Kansas vs Kentucky: 3 key storylines for 2023 Champions Classic matchup

Kentucky takes on one of the best bigs without a few of its own available

Kentucky’s frontcourt has certainly been in the spotlight for the past couple of months for the wrong reasons. Five-star center prospect Aaron Bradshaw suffered a foot injury in the offseason and is still reportedly a couple of weeks away. Ugonna Onyenso, who was with the team on its foreign exhibition tour, suffered his own foot injury and is still weeks away.

The Wildcats also have Zvonimir Ivisic, a 7’2 center from Croatia. However, he’s still being held out as he’s yet to be cleared by the NCAA due to eligibility issues. With three bigs out, that leaves just Tre Mitchell, a transfer from West Virginia who has actually looked good for the team in small-ball lineups. And since the team has so many capable guards on the roster, it hasn’t been an issue to this point.

But that changes on Tuesday, as the team goes up against Hunter Dickinson, a 7’1 center who’s one of the best offensive players in the sport. He’s played 34 mpg so far because there’s no other big man on the roster and if Adou Thiero (concussion) isn’t ready to go, 6’7 combo forward Justin Edwards may have to play 40 minutes at multiple positions.

The one positive the Wildcats have is that they can play 5-out on offense and force Dickinson to guard out on the perimeter and try to exploit matchups. Kansas doesn’t have much frontcourt depth so if they can get him in foul trouble, that’ll change things. But there’s a chance that the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year could go for 30+ and there’s no much Coach John Calipari can do about it.