.

I don't know, man.

All right, John Rothstein back here on Inside College Basketball now.

Number six on my list of top 20 non-conference games for the 26-27 season, a vintage college basketball rivalry, Louisville-Kentucky Rupp Arena on December 12th.

Louisville is a team... that has rebranded once again under Pat Kelsey.

Did Yeoman's work in the transfer portal.

Jackson Shelstad from Oregon and Flory Badunga from Kansas are the headliners.

But this also represents an opportunity for Kentucky to make a major statement at Rupp Arena.

I think it's going to be a real big opportunity for Malachi Moreno to go toe-to-toe with Flory Badunga.

And it's also going to be an opportunity for Zoom Diallo to go against Jackson Shelstad.

So we'll see, uh, see if that takes off for them.

Uh, want to congratulate, um, the new, uh, vice president of operations of Central Bank Center, Jack Rupp Arena, Lexington Opera House, and the Oakview Group concert series at Gatton Park.

It's the first female to lead that organization and that complex over at Rupp Arena.

Hmm.

Laura Alexander, she's the first female to do it.