The fifth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats are facing the 19th-ranked LSU Tigers in order to extend their 10-game winning streak. The Tigers are coming in with an impressive 19-4 record (9-1), and they’re tied for second in the SEC with the Wildcats. The one conference loss came at home vs. Arkansas, 90-89. The Cats took care of the Tigers 74-71 in Baton Rouge last season. They’re led by sophomore guard Tremont Waters. He’s averaging 15.7 points and 6.1 assists per game. He is joined by freshman forward Naz Reid who is averaging 13.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Ashton Hagans and PJ Washington are going to have their work cut out for them tonight. As a team, they average 83.3 points but give up 73.4, so the Cats should be able to score on them. They average 38.4 rebounds per game, and the Cats average 39 of them. This will definitely be a battle of the boards and toughness. The game is at 7:00 pm EST on ESPN. You can watch it online using WatchESPN, the WatchESPN app and fuboTV. You can listen to an online radio stream via UK Athletics. After the game, join me on ESPN 680 for the UK Postgame show. I’ll have John Calipari’s press conference live, I’ll break down the game, and I’ll take phone calls at 502-267-9680. Here’s how you can listen: Follow the leader, ESPN Louisville. - ESPN 680 (Louisville) | 105.7 FM (Frankfort) - https://t.co/MCcOqOuvzx - ESPN Louisville app | ESPN app | TuneIn - Listen: https://t.co/qokZJRfETW pic.twitter.com/40lDrtH6B6 — ESPN Louisville (@ESPN680) November 12, 2018 Pregame Reading Go Cats!<doc-sep>Looking forward to this moment tonight. It's GAME DAY!!! pic.twitter.com/4qg7iG4O9C — Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 12, 2019 Kentucky is back in Rupp Arena on a 10-game winning streak with a chance to make a major statement this week. By winning the next two home games, it will open a clear path to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But those two foes are not going to make it easy. Tuesday night, LSU will travel to Lexington with 9-1 conference record and a legitimate contender for the SEC title. At 19-4 overall, second-year head coach Will Wade has positioned his team to be a dangerous team heading into the spring. Led by sophomore guard Tremont Waters, the Tigers will be coming off one of their best wins of the year by beating Auburn on Saturday. Their record speaks for itself, but it’s definitely fair to say that LSU has hardly any quality wins so far. With losses in the non-conference to Houston and Oklahoma State, the Tigers need a resume win like beating a top-five team on their home floor. It would normally be easy to look ahead to Saturday’s clash with No. 1 Tennessee, but LSU is still a major test for the Cats that they should be focused on. Buckle up, Big Blue Nation, the atmosphere is going to be great in Rupp Arena on Tuesday night. Keys to the Game 40 full minutes A second half lull could have translated to a terrible loss in Starkville. Fortunately for Kentucky, they were able to settle down just enough to secure a four-point win on the road. With an opponent like LSU, there will be much less room for the lackluster play that the Cats showed down the stretch at Mississippi State, as an 18-point lead was cut to just one. The home crowd at Rupp Arena should help thwart any similar runs on Tuesday night but it will still be important for Uk to execute for a full 40 minutes. The Tigers’ last three games have been decided by five points or less, including an overtime victory at Mississippi State. I would be really surprised if LSU folds at any point during this game or lets it get too far away from them. Kentucky had scored more points than their opponents in the second half in five-straight games before traveling to Starkville. Winning the final 20 minutes might be what it takes to knock off LSU. Get back in the free-throw groove This year’s Kentucky team has been the best free-throw shooting club in the John Calipari era, as they’ve been hitting around 75% of their charity shots for most of the season. But that changed in a big way Saturday, as the Cats hit just 10/17 attempts. That many missed free throws help keep Mississippi State alive throughout the second half when Kentucky could have put them away. The Cats can’t let this bad game turn into a slump, as hitting at that lower rate could kill their chances of beating LSU and Tennessee. Control the fouls With Kentucky’s depth, foul trouble has really been a non-issue this season. But Saturday, PJ Washington fouled out, and Reid Travis was limited with four fouls. Naz Reid and Kavell Bigby-Williams are both nearly 7-feet tall and will challenge UK’s frontcourt in the paint. Washington continues to prove that when he is locked in there are not