The game we’ve all been waiting for: Kentucky Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks. These two teams will forever go down as two of the greatest programs in college hoops history, and to see them battle it out on the hardwood is always special. Luckily, the game is in Lexington, which should bode well for the Cats, as they haven’t lost a home game all season. Kentucky is also coming off an outstanding last few games. They took down Auburn on the road in a hostile environment, then pummeled a very talented Mississippi State team at home. If the Cats are able to pick up the win tonight, don’t be surprised if you see them end up in the top five of next week’s top-25 polls. A win against Kansas would mark three-straight wins over top-25 teams and five for the season. Tonight’s game can be seen on ESPN. You can watch it online using Watch ESPN, the Watch ESPN app and fuboTV. You can listen to an online radio stream via UK Athletics. Pregame Reading<doc-sep>Kansas Jayhawks (16-3) at Kentucky Wildcats (15-3) Event: 2019 SEC - Big 12 Challenge 2019 SEC - Big 12 Challenge Where: Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky Game Time: 6 pm EST on January 26, 2019 6 pm EST on January 26, 2019 TV Channel: The game will be broadcast on ESPN. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. Announcers : Jay Bilas, Dan Shulman and Maria Taylor will call the action. : Jay Bilas, Dan Shulman and Maria Taylor will call the action. Online Stream: You can stream the game online or on a mobile device using WatchESPN , the Watch ESPN app and fuboTV . You can stream the game online or on a mobile device using , the and . Radio : Tom Leach and Mike Pratt will have the UK radio network call on 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington or online at UKAthletics.com . : Tom Leach and Mike Pratt will have the UK radio network call on 630 AM and 98.1 FM in Lexington or online at . Replay: Check local listings on the SEC Network and WatchESPN . Check local listings on the SEC Network and Rosters : UK | KU : UK | KU Odds : Kentucky opened as a five-point favorite, and it has since moved to 6. They have covered the spread in three straight games after failing to do so in the previous three. It also just so happens that three is the longest streak Kentucky has had covering the spread this season. Kansas has failed to cover in three-straight games after covering in the previous two. KenPom projected Kentucky to be a 3.5-point favorite. Check out the betting trends and more analysis of the game. : Kentucky opened as a five-point favorite, and it has since moved to 6. They have covered the spread in three straight games after failing to do so in the previous three. It also just so happens that three is the longest streak Kentucky has had covering the spread this season. Kansas has failed to cover in three-straight games after covering in the previous two. KenPom projected Kentucky to be a 3.5-point favorite. Check out the betting trends and more analysis of the game. Predictions: Kentucky has a 68.6% chance to win, according to ESPN’s matchup predictor. KenPom gives the Cats a 65% chance of winning and projects a 73-69 win for the home team. TeamRankings projects a 75-69 Kentucky win, while numberFire went with a 77-73 win for the Cats. Check out our own picks for the game. While we wait for the game, get hyped up for the big matchup with the latest work from Kentucky Wildcats TV: The wait is finally over for a game that fans have had circled on their calendars for quite some time. The Kansas Jayhawks are coming to Rupp Arena on Saturday for a blockbuster matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats that features two top-10 teams. To make the game even more intriguing, the ESPN crew will be on-hand as a part of College GameDay. This will be the 17th time that the University of Kentucky will play host to College Gameday. The event starts at 11:00 am on Saturday, but the Rupp Arena doors will open at 9:00 am for any fans that want to be a part of the action. Admission is free, and if it is anything like years past, expect a rowdy crowd that fills a large portion of Rupp. The students section has been somewhat of a let down this season, but hopefully they will rally and represent the BBN well. Saturday has all the ingredients to be one special day. On the heels of two impressive wins, the Cats now have an opportunity to make a monumental statement by beating Kansas, who is another well respected blue blood program. Consecutive wins over Auburn, Mississippi State, and Kansas would be a tremendous addition to Kentucky’s NCAA tournament resume. These types of quality wins are laying the framework for a potential