Kentucky Wildcat Basketball: Two keys to advancing through opening weekend: Doron's Ankle and Miller's Consistency

Despite the bad seed that Kentucky received in the NCAA Tournament, I can see a pretty clear path for them through this weekends games. You always have to be careful against Princeton of course, and well, I think we match up better against West Virginia this year.  I’m cautious, but confident.  Regardless, for things to go smoothly this weekend, I have identified a couple of keys for Kentucky this weekend.

DORON’S ANKLE

According to Jerry Tipton, Doron Lamb has been seen in a walking boot.  Now I know that Kentucky did not practice yesterday and Lamb actually looked pretty good on Sunday versus the Gators.  I would assume this is a precautionary thing (with the boot), but it is always something to keep an eye on.  Now Princeton is not nearly as quick as Florida, so I would assume we will see Lamb at least some in Thursday’s game but if Kentucky can get off to a big lead, he may not see a lot of minutes in the second half.  The goal is to have a fully healthy Lamb for Saturday at the latest so he may just need to put in a cameo performance against Princeton.  I would be very surprised if Lamb did not play at all the first two games.

DARIUS MILLER and DEANDRE LIGGINS

Last season, these guys were supporting casts during the tournament while the fabulous freshman plus Patrick Patterson were the mai n options.  Kentucky once again has a trio of fabulous freshmen leading them, but this time around, Miller and Liggins are expected to be heavy contributors if the Wildcats are to make a deep tournament run.  Miller has really stepped it up this season, having scored in double digits the past nine games and he has set a couple of career scoring records in the span.  Miller has also had better than average rebounding numbers as well as he has managed to stay out of foul trouble for the most part.  He has had four fouls in just two of the last nine games.  In addition, he is hitting 46% from long range.  Miller’s offensive improvement has taken some of the pressure off of Doron Lamb and allowed him to focus on defense and Lamb is vastly improved on defense as a result.

While Miller may have the gaudier scoring numbers, Liggins  has been the master of all trades lately.  Over the last five games, Liggins has averaged 7.8 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists per game,  In addition, he has hit 62.5% of his three pointers in that span as well as playing lock down defense on the best teams scorer.  In addition, Liggins easily leads the team in floor burns and his very energy boosts the team when he is in the game.  Liggins has also scored in double digits for fourteen games this year and averages 1.2 steals a game.  In addition, Liggins has a nine assist game this year.

And this is what Kentucky has that most other tournament teams do not have.  Highly quick, versatile, and athletic wings that can play two or even three positions.  And it is because of this versatility that Kentucky is able to play with just six players.  While it’s true that UK needs the freshman to perform in the tourney, Miller and Liggins are going to be the heart and hustle of this team.

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