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Coming off of a win over the sixth-ranked Texas Longhorns, the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats return to the court on Sunday to face Eastern Kentucky.
The Wildcats survived a hard-fought game on Friday night, led by a strong effort from junior Willie Cauley-Stein. Against the Longhorns, Cauley-Stein had a career-high 21 points to go with 12 rebounds, five steals and three blocks.
Kentucky is now 8-0 on the season and will face an NCAA Tournament team from last season in Sunday’s game. Eastern Kentucky made the field of 68 last year and gave the Kansas Jayhawks all they wanted before losing 80-69. Coach Jeff Neubauer is in his 10th season at EKU, and he has led the Colonels to the NCAA Tournament four times during his tenure.
This year’s EKU team is 4-2, but they have lost their last two games. Senior guard Corey Walden leads the Colonels with 18.3 points per game. Senior center Eric Stutz is averaging 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds.
The Wildcats continue to rely on their defense to keep opponents at bay. Kentucky is giving up just 45.4 points per game, which is best in the country. The Big Blue also lead the nation with 9.3 blocked shots per game.
Kentucky is led in scoring by sophomore center Dakari Johnson, who scores 10.4 points per outing. Cauley-Stein is the only other Wildcat with a double figure average, scoring 10.3 points per game.
Eastern Kentucky will have trouble matching Kentucky’s size and depth in this one. EKU’s tallest players are 6-8, while John Calipari’s Cats have six players who are at least 6-9. Expect Kentucky to exploit the height advantage on both ends of the floor, especially on defense.
Final Score Prediction: Kentucky 79 – Eastern Kentucky 46
Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America and the United States Basketball Writers Association. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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