The Kentucky basketball team is facing another stiff road challenge on Saturday. The Arkansas Razorbacks will be looking to turn their season around, and a win against Kentucky will do just this. There's a lot at stake for both programs, as the Cats are coming off an ugly loss to South Carolina. The team here at Wildcat Blue Nation is breaking down all the action.
Jeremy:
Kentucky comes to Fayetteville with a lot of questions circling the team. After riding the highest emotional wave following the “Big Z” game, then fell hard in an embarrassing, crushing defeat to South Carolina. Where will they go from here? In contrast, Arkansas has suffered five conference losses by a combined 103 points, including losing at Ole Miss in a game that looked like they couldn’t wait until the final horn. Arkansas has the worst offense and second-to-last defense in the conference. Their only advantage seems to be their ability to handle the paint by scoring high-percentage shots or getting to the foul line. Defensively, they guard the paint much better than the perimeter and have a better-than-average block rate.
Kentucky has clear advantages the moment they step off the bus. However, this has the makings of a run-and-gun type of game. Arkansas has averaged 60 points per game in their five losses and scored 78 points in their sole victory. Can Kentucky use their length and athleticism to stifle the Razorbacks? Or, can Coach Musselman’s streaky shooters get hot and give the Wildcats fits? This is a hard game to predict. It’ll be interesting to see how the sportsbooks position this game. 3 keys to a Kentucky victory. They need to own the rebounding space. They need to solve their out-of-bounds defense. Finally, they need to get back to attacking the paint first and finding open shots off paint touches. In Calipari, we trust.
Kentucky 83-71
John:
The Cats are headed to Fayetteville to take on a struggling Arkansas team that are looking for a win. Both teams are coming off very bad performances in their midweek games. Kentucky lost by 17 at South Carolina, and Arkansas lost by 26 at Ole Miss. Both teams will be looking to play with intensity.
Kentucky will have the advantage on the offensive side of the floor. Even though we all knew that already. The Cats lead the SEC in points per game (89.9 pts) and field goal percentage (49.8%). Arkansas is in the middle of the conference in those categories. The Razorbacks do lead the SEC in blocks per game with 6.6. I am going with a
95-85 Kentucky
Tyler:
The Cats will face another rowdy crowd when they enter Bud Walton Arena on Saturday. They’ll also be tested in another physical matchup. Kentucky will need to force the Razorbacks to take contested looks from long range as well as match their intensity. It’s going to be a battle, but I’m not tapping out on the Cats just yet. Going with a
87-83 Kentucky