Kansas-Kentucky college basketball preview
P | No. | Kansas | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 31 | Jamari Traylor | 6-8 | Jr. | 2.0 |
F | 34 | Perry Ellis | 6-8 | Jr. | 13.0 |
G | 1 | Wayne Selden | 6-5 | So. | 10.0 |
G | 4 | Devonte’ Graham | 6-2 | Fr. | 14.0 |
G | 0 | Frank Mason | 5-11 | So. | 12.0 |
P | No. | Kentucky | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 15 | Willie Cauley-Stein | 7-0 | Jr. | 9.0 |
F | 12 | Karl-Anthony Towns | 6-11 | Fr. | 5.5 |
F | 22 | Alex Poythress | 6-8 | Jr. | 7.5 |
G | 2 | Aaron Harrison | 6-6 | So. | 7.5 |
G | 5 | Andrew Harrison | 6-6 | So. | 9.5 |
▪ WHEN/WHERE: 8 p.m. Tuesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
▪ TV/RADIO: ESPN; KCSP (610 AM)
▪ ABOUT KENTUCKY (2-0): The Wildcats found a way to play two games during the season’s opening weekend. They began with an 85-45 victory over Grand Canyon on Friday, then trailed Buffalo 38-33 at halftime on Sunday. Kentucky rallied for a convincing 71-52 victory, but it exposed some flaws. The Wildcats have a record nine McDonald’s All-Americans on their roster, a number that doesn’t include Olathe Northwest graduate Willie Cauley-Stein. For the moment, Kentucky coach John Calipari is attempting to play 10 guys. The Harrison twins — Andrew and Aaron — are back in the backcourt after helping Kentucky to the NCAA title game last year. Freshman forward Trey Lyles, a native of Indianapolis, is leading Kentucky with 13 points per game while coming off the bench. Freshman big man Karl-Anthony Towns has been projected as a possible All-American candidate in some circles, but much like Kansas freshman forward Cliff Alexander, he’s still growing into his role.
▪ ABOUT KANSAS (1-0): If there has been one glaring change in how Kansas has played thus far, it is on defense, where the Jayhawks are relentlessly pressuring the ball and trying to create havoc in the passing lanes. The defensive style is closer to the one employed when Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers were in the backcourt. The Jayhawks will need to push the tempo and force turnovers against a Kentucky team with a clear height advantage. KU coach Bill Self said Sunday that sophomore guards Frank Mason and Wayne Selden and junior forwards Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor would start against Kentucky; Self has remained mum on the fifth starter. He could go with freshman Devonte’ Graham, who looked solid in the season-opening victory against UC Santa Barbara, but that would mean KU would start two smallish guards against a Kentucky lineup with nobody shorter than 6 feet 6.
▪ BOTTOM LINE: Entering Tuesday, Kentucky was first in Division I history with 2,142 wins; Kansas is second with 2,127 victories. The Jayhawks are young, and plenty rough around the edges, with rotation issues to be sorted out. But Kentucky is just as young, and if there’s a good time to face the uber-talented ’Cats, it might be November.
| Rustin Dodd, rdodd@kcstar.com
This story was originally published November 17, 2014 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Kansas-Kentucky college basketball preview."