UK-Montana State Glance | Storylines and stats
MONTANA STATE (0-3)
AT NO. 1 KENTUCKY (4-0)
Game time : 6 p.m.
Site: Rupp Arena (23,000), Lexington, Ky.
Favorite: Kentucky by A LOT (Line not yet set, but the Bobcats lost by 16 to a Grand Canyon team the Cats beat by 40.)
Series: First meeting.
Television: SEC Network (Dave Baker, Tony Delk)
Radio: WHAS-AM 840 (Tom Leach, Mike Pratt)
MONTANA STATE
Pos. Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Marcus Colbert 5-11 Jr. 5.7* 11.3
G-Michael Dison 5-9 Sr. 2.7 10.3
G-Zach Green 6-4 Fr. 2.7 4.3
F-Danny Robison 6-8 Jr. 5.3 12.3
C-Blake Brumwell 6-7 Sr. 4.0 4.3
* assists per game
Key reserves – Stephan Holm, G, 6-3, So., 9.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg; Terrell Brown, F, 6-4, Jr., 4.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg; Joey Frenchwood, G, 6-1, Fr., 2.7 ppg, 2.0 apg; Eric Norman, F, 6-9, Sr., 2.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg.
KENTUCKY
Pos.Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.
G-Andrew Harrison 6-6 So. 3.3* 9.3
G-Aaron Harrison 6-6 So. 2.0 10.5
F-Alex Poythress 6-8 Jr. 3.3 6.3
F-Karl-Anthony Towns 6-11 Fr. 6.3 6.0
C-Willie Cauley-Stein 7-0 Jr. 6.8 9.3
* assists per game
Key reserves –Dakari Johnson, C, 7-0, So., 10.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.5 bp; Trey Lyles, F, 6-10, Fr., 9.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg; Marcus Lee, F, 6-9, So., 3.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg; Tyler Ulis, G, 5-9, Fr., 6.0 ppg, 2.5 apg; Devin Booker, G, 6-5, Fr., 7.5 ppg 2.8 apg.
STORY LINES
1. This Dominique can fly, too. Kentucky sophomore Dominique Hawkins, Kentucky's 11th man, got his first career start Friday against Boston University, replacing Alex Poythress (illness) with Platoon 1. He had seven points, a steal, an assist and a rebound in 16 minutes. His final play was his best: a soaring slam off a Devin Booker lob, over a BU defender. It made SportsCenter's "Top Plays" on ESPN.
"Dom can really jump. At the (on-campus NBA) combine, he had like a 45-inch vertical. It was something crazy like that," Booker said. "You can just throw it anywhere and he's gonna go get it." Teammates have long said the 6-foot-tall Hawkins is the team's best dunker but he just doesn't show it often. "So now a lot of people know that I can actually dunk," Hawkins said. "And I believe that I am the best dunker on the team."
2. Check the calendar. In pounding fifth-ranked Kansas on Tuesday night, especially on defense, "we looked like a January team," coach John Calipari said. In other words, the Wildcats looked way ahead of schedule when they blocked 11 shots and held the Jayhawks below 20 percent shooting. Then came Friday night, when UK led Boston University by only five at halftime and let the Terriers shoot nearly 40 percent from 3-point range before the break.
"Today, we looked like November," Calipari said. "That (BU) team was giddy before the game and they played that way. They never stopped. They weren't afraid. The first half, they pushed and we didn't push back. We were like, 'Why are you pushing? Don't you know who I am?' It's like, 'Guys, every team we play is going to come in and it's going to be a dogfight. You either want to play or you don't."
– Kyle Tucker