placement in the Louisville Region of the NCAA tournament, which is obviously something that fans and players alike would be elated with. Kentucky is fortunate that this year’s Big 12/SEC challenge falls on a year where the Cats will have home-court advantage. Kansas has been sputtering as of late. After a road loss to a bad West Virginia team, the Jayhawks narrowly slipped by Iowa State at home on Monday night. Meanwhile, UK seems to have firmly turned the corner and are starting to look like a legitimate national title contender. If the Cats can take care of business at home on Saturday, it will put them in position to control their own destiny from here on out in terms of securing a top NCAA tournament seed. Bill Self and John Calipari have a storied history of facing off against each other in big games, including the 2008 and 2012 national championship games. Both coaches have won their first and only national title while opposing the other. Since his arrival to Lexington, John Calipari has an overall record of just 3-3 against Bill Self, losing the last three. Any time that Kentucky and Kansas meet, the stakes are always high, and Saturday will be no different. I am sure that Coach Cal yearns to get back to his winning ways against Bill Self and Kansas, but this will also be a crucial resume game for both programs who are lobbying for a 1 or 2 seed. 4 Keys to the Game Contain Dedric Lawson Dedric Lawson is putting up some ridiculous numbers, including 29 points and 15 rebounds on Monday night. For the season, Lawson is averaging 19.5 points and nearly 11 rebounds. For a college player those stats are dominant. In watching college basketball this year, Lawson is a game-changing player that can carry Kansas to victory against just about any college team. The redshirt junior and Memphis transfer has established himself as one of the top players in the country. At 6-9, he is making 74% of his free throws and shooting 53% from the floor.<doc-sep>Two of college basketball's biggest bluebloods, No. 8 Kentucky and No. 9 Kansas, will face off on Saturday and serve as the headliner for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The two teams came into the 2018-19 season as the preseason No. 1 and No. 2, and while their rankings have dipped, the luster on this matchup certainly has not. It's Kansas and Kentucky, after all. Both KU and UK come into Saturday at 15-3 and 16-3, respectively, but the way in which both teams have gotten there is decidedly different. For the Wildcats, they started slow and have heated up. After a 7-2 record to open the season, they've won eight of their last nine, including nine straight. Kansas, on the other hand, started hot at 10-0 and has cooled off. The Jayhawks are 6-3 in their last nine games, and haven't won a game by double digits since Jan. 2. Viewing information When : Saturday, 6 p.m. : Saturday, 6 p.m. Where : Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky : Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky TV: ESPN ESPN Live stream: WatchESPN Game prediction, pick Latest odds via SportsLine: Kentucky -6 Kansas has been playing with fire of late, winning by four, two, five and five in its last four wins. Kentucky, meanwhile, is mostly smoking teams in the SEC: A 21-point beatdown of Mississippi State, a 20 point beatdown of Georgia, and an impressive two-point win over Auburn sandwiched in between. The Wildcats appear to be turning a corner at the right time. At Rupp Arena with the momentum they carry, I like them to win it and keep it rolling in a tight game. Pick: Kentucky 74, Kansas 71 [Which teams should you back to make the Final Four and win it all? Join SportsLine today and get projected scores and stats from 10,000 simulations, plus get Vegas insider picks, fantasy advice and much more!]<doc-sep>The Kentucky Wildcats continue their personal gauntlet of a schedule Saturday evening in Rupp Arena as the Kansas Jayhawks pay a visit as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Tip off is scheduled for 6:00 pm and the game will be televised on ESPN. College GameDay will also be in Lexington as part of the festivities. For the No. 8 Wildcats (15-3), the game represents another opportunity for the team to continue their march to the postseason and possibly a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. For the No. 9 Jayhawks (16-3), the game has those same traits as well. A win over UK would no doubt boost KU’s national profile. Kansas is 4-1 in their last five games with wins over Iowa State, Texas, Baylor, and TCU, but they have a bad loss to West Virginia on the road. Kentucky has won their last five games in SEC play with victories over Mississippi