UK-Kansas Glance | Matchup info, storylines
NO. 5 KANSAS (1-0)
VS. NO. 1 KENTUCKY (2-0)
Game time : 9:30 p.m.
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,165)
Favorite: Kentucky by 4
Series: UK leads 21-6. Last meeting: UK won 67-59 on April 2, 2012 in New Orleans (NCAA title game)
Television: ESPN (Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, Andy Katz)
Radio: WHAS-AM 840 (Tom Leach, Mike Pratt)
KANSAS
Pos. Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Frank Mason III 5-11 So. 1.0* 12.0
G-Wayne Seldon 6-5 Jr. 2.0* 10.0
G-Brannen Green 6-7 So. 1.0* 3.0
F-Jamari Traylor 6-8 Jr. 10.0 2.0
F-Perry Ellis 6-8 Jr. 10.0 13.0
* assists per game
Key reserves – Cliff Alexander, F, 6-8, Fr., 9 points, 4 rebounds; Devonte Graham, G, 6-2, Fr., 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists; Kelly Oubre Jr., G, 6-7, Fr., 0 points, 2 rebounds; Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, G, 6-8, Fr., 4 points, 4 rebounds.
KENTUCKY
Pos.Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Andrew Harrison 6-6 So. 2.0* 9.5
G-Aaron Harrison 6-6 So. 2.0 7.5
F-Alex Poythress 6-8 Jr. 3.5 7.5
F-Karl-Anthony Towns 6-11 Fr. 6.5 5.5
C-Willie Cauley-Stein 7-0 Jr. 7.5 9.0
* assists per game
Key reserves –Dakari Johnson, C, 7-0, So., 9.5 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 2.5 bpg; Trey Lyles, F, 6-10, Fr., 13.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg; Marcus Lee, F, 6-9, So., 3.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg; Tyler Ulis, G, 5-9, Fr., 8.5 ppg, 4.0 apg; Devin Booker, G, 6-5, Fr., 5.0 ppg, 2.0 spg.
STORY LINES
Trey Lyles' homecoming. Kentucky's 6-10 small forward, freshly minted the SEC Freshman of the Week after averaging 13 points and four rebounds in his first two college games, will return to his hometown of Indianapolis tonight. "I feel like he's going to be really excited, a little nervous," point guard Tyler Ulis said. "He's going to want to play great, and we're playing against another top team in the country, so I just can't wait to see what he does. I feel like he's going to play well."
Lyles said he expects a large contingent of friends and family to be at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the Wildcats' game against Kansas, which he called "just a happy experience." John Calipari is skeptical that it'll go smoothly. "If he plays well, he'll be the first player that we've taken home in my career that has played well," UK's coach said. "It's possible. He could be the first." Also of note: Kansas native Willie Cauley-Stein leading the Wildcats against a KU team that did not see fit to offer the 7-footer a scholarship. He's now a projected lottery pick.
Can the Cats connect? You might blame it on a noon start or taking a lesser opponent lightly, but Calipari has another explanation for Kentucky's ugly start against Buffalo on Sunday, in which the home team shot just 34.3 percent, hit only 3 of 14 threes and had a mere six assists on 12 made baskets in the first half. "I don't know if it's flat," he said. "We were a little disconnected." He planned to "work on that" in Monday's practice. "There were some things that I think we can do to get them to better understand things, especially offensively."
UK shot 50 percent, including 3 of 6 from deep, and had 11 assists on 13 makes as it pulled away in the second half. "We were just disconnected" in the first half, Calipari said, "but that's fine. We should be. It's November (17th). When we did run our stuff, we were good. We got the ball wherever we wanted it, we scored, we got great shots, we got fouled, we were in great position to offensive rebound. When we didn't … we didn't look the same."
-- Kyle Tucker