The Kentucky Wildcats and all of Big Blue Nation had a week of celebration after defeating the No. 6 Duke Blue Devils in the Champion’s Classic, followed by the women’s basketball team taking down the No. 20 Louisville Cardinals. Both instances were Kentucky’s first wins against those opponents since 2015, so it was a very special week in Lexington.

Now, the Cats must move on from their breakthrough win over Duke and get ready for a sneaky mid-major team on Tuesday against the Lipscomb Bisons.

This will be just the second matchup between the teams, as Kentucky won the first matchup at home 67-49 in 2005.

Led by Lennie Acuff, in his sixth season, the Bisons are projected to win the Atlantic Sun Conference. They are also one of the most experienced teams in college basketball (2.71 years per player) and are not a team that will beat themselves, already having a road win over Duquesne and a home win over Wofford. They held their own against Arkansas earlier this season, staying within four points deep into the second half.

Lipscomb also has losses to Belmont and Western Kentucky by a combined six points, so don’t let that 2-3 record fool you. This is typically a good mid-major program that’s capable of pushing the Cats if they don’t come prepared.

Let’s take a look at the matchup.

Pick-and-Roll Defense

Lipscomb’s offense prioritizes spacing and ball movement, as do most modern offenses. It uses a lot of pick-and-roll action, giving its guards multiple options, from shooting on the dribble to hitting the big on the roll.

Kentucky struggled to defend the pick-and-roll with Cooper Flagg during the first half of the Duke game but adjusted well en route to the win. While they are playing lower competition, it will be interesting to see if those adjustments (hard shows and certain switches) carry through the next couple of games, starting with Lipscomb.

3-Point Offense and Defense

In their 3-point statistics, Kentucky and Lipscomb look very similar. Both teams are within one shot attempt on average, and both teams have shot 38+ percent from deep thus far this season.

That said, Kentucky has been the far more superior team in 3-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 25.3%.

Meanwhile, the Bisons have allowed their opponents to shoot over 30%. The Bisons play a lot of 2-3 zone, which is prone to giving up the 3-point shot.

It will be imperative for Kentucky to work the ball around the zone and find open shooters vs. trying to drive and take long 2s, something we saw far too often under the former coach.

Size Advantage

One reason why Lipscomb plays a 2-3 zone is their lack of size. With an average height of just 76.6”, this will be the biggest size advantage Kentucky has had this season, ranking 281st nationally.

This should lead to another double-double for Amari Williams, Brandon Garrison, Andrew Carr, and the Wildcats dominating the boards.

This will also be a great opportunity to experiment with some of its smaller lineups that features Ansley Almonor, Koby Brea, and potentially Otega Oweh at the 4 spots. Oweh hasn’t played the 4 much this year but did it occasionally while at Oklahoma.

Opposing Players to Watch

G Will Pruitt 6-3, 195 lbs

• 14.3 PPG
• 5.3 RPG
• 3.0 APG
• 40.8% 3P career

F Jacob Ognacevic 6-8, 220 lbs

• 23.5 PPG
• 7.3 RPG
• 53.3% FG

G Joe Anderson 6-0, 175 lbs

Time: 7:00 PM ET on November 19th, 2024

Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky

TV Channel: This game will not be on TV and is streaming only,

Online Stream: SEC Network+, ESPN+, and the ESPN app.

Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the radio call on the UK Sports Radio Network.

Replay: WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings).

Rosters: UK | LU

Stats to Know: UK | LU

KenPom: UK | LU

Team Sheet: UK | LU

Odds: FanDuel Sportsbook has not yet released the odds for this matchup, so check back Monday afternoon. Bart Torvik (92%), KenPom (94%), EvanMiya (95.2%), and ESPN (96.3%) all give Kentucky a 90+ percent chance of winning.

Predictions: KenPom (88-71), Bart Torvik (90-72), EvanMiya (89-68), and Haslametrics (92-70) are also predicting a victory, Kentucky!

Send us your Kentucky vs. Lipscomb score predictions in the comments section!