LSU Tigers (8-5, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) vs. No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats (11-2, 1-0 SEC)
When/Where: 8:00 p.m. at Pete Maravich Assembly Center | Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Television: ESPN
TV Talent: Brad Nessler (PxP), Jay Bilas (Analyst) and Shannon Spake (Sideline)
History: Kentucky leads series 86-25 against LSU. Kentucky won the last meeting 71-69 last February in Baton Rouge. Johnny Jones is 1-4 against the Wildcats while John Calipari is 8-1 against the Tigers. The only game that fell LSU’s favor between the two coaches was the Ice Dome game in 2014.
Radio: LSU Sports Radio Network
Things to watch for:
Freshman Takeover: Traditionally, Kentucky comes into Baton Rouge with numerous top freshmen leading the Wildcats. But this year, both teams start the same experience in their respective starting lineups with one senior, one junior, one sophomore and two freshmen. Each team has one of the top two freshmen in the nation. LSU’s Ben Simmons is second in the nation in rebounding, while ranking top-five in points, assists per game, steals per game and field goal percentage. Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere, the nation’s No. 2 recruit in last year’s class, doesn’t start for the Wildcats but contributes 20 minutes per game.
Cleaning the glass: Rebounding is always an important barometer in basketball, but it has been incredibly important for LSU and Kentucky. Each team is undefeated when outrebounding their opponents and sub-.500 when failing to do so. Neither team starts a center so grabbing boards requires a full team effort. Whichever team shows a commitment to winning the rebounding battle will have a significant edge in the game.
Fouling in?: LSU has faced foul trouble in many of its games this season. Most recently, Craig Victor picked up early fouls against Vanderbilt that forced him to sit for much of the game, but Darcy Malone, along with Aaron Epps and Elbert Robinson III, contributed valuable minutes to the Tigers to help secure the victory. If the Tigers suffer early fouls again on Tuesday, they’ll need similar play from their reserves to get the win.
LSU’s last game: 90-82 win against Vanderbilt, Jan. 2.
Kentucky’s last game: 83-61 win against Ole Miss, Jan. 2.
LSU’s possible starters (based on last game):
G Tim Quarterman (Jr.): 11.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.5 apg
G Antonio Blakeney (Fr.): 9.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.2 apg
G Keith Hornsby (Sr.): 17.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.0 apg
F Ben Simmons (Fr.): 20.5 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 5.4 apg, 2.1 spg
F Craig Victor (So.): 13.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 2.2 spg
LSU’s top reserves:
G Josh Gray (Sr.): 8.1 ppg, 2.4 apg, 2.8 rpg
G Brandon Sampson (Fr.): 7.2 ppg, 1.2 apg, 1.9 rpg
F Aaron Epps (So.): 5.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg
C Elbert Robinson (So.): 3.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Kentucky’s possible starters (based on last game):
F Marcus Lee (Jr.): 9.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.0 bpg
G Tyler Ulis (So.): 13.4 ppg, 5.9 apg, 3.3 rpg
G Isaiah Briscoe (Fr.): 11.0 ppg, 3.1 apg, 5.5 rpg
F Alex Poythress (Sr.): 9.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg
G Jamal Murray (Fr.): 16.8 ppg, 2.8 apg, 4.6 rpg
Kentucky’s top reserves:
F Skal Labissiere (Fr.): 9.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg
G Charles Matthews (Fr.): 3.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg
F Isaac Humphries (Fr.): 2.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg
F Derek Willis (Jr.): 5.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg
