First Scouting Report: UK will seek to ground high-flying LSU in Rupp Arena
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Game day: No. 19 Kentucky 86, Louisville 63
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and Louisville in Rupp Arena.
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A look ahead to the Kentucky Wildcats’ next men’s basketball game:
The opponent
Kentucky (9-4, 0-1 SEC) will face LSU (12-1, 1-0 SEC) on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at Rupp Arena (capacity 20,545) at Central Bank Center in downtown Lexington:
The game will tip off at 8 p.m. (EST) and be telecast by ESPN.
In their most recent outing, Coach Matt McMahon and the Tigers upset No. 9 Arkansas 60-57 in Baton Rouge on Dec. 28.
Series history
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Louisiana State University 92-28.
As UK head man, John Calipari is 14-4 vs. the Tigers.
Matt McMahon will be coaching against Kentucky for the first time.
Most recent meeting
Oscar Tshiebwe went for 17 points and 16 rebounds and Bryce Hopkins scored 13 points and grabbed four boards in 16 minutes off the bench to lead Kentucky to a 71-66 win over LSU on Feb. 23, 2022, in Rupp Arena.
Power rankings
The NCAA NET Rankings have Kentucky No. 46, LSU No. 75.
In the Pomeroy Ratings, Kentucky stands No. 13, LSU No. 76.
The Sagarin Ratings have Kentucky No. 30, LSU No. 69.
Know your foe
1. After leading Murray State to a 154-67 mark over seven years that included five OVC regular-season titles, three league tournament crowns and three NCAA Tournament appearances, Matt McMahon accepted the challenge of guiding LSU out of the chaos of the Will Wade years.
When McMahon accepted the LSU coaching job on March 21, there was not one scholarship player remaining on the Tigers roster.
Eventually, the former Murray State head man and his coaching staff convinced four hold-over LSU players to remove their names from the transfer portal and stay in Baton Rouge. McMahon then added three former Murray State players, plus an ex-Racers signee, and the nucleus of a rebuilt roster was in place.
2. The Murray State transfers are the core of the LSU team. Super-senior KJ Williams, last season’s OVC Player of the Year, is the LSU leading scorer and rebounder. A skilled big man, the 6-foot-10, 245-pound Williams is averaging 18.5 points and eight rebounds. He is making 55.2 percent of his field-goal tries, 49 percent of his three-point attempts and 79.3 percent of his foul shots.
Junior point guard Justice Hill is averaging 8.7 points and has a 50-to-16 assists-to-turnovers ratio. The ex-Murray State guard is not shooting well, however, making only 33 percent of his field-goal tries, 30.4 percent of his trey attempts and 58.3 percent of his free throws.
Senior guard Trae Hannibal is averaging 5.6 ppg and 4.2 rpg as a bench option. The 6-2, 217-pound Hartsville, S.C., product was the hero of LSU’s upset of Arkansas, scoring 19 points in 22 minutes on 9-of-14 shooting.
Dealing with a shoulder injury, former Murray State signee Corneilous Williams has yet to play in a game this season for LSU.
3. Ex-Illinois guard Adam Miller, a player linked with Kentucky in recruiting, is LSU’s second-leading scorer. The 6-3, 190-pound redshirt sophomore — who missed all of last season due to a torn ACL — is averaging 13 points and 2.2 rebounds.
Miller has not been an especially efficient offensive player, however. He is making only 37.2 percent of his shots overall and 30.5 percent on three-point attempts. He is a good foul shooter, making 85.7 percent of his free throws. The Peoria, Ill., product also has more turnovers (26) than assists (19).
This story was originally published December 31, 2022 at 2:12 PM.