State, Auburn, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M. With an opportunity to defeat a third straight ranked opponent and a fellow college blue blood, the staff at A Sea of Blue have assembled around their virtual roundtable to break down the Cats/Hawks matchup and give their takes on the game. Shane Shackleford Without question Kentucky is on a roll right now. After their two point loss at Alabama, the Cats have found their identity as a quality defensive team led by national defensive POY candidate Ashton Hagans as well as their individual niches as primary scorers in Keldon Johnson, Tyler Herro, and PJ Washington. Good times in the LEX for sure. But make no mistake, Kansas is still Kansas. The Jayhawks practically mirror UK in every major team statistic and have their own share of star power in guards Dedric Lawson and Lagerald Vick. However, I think KU will struggle inside with the Cats due to the loss of their big man Udoka Azubuike for the season due to a hand injury. The Kentucky bigs have a clear advantage in the post. I look for them to have a big night in the lane on both ends of the floor, and I expect Johnson, Herro, and Hagans to continue their recent strong play. Prediction: Kentucky 78, Kansas 69 Nick Wheatley The preseason top-2 teams in the country will face off Saturday. Both teams have faltered a bit early on, but it’s still a top-ten match-up, so this will be a fun one. The Kansas Jayhawks sit at 16-3, while the Kentucky Wildcats are 15-3. Kansas has some big wins over Michigan State, Tennessee, Marquette, and Villanova. But they also have some not-so-great losses against Arizona State, Iowa State, and West Virginia. They’ve really struggled on the road this season, as the loss at West Virginia shows. The Jayhawks lost their star big man Udoka Azubuike for the rest of the season. He tore a ligament in his hand, and that’s a big loss. Kentucky would have had no one to guard him, and he would’ve been unstoppable just like last year. But he won’t be available. However, KU is definitely not short on talent. Their best player is Dedric Lawson, a Memphis transfer, who averages 19.5 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game. He will probably do whatever he wants against UK. The Cats have no one to match up with him. His brother KJ Lawson, on the other hand, isn’t quite as good. He might play 10-15 minutes the entire game, though he did come up big in their win over Tennessee with eight points, six boards and two steals. The other player UK really has to worry about is Lagerald Vick. Vick is averaging 15 ppg and shooting 45.7 percent from three. Kentucky has to have someone in his face at all times, as he will jack it up from anywhere. He’s also a slasher that attacks the basket, so the Cats better be prepared for the senior guard. Kansas has several enigmatic role players, but don’t sleep KU’s freshmen duo. Devon Dotson has been excellent this season. He’s averaging 10.9 ppg and he distributes the ball very well. He also knocks down the three ball at a high clip (41.7 percent). The other freshman is Quentin Grimes. Grimes is a matchup problem, but he’s struggled a bit this season. He’s a very talented player, but his shot just hasn’t been falling and he’s lost his confidence. Kentucky needs to keep it that way. The Jayhawks play very similar to Kentucky in that they don’t shoot a lot of threes, they draw a lot of fouls, and they attack the glass. They’ll jump in the passing lanes and force a lot of turnovers, but they don’t defend the rim that well. Kentucky should be able to score efficiently, they just need to be ready to defend the paint. The Cats win a close one at Rupp. Prediction: Kentucky 81, Kansas 76 Aaron Gershon Kentucky has picked the perfect time to catch fire. The Wildcats have won five in a row and are back inside the top 10. This sets up a top-10 matchup with No. 9 Kansas. The Jayhawks have been ranked as the top team in the country multiple weeks this season, but of late, have struggled. Last weekend, they lost to a 9-10 West Virginia team having a down season. The road wasn’t kind, as Morgantown’s hostile environment seemed to get in the Jayhawks head during the loss. Both teams come into Saturday with plenty to play for. The Cats can make a statement that they can beat any team in the country, while the Jayhawks can prove they have the ability to win on the road in hostile environments. Who proves their point? I believe the Wildcats. They are playing well on both ends of the floor. The turnover woes from Tuesday were worrisome, but this team should be able to quickly correct that. In addition, every team needs a player they can rely on to hit the dagger. Kentucky has that in Tyler Herro, who has time and time again come up clutch in Kentucky’s highest pressure moments of the season.<doc-sep>
