At a glance | Kentucky vs. EKU
EASTERN KENTUCKY (4-2)
AT NO. 1 KENTUCKY (8-0)
Game time: 6 p.m.
Site: Rupp Arena (23,000), Lexington, Ky.
Favorite: Kentucky by 27 ½
Series: UK leads 10-0. Last meeting: UK won 78-65 in Lexington in 2007.
Television: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Tony Delk)
Radio: WHAS-AM 840 (Tom Leach, Mike Pratt, Matt Jones)
EASTERN KENTUCKY
Pos. Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Corey Walden 6-2 Sr. 4.3* 18.3
G-Isaac McGlone 6-2 So. 2.8* 4.8
G-Timmy Knipp 6-7 Sr. 5.5 10.0
G-Ja’Mill Powell 6-7 Jr. 2.3 12.2
F-Eric Stutz 6-8 Sr. 5.3 12.3
* assists per game
Key reserves – Jaylen Babb-Harrison, G, 6-4, So., 12.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg; Denzel Richardson, G, 6-5, Jr., 7.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg; Jonathan Hood, G, 6-4, Jr., 5.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg; Paul Jackson, G, 6-1, Fr., 4.3 ppg, 1.7 apg.
KENTUCKY
Pos.Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Andrew Harrison 6-6 So. 3.5* 7.9
G-Aaron Harrison 6-6 So. 2.0* 9.4
F-Alex Poythress 6-8 Jr. 4.0 6.2
F-Karl-Anthony Towns 6-11 Fr. 6.9 8.3
C-Willie Cauley-Stein 7-0 Jr. 6.8 10.3
* assists per game
Key reserves –Dakari Johnson, C, 7-0, So., 10.4 PPG, 7.4 rpg ; Trey Lyles, F, 6-10, Fr., 7.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg; Tyler Ulis, G, 5-9, Fr., 5.0 ppg, 3.1 apg, 1.6 spg; Devin Booker, G, 6-5, Fr., 9.0 ppg, 1.8 apg Marcus Lee, F, 6-9, So., 1.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg.
STORY LINES
1. EKU much smaller than Texas. After a slugfest against the Longhorns, one of the few teams that can match Kentucky’s size, the Wildcats will be back in familiar territory Sunday night, towering over the Colonels. Eastern Kentucky’s starters are collectively 17 inches shorter than UK’s. There are no players taller than 6-8 on the roster and only four taller than 6-6. The visitors will have to play quick to hang with the Cats. They rank top-10 nationally in scoring, scoring margin, 3-pointers made, steals and turnover margin. The Colonels have four players averaging double-figure points, led by Corey Walden’s 18.3 per game.
2. Return of the platoons. John Calipari’s two-platoon system, which vanished thanks to foul trouble and a tight game against Texas, should be back in this one. He said he wasn’t abandoning it, rather “coaching to win a game” against the Longhorns. He wasn’t sure what to call his semi-platoon/spot-substituting in that last game but took a stab it: “plateens.” We’re not sure that’ll make it on any T-shirts. The odd platooner out in that Texas game was Marcus Lee, who played just four minutes while red-hot Willie Cauley-Stein went 33 minutes.
Calipari said Lee wasn’t upset, realizing Cauley-Stein was playing too well to come out. “It’s expected with everybody,” Cauley-Stein said. “It could have easily been the other way around, where Marcus could have been playing really, really good and I’d have to take the back seat on that. That’s just the way it works.”
— Kyle Tucker