It's not Kentucky-Louisville but it's probably one of the more intriguing matchups the Wildcats could have arranged on such short notice.
It's Kentucky against Western Kentucky on Wednesday night in Rupp Arena.
What are you most interested to see on Wednesday night?
Jeff Drummond: I'll be interested to see if UK can string together back-to-back impressive performances against a quality opponent. Will we see the same kind of offensive balance, tempo, and cohesion that we saw in the blowout of North Carolina? Can Sahvir Wheeler continue to dictate the game on both ends of the floor, and can Kellen Grady deliver another 3-point shooting performance that is more in line with his career resume than what we saw earlier this season? I wouldn't expect another 29-point margin of victory, but it would be nice to see the Cats win comfortably once again.
Justin Rowland: After such a dominant game against a North Carolina team that had seemed to be trending in the right direction you have to wonder how much of that was Kentucky playing at an extremely high level and how much was UNC's very poor effort. I think it was a lot of both but we'll learn more against WKU, a team that just knocked off UofL.
The Hilltoppers don't play at a blinding pace but they also aren't the type of team to want to slow it down much so we could see a fun tempo with two teams really going at it.
I think folks would be wise not to sleep on WKU. There are some blemishes on its record but the losses weren't embarrassments. Some were even competitive. They are now playing their best basketball of the season with recent wins against Ole Miss and Louisville. In my mind it's basically like an average SEC team most years coming to Rupp.
Dayvion McKnight averages 14.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.4 assists and shoots 53% from the field. He, fellow guard Camron Justice (13.2 PPG) and Jairus Hamilton (16.5 PPG) are quality players who have to be accounted for and WKU has a number of guys who can score.
Who needs to step up for Kentucky?
Drummond: I don't know if there's a clear "must step up" guy in this game like maybe Kellen Grady was against North Carolina, but there will be some guys I'll be watching to see if they can become more of a factor in John Calipari's rotation going into SEC play, namely freshmen Daimion Collins and Bryce Hopkins. Both of those guys have to start showing a little more consistency than what we've seen so far if they want significant minutes when Cal inevitably starts scaling back the rotation.
Sisk: I am going to answer the first two questions in one summary. I want to see a continuation of what we saw from Kentucky last Saturday. They were dialed in and impressive both ends. The defensive effort was smothering, and it began with Sahvir Wheeler. He totally frustrated the UNC point guard while the other perimeters denied everything. That type of effort, execution, and communication wins championships. Offensively, everybody contributed. Wheeler got to the rim and made elbow jumpers. Kellan Grady showed the three-point shooting that fans have been craving. Keion Brooks was accurate from the mid-range, and Oscar Tshiebwe continued to demonstrate this back to the bucket finishes. In a nutshell, give me more.
Rowland: Oscar Tshiebwe staying out of foul trouble would be the No. 1 thing that Kentucky wants to happen. Rinse, repeat. The Wildcats could probably win this game even if Tshiebwe has to ride the pine for a while but he could really wear down the Hilltoppers.
Opponents rebound 28% of their offensive misses against WKU, putting the Hilltoppers 232nd in the country in that category.
What's your prediction for the game?
Drummond: Kentucky 83, WKU 66 - This looks like a solid Hilltopper team on paper, but Kentucky will have a talent edge at almost every spot on the floor. The Cats should take care of business in this one.
Sisk: There doesn’t need to be a letdown since the opponent isn’t the hated Louisville Cardinals. Western Kentucky beat them last Saturday. KenPom also has them rated higher than Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Georgia Tech. I’m going to bank that this won’t be the best showing of the year, but the Wildcats will still be solid. Kentucky 78 Western Kentucky 63.
Rowland: Kentucky's not going to be caught off guard here because of what Western Kentucky did to the Cardinals only days ago. Western Kentucky is good enough to make this an interesting game if they play well but you can't predict them to pull the upset in Rupp Arena especially the way the Cats looked against North Carolina in Las Vegas. I'm expecting Kentucky to continue to ride high. WKU plays with tremendous energy but can't quite keep pace. Kentucky 82, WKU 70.