The matchup of the year is here for the Kentucky Wildcats. While further SEC matchups await, the Wildcats are hungry to avenge last season’s loss to the Kansas Jayhawks and will have their chance Saturday evening at Rupp Arena. With College GameDay in attendance, expect Rupp Arena to return to vintage form of deafening crowd noise and intimidation. Analysis Winners of five straight, John Calipari’s team enters the game as significant favorites. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index is giving Kentucky a 68.8% chance of victory over Bill Self’s Jayhawks. Kansas, who has struggled over the last week of action, will be without star center Udoka Azubuike. The All-Big 12 center underwent surgery two weeks ago, sidelining him for the remainder of the season. The gaping hole in Kansas’s defense should and most certainly will be exploited by none other than Kentucky’s four-man rotation in the front court. Calipari’s starting duo of PJ Washington and Reid Travis will have first dibs, followed by reserves EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards. Kentucky’s impact on the inside will likely draw multiple double-teams, emphasizing efficient passes to the outside for quality looks from three. Over 32% of Kentucky’s shots come from long-range two-pointers, which is something Kansas will certainly live with. Moving the basketball for open shots will be a necessity for the Wildcats. On defense, Kentucky has tightened their grip during their winning streak and can’t let up on Saturday. Junior forward Dedric Lawson is coming off a 29-point performance against Iowa State, which will draw a group effort on defense. Shutting down Lawson and keeping an eye on senior guard Lagerald Vick should be Kentucky’s top-two priorities. Other Jayhawks to watch for include sophomore guard Marcus Garrett, who is 17 points and four steals per game over the last three contests. Sophomore guard Ochai Agbaji is another under-the-radar name to watch for, as the 6-5, 210-pounder has actually been playing power forward a lot recently, averaging 7.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals in a four-game stretch against Baylor, Texas, TCU and Iowa State. The x-factor for Kansas will likely be freshman guard Quentin Grimes, one of the top recruits in the 2018 class who Kentucky heavily pursued. His best outing was a 21-point outburst in a win over a top-10 Michigan State team. However, Grimes has struggled with consistency, averaging just 5.2 points over his last five games. In terms of KenPom, Kentucky is ranked No. 9 overall coming into this matchup, highlighted by their No. 11 defensive efficiency rating. They rank No. 20 in offensive efficiency. Kansas is ranked No. 12 on the strength of their 10 defense, while their offense is at No. 27. This game certainly has the makings of a defensive struggle that could see both teams struggle to get any separation from the other. Bettings Trends Kentucky Wildcats are 15-3 (1-2 ATS) this season Kentucky o/u is 6-4 the last 10 games Kentucky is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games Kentucky is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games Kentucky is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Kansas Kansas Jayhawks are 16-3 (3-0 ATS) this season Kansas o/u is 4-6 the last 10 games Kansas is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games Kansas is 16-3 SU in its last 19 games The total has gone OVER in 16 of Kansas’s last 23 games Expert Picks Kyle Boone of CBS Sports is picking Kentucky to win in a 84-78 affair. Mark Story of the Lexington Herald-Leader is predicting a score of 83-76, favoring the Wildcats. Sports Illustrated’s Michael Beller sees the Wildcats winning in a nail biter, 75-72. Rock Chalk Talk is also going against the Jayhawks, predicting Kentucky in a 67-62 decision. Top Bet concludes the sweep of experts picking Kentucky with a 81-76 prediction. Prediction When Kentucky and Kansas meet head-to-head, the matchup usually calls for a close decision. Despite recent woes from the Jayhawks, Saturday shouldn’t be much different. However, the outcome should be opposite of the recent past. Between Reid Travis and PJ Washington, Kentucky has sustained a heavy 1-2 punch of muscle on the inside. On the outside, their guard and wing play has been phenomenal to date. Kansas is talented, but the absence of Azubuike will plague their defense of the painted area. The two Hall of Fame coaches will duel once again on Rupp Arena’s hardwood, this time with Calipari’s team coming out on top. Final Score: Kentucky 73, Kansas 70