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The Wildcats have won all six of their games by double
figures but have hardly looked dominant, due largely to such a
young roster that is trying to find its way. Ulis, just a
sophomore, is one of the team's veterans, although coach John
Calipari believes first-year players Isaiah Briscoe and Jamal
Murray can run the show in Ulis' place. "Yeah, I am (confident
in them)," Calipari told reporters. "But, again, they don’t have
the experience that (Ulis) has, so you don’t know how they’re
going to respond if stuff gets hairy." Illinois State led
Maryland with under six minutes remaining last week before
falling to the second-ranked Terrapins by 11.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
ABOUT ILLINOIS STATE (3-4): DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell averages a
team-high 15.9 points for the Redbirds, who drew rave reviews
from Maryland coach Mark Turgeon last week. "They were faster at
almost every position than we were," Turgeon told reporters of
Illinois State, which does not shoot particularly well from the
field (41.3) or the arc (34.5) - or the foul line (58), for that
matter. The Redbirds use basically their entire roster and they
likely will need as many bodies as they can, particularly with
6-11 freshman Daouda Ndiaye as the only player on the team
taller than 6-8.
ABOUT KENTUCKY (6-0): Murray (14.8 points) is the team's leading
scorer, followed closely by fellow freshman Skal Labissiere
(14.7) and Ulis (13.2). Murray's two best games have been his
last two outings, when he has totaled 33 points while shooting
at least 50 percent in each contest. The Wildcats have been
brutal behind the 3-point line with a team long-range percentage
of 29.1 and essentially nobody on the roster having established
himself as a reliable threat.
TIP-INS
1. Briscoe, a 6-3 guard, is 5-of-16 from the foul line this
season.
2. Labissiere, a 6-11 forward who is projected to be a potential
top-three pick in next year's NBA draft, is averaging only 4.7
rebounds on the young season.
3. Kentucky has won 37 consecutive regular-season games.
PREDICTION: Kentucky 66, Illinois State 52
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