< PreviousMike Pratt previews the LSU game 8 @KentuckyMBB 10 @KentuckyMBB 2020 UK Sports Partnership Football Program Ad (8.5x11) 265-20801.indd 12020 UK Sports Partnership Football Program Ad (8.5x11) 265-20801.indd 111/13/20 11:01 AM11/13/20 11:01 AMWEEKNIGHTS 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY 9:00 a.m.110920 BBN Tonight RUPP Ad.indd 1110920 BBN Tonight RUPP Ad.indd 111/9/20 4:39 PM11/9/20 4:39 PMAround the SEC Around the Country 2020-21 SEC Standings Team SEC Overall Home Road Alabama 7-0 12-3 6-1 4-0 LSU 5-2 10-3 8-1 1-2 Tennessee 4-2 10-2 8-1 2-1 Missouri 3-2 9-2 5-1 3-1 Florida 4-3 7-4 4-1 1-3 Mississippi State 4-3 9-6 7-3 2-0 Kentucky 3-3 4-9 2-3 2-4 Arkansas 3-4 11-4 10-1 1-3 Georgia 2-4 9-4 8-2 1-2 Texas A&M 2-4 7-5 6-2 1-2 Ole Miss 2-4 7-6 5-3 2-3 South Carolina 1-2 3-4 2-0 0-3 Auburn 2-5 8-7 5-2 1-4 Vanderbilt 0-4 4-6 4-3 0-3 Scoring Player-Team ...................................................................PPG Cameron Thomas, LSU ..................................................22.0 Scotty Pippen Jr., VANDY ...............................................21.2 Trendon Watford, LSU ...................................................18.1 Iverson Molinar, MISS ST ...............................................17.4 D.J. Stewart Jr., MISS ST .................................................17.4 Rebounding Player-Team ...................................................................RPG Tolu Smith, MISS ST.........................................................8.8 Dylan Disu, VANDY ........................................................8.4 Darius Days, LSU ............................................................8.2 Justin Minaya, USC ..........................................................8.1 Jeremiah Tilmon, MIZZOU ..............................................8.0 Assists Player-Team ...................................................................APG Sahvir Wheeler, UGA ......................................................7.4 Scotty Pippen Jr., VANDY .................................................5.3 Jalen Tate, ARK ................................................................4.5 Tre Mann, UF ..................................................................4.1 Devontae Shuler, MISS ....................................................4.1 Steals Player-Team ................................................................... SPG Justin Kier, UGA ..............................................................2.3 Dru Smith, MIZZOU .......................................................1.9 Luis Rodriguez, MISS .......................................................1.8 Devontae Shuler, MISS ....................................................1.8 AJ Lawson, USC ..............................................................1.7 Blocks Player-Team ...................................................................BPG Isaiah Jackson, UK ..........................................................3.2 Colin Castleton, UF .........................................................2.3 Abdul Ado, MISS ST ........................................................2.0 Yves Pons, UT .................................................................2.0 Omar Payne, UF ..............................................................1.6 2020-21 Associated Press Rankings As of Jan. 18, 2021 (week 9) Team Record Points 1 Gonzaga (62) 14-0 1,598 2 Baylor (2) 12-0 1,538 3 Villanova 8-1 1,445 4 Iowa 12-2 1,420 5 Texas 11-2 1,289 6 Tennessee 10-1 1,242 7 Michigan 11-1 1,197 8 Houston 11-1 1,155 9 Kansas 10-3 1,072 10 Wisconsin 11-3 939 11 Creighton 10-3 833 12 Texas Tech 11-4 792 13 Virginia 9-2 778 14 West Virginia 9-4 732 15 Ohio State 11-3 631 16 Virginia Tech 11-2 536 17 Minnesota 11-4 507 18 Alabama 11-3 487 19 Missouri 8-2 462 20 Clemson 9-2 354 21 Oregon 9-2 235 22 Illinois 9-5 232 23 Connecticut 7-1 209 24 UCLA 11-2 195 25 Saint Louis 7-1 172 14 @KentuckyMBBFrom Press Row 16 @KentuckyMBB LSU Visits Rupp Arena to Start a Tough Stretch for UK Up next for Kentucky is LSU. The Tigers enter the matchup with a 10-3 overall record and a 5-2 mark in Southeastern Conference action. LSU has struggled on the road, with two of its losses coming away from home. Cam- eron Thomas leads the scoring at 22.0 points per game with Trendon Watford contributing 17.1 points per game and 7.1 boards. Kentucky leads the series 90-27 over- all, including a 44-6 mark when the game is played in Lexington, Kentucky. The last time LSU was in Rupp, however, the Tigers earned a 73-71 win with a last-second tip-in in 2018-19, which resulted in them winning the league regular-season title that season. UK won 79-76 last season in Baton Rouge. The game with the Tigers marks the first of five consecutive games in which UK will take on teams either ranked or receiving votes