UK PREVIEW: International Man of Mystery

“There’s no other state, none, that’s as connected to their basketball program as this one, because those other states have other programs. Michigan has Michigan State, California has UCLA, North Carolina has Duke. It’s Kentucky throughout this whole state, and that’s what makes us unique;” and “We don’t just play college basketball, we are college basketball.” With hubris such as this there’s no doubt that University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari is one to make outrageous claims; claims arguably more outrageous than Dr. Evil’s father having invented the question mark…but I digress. The moral of the story of Coach Cal: talk is cheap, evidenced by UK’s having begun last season in the 18,000 seat Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, and watched it come crashing down in a glorious, fire-balling, crater of an ending with a first round NIT exit in a 3,000 seat gym in western Pennsylvania, known as the Charles L. Sewall Center. #RobertMorris

Of course none of that matters now. Today’s game can be described in any number of ways: speed vs. size, experience vs. youth, good vs. evil, everything that’s right with college basketball vs. everything that is wrong with it, supposed “little brother” vs. big brother, the name on the front of the jersey vs. the name on the back; you get the idea. And while to some extent indeed this game will lend further credence to Coach P’s team first concept, or Cal’s one-and-done mercenaries, who cares about your school, I’ll get you to the NBA philosophy, it will boil down to a contest where five players at a time will battle five others for a period of 40 minutes in Lexington, KY. However within that contest there is one match-up in particular that may well determine the outcome, and it lies within the abilities of an international man of mystery. This individual is not in fact British super spy and world-renown swinger, Austin Powers, but rather Mangok Mathiang – did you ever think those two would be mentioned in the same sentence? The Cards’ freshman center, by way of the Sudan, Australia, and Carbondale, Illinois, of all places, will receive the assignment of containing the dangerous UK frontcourt of Julius Randle and the newly blonde-haired Willie Cauley-Stein. No comment.

Mathiang has shown tremendous improvement over the last five games. Through the first seven of the season he was averaging 14.8 minutes, 2.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and .9 blocks, but during the span of the past five he’s become an integral element of the starting line-up, posting 21.2 minutes, 8 points, 5.8 boards, and 2 blocks. Of course, and this is where the Cards may have an advantage down low, Mangok is not alone. While Randle and Cauley-Stein may, and may is the key word, have a higher ceiling talent wise than any one member of the Cardinals frontcourt, the Wildcats lack depth at those positions. The Cats will see a healthy dose of senior inside-man Stephan Van Treese who will play physical basketball with the opposing big men, and look to draw them into foul trouble, while the tandem of Montrezl Harrell and Chane Behanan will anchor the four spot. Also look to see Trez and Chane in the line-up simultaneously, especially when the Cards are looking to make a push and go on a run. While these three will not be afraid to mix it up and play hard-nosed basketball, one vital element they bring to the table are their fouls. Look at it this way, the Cards with Mangok and SVT at center can give ten fouls to Cauley-Stein’s five, while Trez and Chane can also give ten to Randle’s five at power forward. Getting the UK big-men in foul trouble early would likely pay huge dividends as the game progresses.

The Cards will have to contend with an equally talented UK backcourt as well, anchored by three freshmen in the infamous Harrison twins and swingman James Young. With each standing 6-6 and weighing in at 215 lbs or heavier, they are certainly an imposing trio, especially because of the size advantage they have over Russ Smith (6-0, 165 lbs), and Chris Jones (5-10, 175 lbs). While lacking in stature, the Cards’ veteran guards shoot a combined better percentage from the field and from 3-point range, average more points, generate more steals and assists, all while turning the ball over fewer times. These trends will need to continue this afternoon. In short, look for the guards to penetrate through the Wildcat defense and dish to the wings for open threes, create easy scoring chances underneath, or simply to lure the Kentucky frontcourt into fouling.

While the Cards will not necessarily need to shoot lights-out to come out of an extremely hostile environment against a talented team with a victory, they will need a solid perimeter contribution. But as the Cards roll nine or even ten deep, compared to UK’s six, look for an emphasis on utilizing team speed in getting to the rim to draw fouls and use that depth to their advantage as the Cards secure a single-digit W, send a dejected blue-clad crowd of 22,000 packing, effectively ruin all of Big Blue Nation’s holiday season, and “rescue a world from mysticism and tyranny, and usher in a future brighter than anything we could imagine.”

Side Notes:

• Though records and rankings can be thrown out for a rivalry game, the Cards enter ranked 6^th at 11-1, while UK is 18^th and 9-3.

• Yeah, I referenced “300” and “Austin Powers” in the same post. Go big or go home!

• Remember this from last year? I bet Chane does.

• The Cards are 15-30 all-time vs. UK, including 4-12 against the Cats at Rupp (Russ) Arena, and 5-16 overall in the series’ road games.

• Since taking the helm of the Cards in 2001, Coach P is 5-8 vs. UK, and 2-4 against them in Rupp.

• Cal is the only coach in history to have a Final Four appearance vacated at more than one school. A tremendous and classy feat.

• UofL has won 15 of its last 20 games vs. SEC teams. Andrew Jackson, thoughts?

• Coach P has a 12-12 record all-time vs. Calipari and is 3-1 against him in postseason games.

• We’re defending national champions. Almost forgot for a second…almost.

• Did I mention UK lost in the first round of the NIT last year?

• My favorite Coach Cal moment (foul language). John Chaney is a legend.

• Wayne Blackshear is riding a double-digit scoring streak of four games. A career best as a Cardinal.

• Relevant quote from Coach on Cal: “Four things I’ve learned in my 59 years about people. I ignore the jealous, I ignore the malicious, I ignore the ignorant and I ignore the paranoid.”

Go Cards, Beat Kentucky!

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Erich Kline

UofL alumnus, native of The Ville and former Intern for WKRD's “The Early Birds,” known as “Ocho." Past contributor with CardsandCats.com. Sports knowledge and fanaticism runs wide and deep. Follow me on twitter @e_rich19.

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