Kentucky handled Georgetown College 80-53 in its first exhibition game of the 2019-20 season last Sunday.
The Wildcats take the court again today at 7 p.m. ET in Rupp Arena. You can catch the action on the SEC Network if you're not in Rupp, and you'll see the 'Cats take on Kentucky State.
It's UK's final audition before that huge game in Madison Square Garden against Michigan State.
Here are three things to watch for on Friday night in that last tune-up.
How much of last Sunday was an aberration for Kahlil Whitney?
Zero points on 0/5 shooting was bad enough. Zero rebounds was even worse. It was only one exhibition game, but Whitney's inaugural UK performance didn't exactly make a positive first impression. Not for the No. 14 player in the 2019 class, according to Rivals.com.
John Calipari doesn't seem to be too worried about the lack of scoring. After Whitney's brutal night the UK coach said that if he can only find a way to defend and rebound then the minutes are going to be there. Whitney's athleticism is tough to ignore, but he has the look of someone who might require some patience.
Calipari even seemed to be attempting to protect Whitney from some criticism, which would make sense in dealing with a freshman. Guarding his confidence and putting him in a position to succeed early will be a big part of Calipari's task as November moves forward.
If Whitney bounce back with a solid performance against Kentucky State it would probably ease a lot of concerns. If he struggles mightily again, then going into a war against Michigan State might be a bad situation for him.
Most concerning is the possibility of Whitney's struggles compounding an issue down low. UK was outrebounded by Georgetown College -- a team that played hard, but one that's a far cry from Michigan State -- and with Nick Richards out, Whitney's performance was a bad development in a potential trouble spot.
How will Calipari experiment with Richards likely out?
With some early questions about Kentucky's front line, it will be interesting to see how Calipari experiments with lineup combinations and roles. The likely absence of Nick Richards on Friday night means that perhaps we shouldn't read too much into what we see, because once he's good to go that will re-shape the situation.
But right now the prior should be that Nate Sestina is SEC-ready, Keion Brooks is an intriguing option at the four at least some of the time, and E.J. Montgomery needs to prove he's at least moving towards playing stronger and more decisively on the court.
Who plays together and how Calipari has them play will be interesting to say the least on Friday.
A signature breakout from Tyrese Maxey?
UK freshman guard Tyrese Maxey was recruited to be "the guy", or certainly one of the guys, for a national championship contender.
He wasn't mentioned often in the first half against Georgetown but came on strong with 10 points in the second half of that contest.
The talent -- both the skill and athleticism -- are obvious. It seems like it's just a matter of time until he starts to separate himself as one of the best scorers on the team, if not the best.
Not all of Calipari's top freshmen have consistently played well at the start of seasons, but most of them had at least one or two moments early in their one-and-done seasons when it became clear what they were capable of. Everyone will be watching for that to happen.