in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches' Poll. UK is 1-5 this sea- son against teams either receiving votes are ranked, with the lone win coming at Flori- da in a 76-58 dominating performance. Two losses came down to the last possession and were decided by three points or less (Kansas, Louisville). Defense! Although Kentucky's record may not re- flect it, UK's defense this season has been its strength. The Wildcats are yielding 67.0 points per game, 40.6% shooting by the op- position overall and 31.3% from behind the arc, while averaging 6.3 blocks and 6.7 steals per game. As of Jan. 20, Kentucky ranked in the top 20 nationally in defensive efficiency, accord- ing to KenPom.com. KenPom.com also rates UK's effective field-goal percentage defense (46.2%), two-point field-goal percentage (45.7%) and blocks per game (16.0) among the top 50 in the nation. Kentucky has yielded more than 1.0 points per possession in just four games. Five times this season, Kentucky has lost despite holding teams to 66 points or less. Under John Calipari, that had only occurred 13 times in 407 games prior to this season -- essentially occurring once every 31 games under his direction. Still Searching Through 13 games this season, Ken- tucky has already used seven different starting lineups. John Calipari has contin- ually shaken up the lineup to try and find the right combination of players who play well together and give the Wildcats the best chance at a good start, as well as finding the lineup that fin- ishes games. The most line- ups UK has ever started under Calipari has been 10 in both 2019-20 and 2015-16. According to KenPom. com, UK's minutes continui- ty at 3.5% is the worst in the country. Part of that can be attributed to Keion Brooks Jr. missing the first nine games of the season, as well as Ter- rence Clarke's absence over the last six games. Both play- ers have averaged more than 22.5 minutes per game when available. During Calipari's tenure, eight of his teams have ranged from 21.8% continuity to the highest at 49.6% during the 2014-15 season. This season's rate is currently the lowest in Calipari's 12 seasons, with the 2012-13 team owning the previous low mark at 5.9%. Brooks Making Immediate Impact As the team's lone returning contributor, Keion Brooks Jr. was looked upon as a lead- er by the coaching staff and his teammates. However, an injury kept him out of practice and out of the team's lineup over the first nine games of the season. Brooks made his debut in UK's domi- nating victory over Florida where he scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and dished out a game-high four assists in 25 efficient minutes. More impor- tantly, he seemed to be a key missing piece behind what's been a struggling UK offense as the Wildcats pulled away from Florida in the second half with three different runs of 10-0 or more. The Wildcats were plus-22 with Brooks on the floor in that victory. "He gave us a whole different element to the game," graduate guard Davion Mintz said of Brooks' performance. "Keion was amazing today. It was super fun. I'm speech- less, really. It was amazing. Things haven't been quite as easy since, but Brooks is off to a solid start to his 2020- 21 campaign. He's averaging 10.5 points on 48.6% shooting to go along with 4.8 re- bounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game. Cats Deliver the Knockout Punch Kentucky is 283-10 (96.6%) in the John Calipari era when leading by at least 10 points at any time in the contest. UK has surrendered two such instances in 2020-21. The Wildcats yielded a 13-point lead in a loss to No. 7/5 Kansas on Dec. 1 and an 11-point advantage was swallowed up by No. 21/22 North Carolina on Dec. 19. Seven of the 10 losses are to conference opponents. Perhaps most impressive of all is that 69.8% of games Calipari has coached in at Kentucky have produced 10-point leads at some point during the game for UK. The Wildcats have led by 10 points or more in a whopping 84.7% of Calipari’s 334 career wins at Kentucky. Hold Them to 55 Points, 40% Defense has always been a recipe for suc- cess for the Wildcats under John Calipari. The special ingredient: 55 points. UK is a perfect 78-0 under Calipari when holding the oppo- nent to 55 points or fewer, including 1-0 this season. The Wildcats are 187-9 (95.4%) under Calipari but just 2-2 this season when lim- iting the opponent to 63 points or less. Five times this season, Kentucky has lost despite holding teams to 66 points or less. Under Calipari, that had only occurred 13 times in 407 games prior to this season Kentucky also fares well when it keeps the competition to 40% or less from the floor. UK is 205-22 (90.3%) vs. opponents under Cali- pari when its field-goal percentage is 40% or less, but the Wildcats are only 3-3 this season when that occurs. Next >