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Kentucky vs. LSU: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

By Taylor Sturm

LEXINGTON, KY - DECEMBER 29: John Calipari the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats gives instructions to his team against the Louisville Cardinals during the game at Rupp Arena on December 29, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - DECEMBER 29: John Calipari the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats gives instructions to his team against the Louisville Cardinals during the game at Rupp Arena on December 29, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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The Kentucky Wildcats look to continue to bounce back from their loss to the UCLA Bruins against the LSU Tigers on the road.

TV Schedule: Tuesday, Jan. 3, 8:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Arena: Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Kentucky Wildcats entered the 2017-18 season as the heavy favorites to win the SEC, but surges from teams like the Texas A&M Aggies, Tennessee Volunteers, and Arkansas Razorbacks — combined with the struggles of this team to gel as a unit and losses to UCLA and Kansas — have questioned the “eliteness” of this team and their ability to win the SEC.

The good news for Kentucky fans is that these Wildcats’ teams always seem to have a stretch of the season where they fail to work together properly before bringing everything together late in the season, and I think that is where we are headed right now.

The SEC is one of the best top-to-bottom conferences in college basketball this season, as KenPom even has the highest ranked team with a losing record (Vanderbilt) in the conference, and it is highly unlikely that Kentucky goes undefeated. However, Kentucky might be the team most suited to consistently win the games that they should; something that keeps them as the clear favorite to win the conference in my eyes.

However, their next opponents, the LSU Tigers, are not one of the better teams in the SEC despite a pretty good start to the season.

LSU might have no bad losses heading into conference play under first-year head coach Will Wade, but their best win is against Houston, Michigan, or on the road in Memphis – all teams that will likely miss out on the Big Dance.

The Tigers need to win games against Kentucky and Texas A&M if they are to even stand a slight chance at making it to a trip to March Madness, but I would not be surprised if this team ended up playing in one of the non-NCAA or NIT postseason tournaments due to the youth on this team and the benefits postseason experience can give.

Next: 5 Questions for the beginning of SEC play

Kentucky should easily overpower this rebuilding LSU team, but keep an eye on the Tigers, as this could be a program building for an extended stay at the top of the SEC in the near future.

Prediction: Kentucky 78, LSU 62

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