many better players in the country. His eight straight points to start the game on Saturday were important to establish a rhythm on the road. Avoiding early foul trouble will help set the tone and prevent possibly playing from behind. Of course, if there is any frontcourt foul trouble, the Cats will rely on Nick Richards and EJ Montgomery to step in and contribute. While Nick Richards continues to struggle, EJ Montgomery has snagged 20 rebounds in the last two games. Get Nick going Going with the above, Nick Richards hasn’t done much lately after it appeared he was finally breaking through. After his 14-point outing at Vanderbilt, Richards has scored just six points on 3/5 shooting while pulling in five rebounds and blocking one shot. That has to improve for Kentucky to hold off the frontcourts of LSU and Tennessee. You could argue this is the biggest week of Richards’ career, as he could be the x-factor against two teams who can light up a scoreboard in the paint alone. Players to watch: Tremont Waters: 15.6 points and 5.9 assists per game Sophomore guard Tremont Waters is a really special player who can be difficult to contain when he is hot. At over 15 points a game he ranks 8th in the SEC in scoring. Waters hit four 3 pointers in Saturday’s win against Auburn and will surely be firing up some shots on Tuesday. It will be a real treat to watch Ashton Hagans with this assignment. Naz Reid: 14 points and 6 rebounds per game If you haven’t watched Naz Reid play I think you will be intrigued by what you see on Tuesday night. His size and power are an entertaining combination. The big guy is putting up some numbers as of late including 29 points in LSU’s overtime win at Mississippi State. Reid is still unpolished but can be a load to deal with. The Cats front court will have to rise to the challenge like they have done so well during this ten game winning streak. Skylar Mays: 13 points per game The junior guard is shooting 33% from three while averaging 5 attempts per game. Mays will be coming off a huge game Saturday against Auburn where he scored 20 points. With a lot of attention being paid to Water the Cats will have to stay focused on Mays because he is a capable scorer. Ja’vonte Smart: 10.9 points per game Kentucky isn’t the only team with talented freshman guards, Smart is 6’4 and having a really good first year of college. He came to Baton Rouge as a top 35 recruit and has been a nice compliment to Waters and Reid. The Tigers have a really good nucleus of players and Smart is just another example of a solid scorer.<doc-sep>
The Kentucky Wildcats fell to the LSU Tigers Tuesday night, 73-71. The game went back and forth early on, but the Cats were able to slowly build a lead to go into the half up 40-32. It was an ugly game. What looked like it might be a shootout quickly turned into a defensive slugfest. UK couldn’t get a shot to fall in the second half and LSU took control. There was just no offense being run, especially once PJ Washington got into foul trouble. This was because UK really struggled with LSU’s length. We’ve seen glimpses of this in the past, but LSU had the talent and size to really slow Kentucky down. Reid Travis was quiet, and he shot two too many threes. But he worked hard all game and came close to putting up a double-double. EJ Montgomery gave some excellent minutes off the bench. He scored and rebounded well enough to help keep UK in the game. Immanuel Quickley also played well off the bench. He contributed some invaluable defense and effort while Hagans was sidelined with foul trouble. Keldon Johnson scored several timely buckets and continued to rebound the ball. He worked off the ball, took guys off the dribble, and knocked down a big three. Tyler Herro struggled at times, but he played well offensively. Up next, the No. 1 ranked Tennessee Volunteers come to town Saturday for College GameDay in Lexington. Box Score Game MVP This one goes to the Cats’ best player, both tonight and for the year, and that’s PJ Washington. PJ was in foul trouble for the second straight game tonight, but he’s been so good when he’s on the court. Even though he didn’t knock down a three tonight, he was still able to dominate the paint. LSU has four solid big men and PJ went right through all of them. That’s part of the reason he was in foul trouble, but he was still excellent. He finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. He also shot 7-13 from the field, including 6-8 from the free throw line. As hard as this loss is to stomach, Kentucky already gets a chance to attone this Saturday when No. 1 Tennessee comes to Rupp Arena. And we’ve still got a month until the NCAA Tournament begins, so there’s still plenty of time for the Wildcats to improve and establish themselves as a title contender.