UK-UT Glance: Anthony Davis advice helped Cauley-Stein

NO. 1 KENTUCKY (25-0, 12-0)

AT TENNESSEE (14-10, 6-6)

Game time: 7 p.m.

Site: Thompson-Boling Arena (21,523), Knoxville, Tenn.

Favorite: Kentucky by 14

Series: UK leads 150-67. Last meeting: Kentucky won 74-66 on Jan. 18, 2014 in Lexington

Television: ESPN (Brad Nessler, Dick Vitale, Seth Greenberg, Shannon Spake)

Radio: WHAS-AM 840 (Tom Leach, Mike Pratt)

TENNESSEE

Pos. Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.

G-Josh Richardson 6-6 Sr. 3.7* 16.0

G-Kevin Punter 6-4 Jr. 2.2 10.5

G-Robert Hubbs III 6-6 So. 2.9 6.9

F-Armani Moore 6-5 Jr. 6.8 10.7

F-Willie Carmichael III 6-8 2.4 3.3

* assists per game

Key reserves – Derek Reese, F, 6-8, Jr., 5.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg; Devon Baulkman, G, 6-5, Jr., 4.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg; Detrick Mostella, G, 6-3, Fr., 4.1 ppg, 1.1 rpg.

KENTUCKY

Pos.Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.

G-Andrew Harrison 6-6 So. 4.0* 8.2

G-Aaron Harrison 6-6 So. 2.3 11.1

F-Trey Lyles 6-10 Fr. 5.1 7.3

F-Karl-Anthony Towns 6-11 Fr. 6.4 9.1

C-Willie Cauley-Stein 7-0 Jr. 6.4 9.4

* assists per game

Key reserves – Devin Booker, G, 6-5, Fr., 10.8 ppg, 1.3 apg; Dakari Johnson, C, 7-0, So., 7.6 ppg, 5.6r pg, 1.0 bpg; Tyler Ulis, G, 5-9, Fr., 5.1 ppg, 3.6 apg; Marcus Lee, F, 6-9, So., 2.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.9 bpg; Dominique Hawkins, G, 6-0, So., 1.8 ppg, 0.8 apg.

STORY LINES

1. Anthony Davis helps Willie Cauley-Stein. Davis, former National Player of the Year at Kentucky and now NBA All-Star in New Orleans, came to see the Wildcats play at LSU last week and offered Cauley-Stein, a finalist for several national awards himself, some advice. The latter was still working his way out of a slump – which is all the way over now.

“(Davis) helped him to understand the mentality. Willie’s issue isn’t anything physical. It’s all mental. When Willie Cauley-Stein plays instinctively and strong, he’s as good as there is in the country,” UK assistant coach Kenny Payne said. “Anthony basically talked to him about the mental preparation to be great. It all starts in your workouts … and then when you get in the game and just play instinctively and confident.

“Willie wants to do what Anthony is doing, so why not hear from him?”

Cauley-Stein has been a man on fire the last three games, averaging 14 points and 6.3 rebounds in just 23 minutes per game. No one makes more momentum plays – offensive rebounds, dunks, blocks and steals – than Cauley-Stein for the Cats. He’s had 178 of those combined, an average of 9.7 per 34 minutes. In other words, getting him back on track was critical.

Coach John Calipari is thankful Davis took the time to reach out.

“All our players that went through here are watching this team and they want to help. They want the team to be great,” Calipari said. “But the best thing that Anthony did: instead of just talking to him, he came to the game and watched him. So there’s no B.S. ‘If you want to do this, this is what you have to be or you can’t do that.’

“I can say it all I want (but) Anthony Davis is busting up against being the best player in the NBA. … It means something coming from me, but coming from those guys is huge.”

2. Scouting the Vols. First, a bit of trivia: When Calipari and Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall square off Tuesday night, it will be just their second meeting. The first? Calipari’s first game coaching the Cats, when Tyndall was still at Morehead State. Kentucky won 75-59 in Calipari’s debut.

If that was a dramatic mismatch in talent, so will this one be in size. Tennessee’s starters stand 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, 6-6 and 6-8. Kentucky’s are 6-6, 6-6, 6-10, 6-11 and 7 feet. That’s a combined 16 inches in height advantage. The Vols have no contributors taller than 6-8, while the Cats have five. It could be ugly in the paint and on the glass, where UK leads the SEC in rebounding and UT ranks last.

So where might the Volunteers give the Wildcats problems? With a “tough zone,” Payne said. “The mix it up, press some out of it. It’s going to be tough for us to deal with, because they trap out of the post and react, scramble all around the court. So we just have to be patient, move the ball, get it inside out like we typically have been doing against zones. Our shooters have been shooting the ball well, so we play inside out and go at them.”

– Kyle Tucker