Two weeks ago, Kentucky lost to top-ranked Kansas in a tight game in the Champions Classic. Now, the Cats take on their second Top 10 foe of the season when eighth-ranked Miami visits Rupp Arena on Tuesday night in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Kentucky, now ranked 12th by the Associated Press, is looking forward to the challenge according to assistant coach Chuck Martin.
“It’s a great game to be a part of. I think this is one of the reasons you come to Kentucky, to play in these early nonconference games,” Martin said. “It certainly will challenge us but I think we’ve had two or three good days of practice, our spirit is in a good place. We’re excited to toss it up tomorrow night and see what happens.”
The Hurricanes, under head coach Jim Larranaga, went to the Final Four last year and return a number of players from last year’s team. Martin knows that the ‘Canes will be a formidable opponent.
“They’re a dangerous team,” Martin said. “They’re averaging 89 points per night and 46 percent from the three-point line. They’ve got four guards on the floor at any time.”
As for the Cats, they continue to push the pace and to shoot the three-point shot. Miami does very similar things, according to Martin.
“There are some similarities,” Martin said. “We’ve got six guys in double digits. We shoot a pretty high percentage from the three-point line.”
The Cats still have plenty of things on which to improve, but Martin knows that there needs to be a primary focus right now.
“We’ve got to continue to become a better rebounding team, especially when we’re playing against teams that shoot the three like we will tomorrow night against Miami,” Martin said. “Long shots, long rebounds. We’ve been working on that quite a bit.”
The Cats get another shot at a Top 10 opponent on Tuesday night. Kentucky continues to improve and this game could be a measuring stick for just how much better UK has gotten in the last two weeks.
