No. 1 Kentucky visits Indiana in battle of unbeatens

Border rivals square off in Bloomington today, as the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats battle the Indiana Hoosiers in non- conference action. Both teams come in sporting identical 8-0 records, although they have taken different routes to get there.

Kentucky, which is playing its first true road game of the season today, was last in action a week ago when it topped former No. 1 North Carolina in Lexington, 73-72. The Wildcats are the top team in the land for the second time under coach John Calipari, and the last time UK was No. 1 beyond a week was back in 1995-96. After this contest, Kentucky’s next test will come at home against in-state rival Louisville on New Year’s Eve, and the ‘Cats will kick off SEC action against South Carolina on January 7, 2012.

Indiana has built its unblemished mark mostly by beating teams it was supposed to, logging double-digit wins each time. In fact, the closest any foe has been to knocking off the Hoosiers was NC State during the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, a game in which IU prevailed, 86-75, on the road. Coach Tom Crean’s club is outscoring the opposition by 23.8 ppg, and the Hoosiers will only play one remotely tough game following this clash before starting Big Ten play at

Michigan State on December 28, as it takes on Notre Dame in Indianapolis next Saturday. A victory today would give the Hoosiers their best start since going to 10-0 to open the 1989-90 campaign.

Kentucky owns a 31-23 advantage in the all-time series with Indiana, and the Wildcats have won three straight, four of the last five and nine of the last 12 meetings overall.

Once again, Calipari has put together a team that makes even the highest profile programs green with envy. The Wildcats start three freshmen and two sophomores, and all five are averaging double digits in the scoring column, helping UK put up a robust 82.4 ppg. Terrence Jones leads the way with 15.0 ppg, and he adds 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game to his solid stat line. Doron Lamb (14.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.8 apg), Anthony Davis (12.3 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 4.5 bpg), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (12.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and Marquis Teague (10.3 ppg, 4.1 apg) have all performed at an exceptionally high level, with the team shooting 49 percent from the field and logging favorable margins in both rebounding (+7.5) and turnovers (+2.4). With regard to the team’s defensive effort, it too is top notch, as foes are permitted just 57.0 ppg on shooting efforts that sit at 32.6 percent overall and 31.2 percent from beyond the arc. Kidd-Gilchrist picked the perfect time to log the first double-double of his career, as he tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds in the narrow win over North Carolina. Jones and Lamb added 14 points apiece, and Darius Miller came off the bench to chip in 12 points. The Wildcats struggled from long range, missing 13 of their 17 three-point tries, but a 56 percent shooting effort in the second half helped the team overcome a five-point halftime deficit.

Indiana’s start to the season is great to see from a historical perspective, as Crean appears to have turned around what had become a rather bleak situation. The Hoosiers enjoyed unprecedented success under the dictatorial direction of Bob Knight, but fell on hard times during the latter years of the

Mike Davis era, and then on dreadful times under Kelvin Sampson. Boasting five double-digit scorers of its own, IU is shooting a sizzling 52.3 percent from the field, and is knocking down its three-pointers 44 percent of the time. Cody Zeller (15.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 13 blocks, 21 steals) leads the team in four major categories, while support comes from guys like Victor Oladipo (12.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg), Will Sheehey (11.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg), Jordan Hulls (11.3 ppg, 28 assists), Christian Watford (10.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Verdell Jones III (9.3 ppg, 21 assists). Foes are shooting just 38.1 percent from the field and they’re guilty of nearly 19 turnovers per outing. The Hoosiers routed Stetson in their most recent outing, getting double-digit scoring efforts from four players. Zeller led the way with 16 points and seven boards, and the team as a whole claimed significant margins in points in the paint (50-14), points off turnovers (30-8), fast break points (12-0) and in bench points (23-12).