Days after an impressive 95-63 season opening win against Howard minus three key players Kentucky takes to the Rupp Arena court again, this time against Duquesne (1-0).
Cats Illustrated writers Justin Rowland and David Sisk share their takes on the matchup.
What are you most interested to see in tonight's game from Kentucky or what's intriguing about it to you?
David Sisk: Even without three important players, Kentucky looked very good in Monday night’s opener. The thing that stood out to me was the prolific scoring options on the perimeter. Cason Wallace, Antonio Reeves, and C.J. Frederick were outstanding. Throw in Jacob Toppin and you’ve got four guys who can get buckets. I just want to see more of the same. If those four players I mentioned aren’t making shots then the absence of Oscar Tshiebwe inside could be an issue. But I really don’t see that being a problem. The biggest problem Friday night could be either foul problems to a short bench or God forbid, an injury.
Justin Rowland: We're still very much in the fact-finding portion of the schedule. Every year there are things happening in November that look real, but aren't. We imagine how things will play out based on what we're seeing, and the pieces haven't really settled yet. That makes big takeaways or watching for themes tough for me.
I'm probably most eager to continue watching Cason Wallace run some point action. David wrote about how impressive the Wallace, Fredrick, Reeves backcourt was and how it just makes so much sense, so if they can put together another great looking performance together then I'm on board with that as the best way forward.
What's your prediction for the game?
Sisk: Duquesne is not a pushover. They are ranked No. 124 by KenPom which is in between Minnesota and Butler. They’ve got an impressive roster full of transfers that averaged in double figures at their old schools. The Cats will have to work. Kentucky 80 Duquesne 65.
Rowland: Dae Dae Grant scored 25 points in Duquesne's 91-63 win against Montana earlier in the week. He averaged 17.5 points per game last year and has been on a steady upward climb since he arrived at the college level. His efforts and ability to score give Duquesne a chance to keep it much closer than did Howard, but far too much size, athleticism, and balance from the Cats. 84-68 UK.
Who will be Kentucky's MVP?
Sisk: Once again this is a team effort. Scoring by committee. I’m going with Antonio Reeves. He was very impressive in his debut with 22 points. I just love the variety of ways he can score.
Rowland: These are crap shoots, of course, but I did call for Reeves to go over 20 points in the opener and he did, leading the team in scoring. Let's keep it going. Cason Wallace almost had a triple double in his Kentucky debut and I look for him to stuff the stat sheet for a second game in a row, doing it on both ends of the court.
