The Kentucky Wildcats are coming off arguably their most impressive win of the season, dominating a 13th-ranked Auburn Tigers team in a sold-out, College Gameday environment. The biggest takeaway from the win was their defense, which they will try to carry to Baton Rouge as they take on the LSU Tigers on Wednesday.

Coached by former Murray State head coach, Matt McMahon, the LSU Tigers are better in his second season at the helm. With just a 13-12 record, sitting 10th in the SEC, the Tigers are more dangerous than their record suggests. In fact, they have three quad-one wins on the season, the same amount as Kentucky, including a win at South Carolina this past Saturday.

That said, this is a game that Kentucky should and needs to win if they want to make a run at the SEC Regular season title. LSU is a team that likes to play a style that the Cats are comfortable with and have been in a slump, losing seven of their last ten games.

Let’s look at the matchup.

Defensive Consistency

The most impressive part of Kentucky’s win over Auburn was their defense. According to BartTorvik, it was their best defensive performance of the season, beating their previous best, which came against Ole Miss, the game prior.

Fortunately for the Cats, LSU’s offensive ranks 89th, compared to the top 30 offenses that Ole Miss and Auburn came in with. However, the Tigers are shooting 49 percent from the field and over 40 percent from three over their last five games.

McMahon’s offense features a lot of ball screens, so communication and understanding LSU’s personnel will be critical. Considering LSUV averages 13 turnovers per game, amongst the highest in the country, using some pressure could yield good results and help the Cats get some easy baskets in transition.

Coming off back-to-back season-best defensive performances, can Kentucky sustain the defensive consistency?

Jordan Wright

The name may sound familiar from his days at Vanderbilt, as he often torched Kentucky. In fact, in his 10 career matchup against the Cats, he has averaged 11.6 points on an unreal 63 percent shooting from three. That includes scoring 18 or more in three of his last four games against them.

Now at LSU, Wright is one of the Tigers’ most important players, averaging career-highs in points and assists. However, he is also averaging a career-low in field goal percentage, below 39 percent. So high usage, low efficiency.

Take Advantage on the Perimeter

LSU’s defensive philosophy consists of daring their opponents to shoot and beat them from the outside, giving up more than a third of their points to opposing teams from the three-point line, while holding opponents to just 45.3 percent on two-pointers.

This Kentucky team is one of the best shooting teams in program history, shooting a nation’s best 40.5 percent. However, attempts have been down of late, shooting less than 20 attempts in three straight games.

Kentucky’s offense will create some great perimeter looks and they have the shooter to capitalize. If it is an off-shooting night, crashing the boards could prove fruitful as LSU gives up nearly 10 offensive rebounds to their opponents per game, amongst the highest in the country.

Opposing Players to Watch

G Jordan Wright 6-6, 230 lbs

• 15.0 PPG (14th in SEC)
• 5.1 RPG
• 2.6

Averages in 10 games vs Kentucky (Transferred from Vanderbilt)

• 11.6 PPG
• 52.5% FG
• 63% 3P

G Jalen Cook 6-0, 194 lbs

• 15.6 PPG (10th in SEC)
• 3.8 RPG
• 2.8 APG

F Tyrell Ward 6-6, 180 lbs

• 8.3 PPG
• 42.2% 3P (9th in SEC)

Kentucky Basketball vs. Louisana State Tigers

• Time: 9 PM EST on Feb. 21st
• Location: Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA
• TV Channel: ESPN will have TV coverage.
• Announcers: To be announced.
• Online Stream: Stream the game online using WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
• Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the radio call on the UK Sports Radio Network.
• Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).
• Rosters: UK | LSU
• Stats to Know: UK | LSU
• KenPom: UK | LSU
• Team Sheet: UK | LSU
• Odds: The odds for the game have yet to be released, but check out SportsBetExpert for your picks. ESPN’s matchup predictor has Kentucky winning, but not as large as a chance as you would thing against a team that has dropped seven of their last 10, just an 59.8% chance of victory. Bart Torvik is right in line at 59%. EvanMiya and KenPom are slightly higher at 63.3% and 63%.
• Predictions: All the projections pick Kentucky, but my small margins. Bart Torvik picks Kentucky to win 85-83. Haslametrics has them winning 84-81. EvanMiya has it at 84-80, and KenPom is at 83-80.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.