Let's meet your starting lineups

Let’s be honest. This is one of the most mismatched games Kentucky will play all season. Even some of those early season cupcake tune-up games against Lamar and Loyola will likely show better competition than this Western Kentucky team. But we’re not here to tear the Hilltoppers down; instead let’s celebrate in our Bluegrass brethren’s success in winning the Sun Belt conference, by nothing short of a miracle comeback. It is going to make for a fun game for fans, not just of Wildcats basketball, but of Kentucky basketball. The state has four teams representing it — second only to North Carolina, we should be proud of that. Let’s get to know some of the names we’ll be seeing tonight. PG: Marquis Teague vs. Jamal Crook Marquis Teague (and the entire team to some degree) wasn’t quite himself in the SEC Tournament. He has his flashes of brilliance in the three game span, but wasn’t his reliable self that we had become accustomed to in the last half of the season. Look for Teague to get back in his groove against inferior competition as a confidence booster. Kentucky will need his hard-nosed ball handling and clutch gene down the stretch when it counts in the next couple of weeks. Jamal Crook is Western’s junior leader, straight out of Louisville’s Ballard High School, where he was a teammate of current UK guard Twany Beckaham. Crook isn’t the Hilltoppers primary scorer, only averaging a little over eight points per game, but the few shots he does take, he makes them with consistency at 42%. Crook will need to take care of the ball, as the Wildcats tenacious defense is one of the best in the nation. SG: Doron Lamb vs. T.J. Price To sum up Doron Lamb’s game in a word it is “consistent.” He’s still averaging a fantastic 13 points per game, shooting an astounding 46% from three-point land, and in general being a great secondary ball handler next to Marquis Teague. But it’s been almost a month since he had a really great shooting day from behind the arc. If Kentucky needs a trigger man to start a rally against a stifling defense, Lamb could be that guy to step up and thin it out. Right now he’s just not connecting with enough regularity to do that. Look for Lamb to find his stroke from behind the arc early and often against a weak Western Kentucky team. The freshman guard T.J. Price from Louisiana was a zero-star prospect coming out of high school, and chose the Hilltoppers over Louisiana Tech, Tulane and LSU. He currently logs the second-most minutes on the floor, but only scores about eight points per game. Nothing else remarkable stands out about Price, except for the fact he played defensive end in high school. They must have been going with the speed over strength approach on the front line. SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist vs. Derrick Gordon Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is in a slump, but he’s been up and down all season — sacrificing his own glory for the betterment of the team. I expect MKG to shatter that funk today and show the world that Anthony Davis isn’t the only All-American on this team. Kidd-Gilchrist always seems to step up when the team needs him most, and though that time won’t be today against Western Kentucky, the moment will come sooner than later. Maybe getting back to his roots will help him, because there is another UK-WKU high school player connection on the court. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist made it known he wants to guard the Hilltoppers Derrick Gordon because of that. Gordon and Kidd-Gilchrist played together at St. Patrick’s High School in New Jersey, and was a four-star recruit who stuck by his commitment to Western despite getting some looks from much higher-profile schools. Gordon is a scoring close to 12 points per game, and does his best to cover the floor. He’s like a miniature MKG. Gordon probably would have had a good game, if not for who he’ll be trying to score over. PF: Terrence Jones vs. George Fant   Terrence Jones was nothing short of a monster down in the bayou; let’s hope that intensity carries over into today’s game. It’s been said a thousand times, but I’ll say it again just to remind you — if he plays like that in this tournament, Kentucky will hang the banner. Now the “should lose/shouldn’t lose” argument is dead and gone, the loss to Vanderbilt has refocused this team and it’s time to do work. While Lamb and Darius Miller both have experience in the Final Four as well, I think Jones will take the reins and guide Kentucky to glory. He didn’t come back for a second year to come up empty again, you can count on that. George Fant is Western’s hometown boy, born and raised right in Bowling Green. He scoring over ten points per game and rebounding six per game. He’s active around the rim, but really lacks significant size. Terrence Jones is going to have a good four inches, and, to put it bluntly, a considerable amount of muscle mass on him. In the end, I think Jones is just a little bit better. C: Anthony Davis vs. Teeng Akol Anthony Davis is basically the best player in college basketball. At best, Mr. Akol is a distant second. I like Davis’ chances in this matchup in the paint. Look for him to be on quadruple-double watch early in this one: Points, rebounds, blocks, and minutes sitting on the bench in the second half out of sympathy. Teeng Akol is the bread and butter of the Hilltopper offense. (Not really, he only scores six points, and for a center hauls in a shockingly low, four rebounds per game) But just for the fun of it, how about we make another WKU-UK connection? The 6-11 junior from Sudan originally played for Travis Ford and Oklahoma State, before coming to Western in 2010. So that’s neat. Seriously though, Akol is going to get destroyed. But we’re all Kentucky friends so it doesn’t even matter. Vinny Zollo. I had to say it.