This Week in Kentucky Basketball: Bring on the SEC

Now that Christmas is in the rearview mirror and everyone has gotten a little break, it is time to get serious. The Kentucky Basketball team begins their Southeastern Conference schedule on Wednesday by hosting Missouri. While the Tigers are expected to finish near the bottom of the standings, all conference games are tough. There should be an added buzz at Rupp Arena Wednesday evening as the games start to matter just a little bit more.

Along with hosting Missouri, the Wildcats also welcome Tubby Smith and High Point to Rupp on New Year’s Eve. Coach Smith will be honored in the rafters to commemorate his 1998 National Championship and the 263 wins that he bought the Kentucky Basketball program. That game will officially put a bow on the non-conference slate.

As we do each Monday, let’s dive on in to this week in Kentucky Basketball. First, we will take a look at the biggest storyline around the program and preview this week’s opponents. Then, we will catch up on all the happenings around the SEC before previewing the top games to watch nationally.

Top Kentucky Basketball Storyline: SEC Games Begin

Once teams get into conference play, the real grind of the college basketball season begins. The routine of playing every Tuesday/Wednesday and Saturday is fun for fans but a lot on the athletes playing 40 hard-fought minutes twice a week. You will hear it said a lot, but winning conference games is really hard.

After last season where the Wildcats finished under .500 in Southeastern Conference play, a chance at redemption should be welcomed in Lexington. The 2019-2020 season that saw Kentucky win the SEC by three games seems like it was a decade ago. Despite last year’s lack of success, the media still selected the ‘Cats as the conference favorite this season. Coach Calipari and company will have their first shot at proving worthy Wednesday night.

This Week in Kentucky Basketball: Missouri Tigers & High Point Panthers

Missouri Tigers

Coach Cuonzo Martin and the Tigers come to Rupp Arena Wednesday evening to begin the SEC schedule. Missouri is just 6-6 this season with some really ugly, lopsided losses on their resume. However, as will be the theme leading into Wednesday, all of that gets reset when conference play tips off.

Junior forward Kobe Brown leads a struggling Missouri offense with 14.8 points per game. Per KenPom, the Tigers are 192nd in adjusted offensive efficiency. The numbers really get ugly as you digger a little deeper. Missouri’s effective field goal percentage of 44.6% is 315th nationally while their 24.3% three-point shooting puts them 355th out of 358 teams. You never know what will happen on a given night, but this is a team that Kentucky should be able to really put the clamps on.

High Point Panthers

Like Missouri, Coach Tubby Smith and the High Point Panthers currently sit at 6-6. However, they have a date with Michigan State on Wednesday before traveling to Lexington. The record is a little misleading though as High Point has defeated three non-Division I opponents to rack up half of their wins.

Unfortunately for Coach Smith, his High Point team simply isn’t very good. They play at a slow, deliberate pace and really struggle to score offensively. On the glass, they get dominated on a nightly basis allowing opponents to rebound 33.7% of their misses. Also, they are one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the country at just a tick over 60% despite getting to the line a lot.

First Team All-Big South guard John-Michael Wright is about the only bright spot for the Panthers. The 6’0″ junior is averaging 21.1 points per game and dishes out nearly four assists as well. He is a very good player that will be able to hold his own on the Rupp Arena floor.

Around the Southeastern Conference

The LSU Tigers enter SEC play with a perfect 12-0 record. They are the lone undefeated team remaining in the conference. However, their reward is a murderer’s row to begin league play. Coach Will Wade and company starts out with a trip to Auburn this week followed by games against Kentucky and Tennessee next week. With as good as the Southeastern Conference is this season there will be stretches like that for everyone throughout the season, but that is a tough start for a 12-0 team.

Wednesday tips off the SEC slate with five conference games while South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas A&M each play another non-conference foe. Vanderbilt has the week off. Florida travels to Ole Miss, LSU is at Auburn, Missouri is at Kentucky, Arkansas goes to Mississippi State, and Tennessee will make their way to Alabama.

Going into the SEC schedule, the league has five teams ranked in the Top 25 with #11 Auburn, #14 Tennessee, #16 LSU, #18 Kentucky, and #19 Alabama. For more on the current state of Southeastern Conference basketball heading into Wednesday, check out this roundup by our very own Kassidy Stumbo.

Games to Watch Nationally

Tuesday, December 28th

Alabama State @ #25 Texas Tech (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN+)

North Alabama @ #4 Gonzaga (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

UConn @ #23 Xavier (7:00 p.m. Eastern Time FS1)

Northwestern State @ #1 Baylor (8:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN+)

Incarnate Word @ #17 Texas (8:30 p.m. Eastern Time Longhorn Network)

Wednesday, December 29th

High Point @ #10 Michigan State (3:00 p.m. Eastern Time Big 10 Network)

Nicholls @ #3 Purdue (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Big 10 Network)

#16 LSU @ #11 Auburn (7:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPNU)

#15 Seton Hall @ #21 Providence (7:00 p.m. Eastern Time FS1)

Missouri @ #18 Kentucky (7:00 p.m. Eastern Time SEC Network)

Illinois State @ #24 Wisconsin (8:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

#14 Tennessee @ #19 Alabama (9:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN2)

Temple @ #22 Villanova (9:00 p.m. Eastern Time FS1)

Thursday, December 30th

#4 Gonzaga @ San Diego (10:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

Friday, December 31st

High Point @ #18 Kentucky (Noon Eastern Time SEC Network)

Saturday, January 1st

West Virginia @ #17 Texas (Noon Eastern Time ESPNU)

#1 Baylor @ #8 Iowa State (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPNU)

#22 Villanova @ #15 Seton Hall (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

#21 Providence @ DePaul (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time FS1)

Oklahoma State @ #25 Texas Tech (4:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN+)

TCU @ #6 Kansas (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN+)

#2 Duke @ Notre Dame (6:00 p.m. Eastern Time ACC Network)

#4 Gonzaga @ Loyola Marymount (7:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

Sunday, January 2nd

#10 Michigan State @ Northwestern (2:00 p.m. Eastern Time Big 10 Network)

#12 Houston @ Temple (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time ESPN)

#13 Ohio State @ Nebraska (8:00 p.m. Eastern Time Big 10 Network)