How No. 10 Kentucky and LSU match up — with a game prediction
How the No. 10 Kentucky Wildcats (20-5, 10-2 SEC) and the LSU Tigers (18-7, 9-3 SEC) match up at each position — with a game prediction:
Small forward
▪ One of three guards among Kentucky’s starters, Tyrese Maxey (13.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists) came up big in UK’s 67-62 escape over Mississippi on Saturday. The 6-foot-3, 198-pound freshman had 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and locked up the Rebels’ Devontae Shuler on the game-deciding defensive stand. A freshman from Garland, Texas, Maxey is only 5-for-19 over the past five games from behind the arc. He is shooting 29.7 percent on three-point tries for the season.
▪ LSU’s Darius Days (11.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 50.2% FG) had a foul-plagued slog in the Tigers’ 88-82 upset loss at Alabama on Saturday. The 6-6, 240-pound sophomore fouled out in 14 minutes with six points and five rebounds. A Raleigh, Fla., product, Days has 17 double-doubles this season. In LSU’s controversial 73-71 win over Kentucky last year in Rupp Arena, Days had three points, three rebounds and four fouls in nine minutes.
Advantage: Even.
Power forward
▪ Kentucky’s EJ Montgomery (6.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 51.3% FG) had only two points vs. Ole Miss, but led UK with eight rebounds. The 6-10, 228-pound sophomore has 28 rebounds in Kentucky’s past four games. The Fort Pierce, Fla., product played well vs. LSU last season, with six points and five rebounds in 13 minutes.
▪ LSU’s Trendon Watford (13.9 points, 7 rebounds) is the younger brother of former Indiana star Christian Watford, whose last-second three-pointer upset eventual 2011-12 NCAA champion Kentucky 73-72 on Dec. 10, 2011, in Bloomington. A 6-9, 235-pound Birmingham product, the younger Watford had 18 points and four boards in the loss at Alabama, his 20th double-figure scoring game this season. The freshman is turnover prone; he leads LSU with 69 turnovers.
Advantage: LSU.
Center
▪ UK’s Nick Richards (14.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 66% FG, 75.2% FT) had 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks vs. Mississippi, and went 4-for-4 on free throws in the final 2:10. The 6-11, 240-pound junior from Kingston, Jamaica, has scored in double figures in 13 of the past 14 games. Richards had one point in three minutes vs. LSU last year.
▪ LSU’s Emmitt Williams (13.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 56% FG, 80.2% FT) had his seventh double-double of 2019-20 in the loss at Alabama with 13 points and 10 rebounds. A 6-6, 230-pound sophomore from Fort Meyers, Fla., Williams was terrific vs. Kentucky last year in Rupp Arena. In 19 minutes, Williams went 5-for-5 from the floor and finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Shooting guard
▪ Kentucky’s Immanuel Quickley (team-high 15 points, 4.1 rebounds, 38.7% 3PT, 91.5% FT) has become a remarkably resourceful scorer even when his jump shot is errant. In the win over Mississippi, Quickley made only four of 15 shots, one of eight threes, yet still led the Cats with 17 points. The 6-3, 188-pound sophomore has become a master at drawing fouls. In the past five games, Quickley has shot 10, 14, seven, seven and 10 free throws, respectively. Last year against LSU, Quickley had three points and four rebounds.
▪ LSU’s Skylar Mays (16.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.0 steals) is in the conversation for SEC Player of the Year. The 6-4, 205-pound senior from Baton Rouge is on a roll. Over the past three games, Mays has averaged 25.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and has made 23 of 40 field goals, nine of 18 treys and 22 of 25 foul shots. Last year, Mays had 11 points vs. UK but made only three of 13 shots.
Advantage: LSU.
Point guard
▪ UK’s Ashton Hagans (12.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 2.0 steals) had a rough go in the win over Ole Miss. The 6-3, 198-pound sophomore from Cartersville, Ga., fouled out with six points and four turnovers after making three of 11 shots, none of five three-point tries. Hagans has now had four turnovers or more in five of the past seven games. Last season vs. LSU, Hagans had four points in 21 minutes.
▪ LSU’s Javonte Smart (12.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 41.6% FG) made four of six treys and had 16 points in the loss at Alabama. A 6-4, 205-pound sophomore from Baton Rouge, Smart has now scored in double figures in 10 straight games. Smart played well vs. Kentucky a season ago with eight points, four rebounds and five assists.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Bench
▪ Kentucky’s Nate Sestina (5.6 points, 4.0 rebounds) needs one point to become a 1,000-point scorer as a collegian. The 6-9, 234-pound graduate transfer scored 876 of his points at Bucknell. Sestina has struggled lately, having gone scoreless in three of the past five games. Freshman forward Keion Brooks (4.6 points, 3.4 rebounds) has averaged six rebounds over the past three games. After a 13-point breakout in UK’s win at Tennessee, freshman guard Johnny Juzang (2.9 points, 2.0 rebounds) had two points in a win at Vanderbilt and five vs. Ole Miss.
▪ LSU’s Marlon Taylor (4.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 31.5% FG), a 6-6, 210-pound senior, has battled a left foot injury that has limited him to 15 games. Guard Charles Manning Jr. (7.6 points, 3.1 rebounds), a 6-5, 200-pound junior-college transfer, has returned after missing eight games due to a fractured foot.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Intangibles and history
▪ Kentucky’s veteran players might draw motivation from last season’s controversial 73-71 LSU win over the Wildcats in Rupp Arena. In the final seconds tipped of a tie game, LSU guard Skylar Mays drove the ball hard to the basket, but missed a running layup. The Tigers Kavell Bigby-Williams tipped the ball in just ahead of the final horn. Replays subsequently showed the ball still on the rim when Bigby-Williams tipped it, but the officials did not call basket interference. The outcome of that game ultimately allowed LSU, not Kentucky, to win the SEC regular-season title.
▪ Kentucky leads the all-time series with LSU 89-27. Under John Calipari, UK is 10-3 vs. LSU, 4-2 in Baton Rouge. Third-year LSU Coach Will Wade is 1-1 vs. the Wildcats
▪ LSU is 13-1 this season in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The one loss came to East Tennessee State, 74-63, on Dec. 18. Kentucky is 5-2 in true road games.
Advantage: Kentucky.
Prediction
Kentucky 77, LSU 72.
