---

When the page turns to 2022, the . file Kentucky Wildcats Looks like the men’s basketball team is starting to shoot all cylinders.

After demolishing Missouri 83-56 and High Point 92-48, the UK will now travel to Baton Rouge for what will surely be one of their biggest tests of the season.

Kentucky and LSU . tigers You will be notified at 7:00 PM ET on Tuesday inside the Pete Maravich Collection Center. The game can be watched on ESPN or available with Tom Leach and Mike Pratt on radio on WLAP.

Head coach Will Wade (imagine that) has an LSU team playing really well so far this year, despite dropping his first conference game at Auburn.

The Tigers are 12-1, ranked 16th in the country, and are undefeated on their home soil.

We all remember what happened when John Calipari took his team on the road to South Bend just a few weeks ago. I think most people would be surprised to see the UK putting up another stink as they did against it our ladyThere seems to be a lot of progress to get out and play again.

This does not mean that the UK cannot lose this game.

LSU has some serious talent, and the Pete Maravich Gathering Center is not an easy place to emerge victorious.

ESPN’s Match Predictor loves the tigers in this. As of Sunday morning, it was giving LSU a 60.7 chance of beating Kentucky.

It’s also worth noting that after starting the season 12-0 and then dropping the first collegiate game of the season to Auburn – LSU would be especially desperate to avoid a 0-2 start in SEC play.

Then there’s the obvious extra juice that playing Kentucky will undoubtedly bring.

Repeating a performance of more than 90 points will be difficult for cats considering that LSU has not yet ceded more than 70 points to an opponent.

As a matter of fact, tigers are the highest defense in America, According to KenPom.

I knew LSU was winning games, but honestly, I had no idea how good they were defensively outside of the conference. Even with a mediocre schedule up to this point, keeping the difference at 55.3 points per game on average is pretty impressive.

You’re going to have to deliver, because Kentucky has now worked its way up the KenPom top 10 for offensive proficiency, led by Keelan Grady’s latest brilliance. Grad’s transfer deal flowed in seven three-setters on Friday against High Point in just 10 attempts.

After hitting 23 of his last 31 three-pointers, Grady called and finally found his rhythm as his pitch rose and he’s now shooting without hesitation. Watching him run across the floor and then use fast laser shooting to drop deep jump shots has been one of the most fun things to do so far this season.

With the success that Grady has seen, you can count on good defenses like LSU and put in more objective scheming to slow Grady’s attack and the Kentucky periphery.

From a defensive perspective, the UK will have their hands full of second striker Tarry Eason who has been on fire for nearly 16 points in the game while averaging 22 minutes on the ground.

Moving out of Cincinnati has already doubled his average score by 7.3 more than last year. At 6-foot-8, he does the most paint damage while also snatching about seven boards per game.

This would be a great match for either Keion Brooks or Jacob Toppin. Assuming the plan is to keep Oscar Cheboye out of trouble – John Calipari will need some positive defensive contributions from the other players on the front court.

If the Cats get out and continue to build on their positive momentum with a win in Baton Rouge, you can start dreaming about what the ultimate ceiling for this team really is.

But again – winning on the road in college basketball is tough – especially when you’re Kentucky.