No. 10 Kentucky will look to pick up its fifth-straight win when it hosts Tennessee State on Friday night.
The Wildcats sit at 4-1 on the season, with their most recent win coming earlier in the week against Winthrop.
As for the Tigers, they are 2-3 on the year after losing 80-77 at Cal State Northridge.
Let’s run through what to watch for in this matchup.
Game Details
- No. 10 Kentucky (4-1) vs. Tennessee State (2-3)
- Location: Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY
- Game Date: Nov. 23
- Game Time: 7 p.m. EST
- Watch: SEC Network
Players to Watch
PJ Washington (Kentucky)
After two lackluster performance to open up the season, Washington has completely turned things around.
He’s now leading the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg), with the 6-8 sophomore scoring 19 or more points in the past three games.
Kentucky still has plenty of areas of improvement, but getting Washington back on track was certainly a huge boost.
Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey (Tennessee State)
The former Ole Miss guard has had a nice start to his Tennessee State career, scoring 26 points in the opener against Lipscomb and notching a couple of other double-digit efforts since that point.
He leads the Tigers in scoring at 15.0 points per game while shooting 38.9 percent from 3-point range in 26.5 minutes per contest.
Key Stats
Kentucky continues to dominate the glass on offense, as John Calipari’s team still boasts the nation’s best offensive rebounding percentage (46.8 percent) despite grabbing just seven in the win over Winthrop.
Another issue for the visitors will be the size advantage for the Wildcats, who rank 49th nationally in average height while Tennessee State is significantly lower at 339th nationally.
Elsewhere, Kentucky is still in the top 10 nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, with the Tigers ranking 315th in that category.
Of course, one area of weakness for Washington and company has been defending the perimeter, as opponents are shooting 44.1 percent from long range against the Wildcats (346th nationally).
Game Outlook
- Spread: Kentucky -29.5
- Over/Under: 152
- KenPom Projection: Kentucky, 99 percent chance to win
- ESPN BPI Projection: Kentucky, 95.7 percent chance to win
It’s clear that there are still things Kentucky needs to work on, and this is the type of game where some progress should be able to made.
Brian Collins should have Tennessee State competitive in the OVC this season, but it’s still likely a transition year due to the combination of the coaching change and the need to build chemistry with the newcomers.
The Wildcats struggled to stop high-quality shooting teams like VMI and Winthrop, and they’ll certainly need to defend in this one since Tennessee State is 38th nationally in 3-point field goal attempts at around 32 per game.
But Kentucky should be able to grab a big advantage on the boards due to the size, and that could lead to some issues on both sides of the court for the Tigers.
Calipari’s group should roll to another win.
Season Predictions Record (straight up): 52-10
Game Prediction: Kentucky 90, Tennessee State 61
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