After big win, LSU to host Kentucky

Simmons has been lighting college basketball on fire through the first 13 games of his college career as he’s proven to be a revelation at power forward for LSU. A big reason why is Tyler Ulis quietly playing like the best point guard in college basketball, especially over the last two weeks.

That’s a rarity when United Kingdom is on the floor.

To that point, it won’t be Labissiere versus Simmons all night – if at all – rather Kentucky against LSU’s star. Simmons scored 36 points with 14 rebounds and four assists in the Tigers’ win in Nashville, Tennessee.

“He is a 6-9 point guard-ish guy that will go inside, score next to the basket, makes free throws so you can’t foul him, and in transition, when he brings it up, he’s a great playmaker”, Calipari said.

He will create some interesting matchup problems for the Wildcats, who will look to build on their best game of the season in an 83-61 thumping of Ole Miss at Rupp Arena.

For Labissiere, there’s been no wearing effect from the pressure to play well for Kentucky, Payne said. I’m not even sure if its happened in the Cal era.

Payne said that it might take multiple defenders to contain Simmons, who was named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday. “I’m sure our guys will feel obligated to go at him”. He gets a lot of hype.

Perhaps you are familiar with DJ Khaled’s keys to success, if not then you can easily become accustomed to the concept as we break down the keys to winning a big-time college basketball game. He and Lee’s emergence in the post has helped offset the struggles of freshman phenom Skal Labissiere.

Kentucky has two players who have past history with Simmons. “It’s about our team going against LSU”, he said. “We want multiple guys calling Coach, saying, ‘I want to guard him'”. If you put a smaller player on him, he has the ability to play like a big. He’s coming off a nine-point, three-rebound performance against Ole Miss that did more to boost his confidence than it did to fill the stat sheet. But this was progress.

“He is out to prove who he is”, coach John Calipari said. “I’ve been around him enough now”.

“I’m telling you, when you get in the ring, and you start, and the guy hits you in the head five times, it’s hard to smile”.

“I was just being aggressive”. He’s been better in practice, he’s got a bunch of guys cheering for him on this team. “Everybody considers him hands down the best player in the country, so we should be excited to play against him”.

Labissiere just won’t be playing anywhere near as prominent a role as a lot of folks thought he would be against LSU and Simmons. Tuesday night is the best time for the Tigers to get some revenge, hopefully with its star freshman leading the way. The freshman shooting guard leads the Wildcats with 16.8 points a game, though the coach would like to see him go for fewer top-play nominees and more easy buckets. Just none of them will be Labissiere.

“(We) just (have to) wear them out”, Payne said.