By: Tyler Adkins
It is finally the day of the game that was circled first on every calendar in the Commonwealth, the annual UL/UK rivalry game. This game features a pair of teams that desperately need to get that marquee non-conference win under their belt with conference play looming. UK has had a multitude of issues throughout the early season but has progressed well. UL has played one team that is more than a low major and lost. This leaves many questions to be answered and they will be answered at 4 PM today at Rupp.
With that, let's get to the things to watch for:
*Intensity
The Cats better have it. Period. Louisville can be faulted for a lot of things, but they always play with intensity, especially on the defensive end. UK better come out of the gates ready to play or we could see one of those timeouts 45 seconds into the game that Calipari likes to call. I am looking for Andrew Harrison to set the tone. He needs to be in attack mode on offense and play defense actively and not lazily use his body to stop a defender and get in early foul trouble. We know about all of the other match-ups, but to me, Andrew has to be the guy to get it started in big games.
*Stopping Russ
Russ Smith is one of the more entertaining players to watch in college basketball for the simple reason that he will make some shots that are mind-boggling, but he will also take some shots that are equally mind-blowing. However, he is a deadly scorer if he gets going and it makes the game easier for everyone else when does. UK will likely put a Harrison or Young on him and they must be up to the challenge. If the Cats want to win, they must not let Smith get into a rhythm. When he does, Smith makes shots and finds open teammates at will. I want to see him shoot under 35% from the floor. Points do not mean as much as making him taking bad shots.
*Free Throws
With the way UL plays, UK should be going to the line early and often in this game. They simply cannot have a game where they shoot in the 50% range. UK has to be able to score from the line and in order to win this game they likely need to shoot above 75%. Getting to the line will also put UL in foul trouble and make them rely more of their weak bench. If this happens, expect a UK win.
That is all I have for today. Go Big Blue.
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