Kentucky v. LSU: 2019-20 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

The Kentucky Wildcats roll into Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers as the Wildcats make their case for a higher March Madness seeding.

WHO: Kentucky Wildcats (20-5, 10-2) vs. LSU Tigers (18-7, 9-3)

TV SCHEDULE: Tuesday, February 18th, 2020 at 9:00 PM EST, ESPN

LOCATION: Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Kentucky Wildcats continue to roll in conference play despite one blemish on their record courtesy of South Carolina. Since the start of conference play on January 4th, the Wildcats have won 12 of 13 games while shooting 45% from the field and 34.7% from three-point range. More impressive, the Wildcats are hitting on almost 80% of their 25 free throw attempts per game. The Wildcats are buying into coach John Calipari’s system and will be dangerous down the stretch.

Sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley has shown progress and more consistency in his second season with the Wildcats. However, inconsistent shooting continues to be a problem for Quickley. Quickley will have games where he shoots 33%-50% from the field but he regularly drops in games where he only shoots 4-15 (26.7%) or 3-11 (27.3%) which puts extra pressure on his teammates. Quickley’s consistency is the missing piece for the Wildcats being a good team compared to a great team.

Junior guard Nick Richards continues to be a force for Kentucky. Richards stands at 6 foot 11 inches and weighs 244 pounds. Richards has seen a usage increase from his first two seasons. In 2017-18, Richards played about 15 minutes per game and only 12 minutes per game last season. In 2019-20, Richards has logged around 30 minutes per game and he has rewarded his team to the tune of a 65.7% field goal percentage on 8.4 attempts per game. Further, Richards is pulling down 8.2 rebounds per game and is blocking over two shots per game. Richards has been a welcome addition to the starting lineup and it would behoove Kentucky to work him into the offense more.

The LSU Tigers, like many teams, find themselves at a pivotal point in their season. The Tigers have lost three of their last four. In those three losses, the Tigers defense has struggled mightily. They gave up 99, 91, and 88 points in their loss. Before their February 5th 99-90 loss against Ole Miss, the Tigers gave up a season-high 85 points against Texas A&M in an overtime win.

The defensive problem for the Tigers is two-pronged; perimeter defense and failure to force turnovers. In their three losses, the Tigers opponents shot 40%, 40.9% and 37.1% from three-point range. In the previous 21 games, the Tigers held opponents to a 33% success rate from three. Further, the Tigers, in their first 21 games, forced 12.4 turnovers per game. In the Tigers’ last three losses, they forced 8, 9 and 9 turnovers respectively.

In order to compete, the LSU Tigers must find their defensive rhythm again. They cannot allow the Wildcats to shoot around 40% from three-point range if they want to keep the game close in the first half. Further, the Tigers have to pressure the offense into turnovers. Without double-digit turnovers, the Tigers have no chance of winning.

Prediction: LSU 75, Kentucky 71