Kentucky Wildcat versus LSU Tigers preview 1/28/2012

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rn GAME 22

rn LSU TIGERS rn JANUARY 28, 2012 - 4:00 PM rn PETE MARAVICH ASSEMBLY CENTER - BATON ROUGE, LA rn TV - SEC NETWORK

rn KENTUCKY LEADS SERIES 80-24

rn PAST FIVE MEETINGS rn 1/15/2011: KENTUCKY 82 LSU 44 rn 2/6/2010: KENTUCKY 81 LSU 55 rn 3/13/2009: LSU 67 KENTUCKY 58** rn 2/28/2009: LSU 70 KENTUCKY 63 rn 2/16/2008: KENTUCKY 67 LSU 63 rn ** SEC TOURNAMENT

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rn John Calipari takes his number one ranked Wildcats on the road once again, this time the depths of the Bayou. Of all the SEC roadtrips, Kentucky has had pretty solid success over the years, winning four of five road trips and seven of the past ten games at LSU. It should be noted that two of those road losses occured when the Tigers were a ranked team. Kentucky has ony lost once in the past 20 years at Baton Rogue to an unranked LSU squad.

rn LSU already has more wins this season than the previous two seasons (both 11 win campaigns) and has a big win over then #10 ranked Marquette. LSU has also played then ranked #23 hard, losing 57-52. The Tigers have struggled in SEC play, losing four of their past six games. As always, this is a road game in the SEC so expect a raucous crowd.

rn PROBABLE STARTERS

rn #1 - G - ANTHONY HICKEY - FR - 5'10, 172 rn10.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, 3.8 RPG

rn #10 - G - ANDRE STRINGER - SO - 5'9, 170 rn10.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 2.2 APG

rn #22 - G - RALSTON TURNER - SO - 6'6, 193 rn8.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.4 APG

rn #24 - F - STORM WARREN - SR - 6'7, 230 rn8.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 0.5 APG

rn #41 - C - JUSTIN HAMILTON - JR - 6'11, 260 rn13.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.5 BPG

rn THE BENCH

rn #2 - F - JOHNNY O'BRYANT - FR - 6'9, 250 rn7.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 0.3 APG

rn #5 - F - MALCOLM WHITE - SR - 6'9, 225 rn3.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.2 APG

rn #32 - G - JOHN ISAAC - FR - 6'4, 210 rn2.8 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 1.3 APG

rn #13 - F - EDDIE LUDWIG - JR - 6'9, 215 rn2.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.4 APG

rn NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS/TEAM RANKINGS

rn POINTS PER GAME rnKENTUCKY: 78.4 (22ND) rnLSU: 67.2 (196TH)

rn REBOUNDS rnKENTUCKY: 40.1 (12TH) rnLSU: 38.0 (49TH)

rn ASSISTS PER GAME rnKENTUCKY: 13.3 (145TH) rnLSU: 12.7 (194TH)

rn FG % rnKENTUCKY: 48.3% (21ST) rnLSU: 40.8% (288TH)

rn 3-PT SHOOTING rnKENTUCKY: 119-321 (37.1%) rnLSU: 116-335 (34.6%)

rn FT SHOOTING rnKENTUCKY: 368-517 (71.2) rnLSU: 232-330 (70.3%)

rn A/TO RATIO rnKENTUCKY: 1.03 rnLSU: 0.97

rn Get ready for another physical game. LSU is a pretty solid rebounding team and Justin Hamilton is a player that could give Anthony Davis troubles. Storm Warren is always a banger and former Kentucky recruit Johnny O'Bryant is having a good year off the bench. That said, this is the same LSU team that was outrebounded by Mississippi State 40-23 the other night. This is not a good shooting team however, as Hamilton and Chris Bass (2.1 points a game) are the only Tigers that are shooting over 50% on the season. Hamilton gets a lot of offensive rebounds but is not scoring like he should be in close. LSU has a trio of players that can get hot from beyond the 3-point line in Stringer, Hickey, and Turner. IF LSU is sgoing to attack the perimeter it will be from these three.

rn Hopkinsville's Anthony Hickey is starting for the Tigers, but LSU gives up a lot of length in the backcourt. This is not a good passing team and they have not faced a team like Kentucky yet. I expect this game to be a lot like the Georgia game, but a bit more physical. It is a game that Kentucky should win easily, even on the road, but expect LSU to be playing desperate and to keep it close for a while. I think the length of Teague, Lamb, Kidd-Gilchrist, and Miller will create a lot of problems for LSU and they will have trouble getting the ball to the big men. While LSU has a solid fromt court, Kentucky still has the better interior defense by far. As we learned the other night, Kentucky can win on the road firing from only a couple of their cylinders. As long as Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist can stay out of foul trouble, Kentucky should emerge with a hard fought 71-62 win.

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