Well, we made it. It has not always been pretty or fun, but Kentucky Basketball is now in the postseason and looking to make an impact.
After the Florida loss, Mark Pope said, “We are heading down to Nashville to win… We can’t wait to get to it.“
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The Cats are getting to it a lot earlier than ever before, playing on Wednesday in the SEC Tournament for the first time ever. We’ve got all you need to know and how you can follow along, even if you have to work.
Kentucky vs. LSU game info, lineups, start time, and more
The Cats are heading to Nashville, a place that has been really unkind to Kentucky this year. The Cats lost 94-59 to Gonzaga and 80-55 to Vanderbilt. Pope said that Kentucky was “due” for some good times in Nashville; hopefully, he is right.
Kentucky plays in the opening game of the SEC Tournament against LSU, which will take place at 12:30 PM EST on Wednesday. Earlier this season, the Cats used a full-court bomb from Chandler to Moreno to knock off the Tigers on the road.
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It was a pivotal moment in a season full of ups and downs.
Now they’ll do it again.
LSU will be without Dedan Thomas Jr., who has been confirmed out for the year. The Tigers are just 3-15 in conference play and losers of 3 in a row, though they did just take Texas A&M to double OT. Not that it means much, because Kentucky has lost 5 of 7, but this is a battle of two teams that really didn’t meet expectations this year.
Bad defense means easier offense
78.2, that is how many points LSU gives up per game, which is 272nd in the country. So, Kentucky should at least get some clean looks. LSU also allows teams to make a really high percentage of their shots, 50.8% (#143).
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The bad news is the Tigers also score 81.4 points per game, which means they can get red hot, and in a one-game scenario, that is super dangerous.
Kentucky will have to key in on LSU’s Max MacKinnon.
Max MacKinnon struggled in the last matchup
In the last game, MacKinnon was just 4-16. But he is averaging 17 points per game in conference play and shooting it at just 39.7%. So the key will be to make him a volume shooter, just make sure those looks are contested and keep him from getting hot.
MacKinnon is joined by 2 others in double figures per game, Marquel Sutton and Michael Nwoko. In the earlier matchup in Baton Rouge, Sutton was the co-leading scorer (16), and Nwoko had just 3 points.
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Rebounding will be huge
The Tigers are not a good defensive rebounding team; couple that with their failure to really prevent teams from making shots, and you have a great scenario to score a lot of points. LSU gives up 10.0 (#307) offensive rebounds per game, while the Cats, 10.7 (#40), have been pretty good all year at getting their own misses.
Kentucky actually lost the rebounding margin in the first matchup(32-29), and that will need to change in this one.
Players to watch
Max MacKinnon
17 PPG, 2.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Marquel Sutton
12.4 ppg, 5.6 rebounds
How to watch and roster information
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Time: 12:30 PM ET on March 11th
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Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
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Replay: WatchESPN and the ESPN network (check local listings)
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Stats to Know: UK | LSU
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Predictions: Haslametrics has Kentucky winning 81- 72. KenPom is going with a Kentucky win with a score of 79-74. BartTorvik (79-74), DRatings (85-76%), and EvanMiya (81-71) also have the Cats winning. There is very little reason for Kentucky to lose this game, but I also said that going into the Georgia game at home. But Georgia is way more talented than this LSU team is without Thomas. I don’t foresee any real issues here, and Kentucky should be able to play some bench guys. Which means this will probably end up being a close game. Give me a 79-65 victory, Kentucky!
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What say you?