At a glance | Kentucky vs. Columbia
COLUMBIA (5-2)
AT NO. 1 KENTUCKY (9-0)
Game time: 7 p.m.
Site: Rupp Arena (23,000), Lexington, Ky.
Favorite: Kentucky by 23 ½
Series: UK leads 1-0. Last meeting: UK won 76-53 on March 18, 1948 in New York (NCAA Tournament)
Television: ESPN2 (Tom Hart, Sean Farnham)
Radio: WHAS-AM 840 (Tom Leach, Mike Pratt, Matt Jones)
COLUMBIA
Pos. Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Isaac Cohen 6-4 Jr. 5.1* 3.9
G-Maodo Lo 6-3 Jr. 4.6 16.1
G-Kyle Castlin 6-4 Fr. 4.0 8.3
F-Chris McComber 6-8 So. 2.0 5.7
C-Cory Osetkowski 6-11 Sr. 8.1 8.9
* assists per game
Key reserves – Steve Frankoski, G, 6-2, Sr., 6.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg; Jeff Coby, F, 6-8, So., 6.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg; Noah Springwater, G, 6-3, Sr., 2.5 ppg, 0.8 spg.
KENTUCKY
Pos.Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Andrew Harrison 6-6 So. 3.8* 7.7
G-Aaron Harrison 6-6 So. 2.1* 9.3
F-Alex Poythress 6-8 Jr. 4.0 5.7
F-Karl-Anthony Towns 6-11 Fr. 6.7 9.4
C-Willie Cauley-Stein 7-0 Jr. 6.6 10.3
* assists per game
Key reserves –Dakari Johnson, C, 7-0, So., 10.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg; Trey Lyles, F, 6-10, Fr., 7.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg; Tyler Ulis, G, 5-9, Fr., 5.0 ppg, 3.1 apg; Devin Booker, G, 6-5, Fr., 8.4 ppg, 1.7 apg; Marcus Lee, F, 6-9, So., 2.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg.
STORY LINES
1) Injury/illness update. Freshman point guard Tyler Ulis sat out UK's 82-49 win over Eastern Kentucky on Sunday night because of an illness. The latest on his status? "He's OK," Rohrssen said. "Day-to-day. Tomorrow's another day. Today's another day. We'll see what happens." That's clear as mud. Sophomore Dominique Hawkins had six assists and no turnovers in 16 minutes taking Ulis' place Sunday. He hadn't played at all in the Cats' previous two games.
"It was big to have a game like that, because sitting on the bench, it does kind of stress you out," said Hawkins, who has scored 10 total points this season. "But you realize when your name is called, Coach is going to tell you that you need to come and step in if somebody's out for something, so I came in and played."
Freshman shooting guard Devin Booker, meanwhile, looked hobbled against EKU. He made only 1 of 8 shots – and missed all six of his 3-point tries – and wore a light brace on his right knee in the second half. "He's going through what a lot of players go through, especially with a lot of freshmen," Rohrssen said. "When they come in, they're playing at a higher level, against better competition (and) the games actually increase; you go from a 32-minute game in high school to a 40-minute game. That's maybe some additional minutes on you that you log, but Devin will be fine."
2. Prepping for the Lions. Kentucky probably can't draw on its last meeting with Columbia – a 76-53 win back in 1948 – and the Cats likely won't have too much trouble with a team that has lost to Stony Brook and Loyola (Md.). But there is some long-term value to playing what Rohrssen describes as a "ball-control team" that will "test your patience defensively with their style of play.
"It's good to play a lot of different types of teams. Some teams are gonna get up and pressure, and you'll see another team a week later or a month later somewhere down the road (that does the same thing)," he said. "This is a good example and another test for us to see how we're gonna play, and again, how we want to play, the style that we have to play to be successful."