Kentucky and Kansas. It doesn’t get any better in college basketball, especially in January.
Traditionally the two powerhouses meet during the preseason or postseason but for the second straight year, the Wildcats and Jayhawks will take on each other in the Big 12-SEC Challenge set for Saturday at Rupp Arena. The contest will be showcased on ESPN’s GameDay and legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer also is expected to be part of the showdown.
Both teams are coming off unexpected road losses earlier this week ahead of the much-anticipated showdown between the two programs. Kentucky (17-3, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) lost at neighboring Tennessee, 82-80, while the Jayhawks (18-2, 7-1 Big 12) dropped an 85-69 setback at West Virginia.
Kansas coach Bill Self, no stranger to high-profile contests, is looking forward to visiting Lexington following his team’s letdown against the Mountaineers. More than anything, he’s anxious to see how the Jayhawks respond to adversity.
“It’s going to be a great environment and one which will definitely test our poise and our toughness,” Self said. “I’m just looking forward to seeing how we’ll react. We did not react favorably (at West Virginia), although I will say this, if you had told me going into the game we’d be up one with seven minutes left at West Virginia, I would say that’s not the worst thing that would every happen. Obviously, they whipped us down the stretch.”
Although the setback ended up being a a double-digit loss for Kansas, Kentucky coach John Calipari said the second-ranked Jayhawks simply had a rare off-night in Morgantown.
“They’re very worthy of their ranking and I think that the West Virginia game was just (off and it’s a) tough place to play. (It was) a very physical game and a scrambled-up kind of game. But they’re a legit No. 1-ranked team.”
The stakes will be high for both teams, but much higher for Kentucky. The Wildcats lost to No. 8 UCLA 97-92 and suffered a 73-70 setback to No. 13 Louisville last month.
“Are there ties, or does one of us have to lose? So, it’s a tough deal, but it is what it is,” said Calipari, who favors an earlier-season matchup between the two teams. “It’s the next game for us and we know the challenge. Our schedule is one of the toughest in the country and this is what we do.”
Kentucky’s high-profile wins this year have been over No. 9 North Carolina (103-100) and No. 23 South Carolina (85-69). The Wildcats defeated Michigan State in the Champions Classic in November but beating the unranked Spartans wouldn’t necessarily be considered a signature victory needed to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
The letdown against the Volunteers won’t prove to be earth-shattering for the Wildcats but Calipari hopes the setback was a learning experience for his squad.
“It’s a big-time challenge for these young kids,” Calipari said. “We saw it last game where you have your chance to get back in the game and try to win the game and we just make some unforced errors.
“That’s the process of learning with young guys. Now you hope that they realize, OK, what did I do, what could have I done and next time I’m in that situation I’m going to try to do the right thing. But these are experiences my young guys have never been in.”
Regardless of what happens in conference play during the rest of the season, Kentucky faces a must-win scenario against the Jayhawks in order to improve the team’s chances of landing one of four top seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Without a win, it will be a tougher hurdle for Kentucky to overcome.
Gametracker: Kansas at Kentucky, 6:15 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: ESPN, 98.1 FM WBUL.
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter