Morehead State vs. Kentucky: Previewing the Eagles

I spoke to Morehead State head coach Donnie Tyndall earlier tonight to get his thoughts on tomorrow night's game at Kentucky.

Coach Tyndall was on the way to Rupp Arena for a shoot around when I talked to him. I asked him to give me some thoughts on how the Eagles will prepare for the Kentucky Wildcats.

He said, "We have to be able to handle their pressure. We feel that if we can have 12 turnovers or less for the game, we'll have a shot to be competitive. We also want to keep them off the offensive boards. Our two goals will be 12 turnovers or less and hold them to 10 offensive rebounds or less."

I asked Coach Tyndall to give me his thoughts on this new-look Kentucky roster.

"They're just so long and athletic that it makes things difficult. It is tough to get shots over their big guys and they are really able to challenge shooters," he stated.

Projected Morehead State Starting Lineup:

G Brandon Shingles 6-3 175 Sr.

G Terrance Hill 6-1 170 So.

G Demonte Harper 6-4 185 Jr.

F Steve Peterson 6-5 190 So.

F/C Kenneth Faried 6-8 225 Jr.

Key Reserves:

G Ty Proffitt 6-4 200 So.

F David Terrell 6-5 225 Jr.

F/C Les Simmons 6-7 220 Sr.

G Sam Goodman 6-2 185 Jr.

G John Lamb 6-1 180 Jr.

Key Injury: Maze Stallworth (Questionable)

Analysis/Notes:

- Make no mistake about it, this is a good Morehead State team; they lost one player from a 20-win team that won the OVC Tournament championship and went 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament (and basically outplayed a talented Louisville team for one half)

- You may or may not have heard the name Kenneth Faried, but find him during the pre-game and keep an eye on him; he can play at UK's level and has a motor that never stops; he is the pre-season OVC Player of the Year and he was in the top 3 nationally in rebounding last season (right behind Blake Griffin)

- Stallworth's injury could be a key; he is normally a starter and is one of MSU's top outside shooting threats

- On the same token, UK is playing without John Wall and his absence is obviously a big one for Kentucky

- Kentucky is currently about a 20 1/2 point favorite according to Vegas

- This is the kind of team Calipari loves to play in the non-conference schedule; Unlike the RPI killers (VMI, Gardner-Webb) that UK has played in the past couple of seasons, Morehead State is a team that figures to have a pretty decent RPI and a great chance to return to the NCAA Tournament

Some key questions for me:

1. Faried can play with any of the UK big men; the question for me is can he deal with the depth of UK (Patterson, Cousins, Orton, Stevenson and Harrellson)

2. Can Shingles and the other MSU guards handle UK's full-court trapping pressure for the entire game?

3. Will UK's young, inexperienced players be able to handle a well-coached group of experienced players?

4. Who wins the battle of tempo? Morehead would love to see this game in the 50-70 range; UK would love to see this game in the 75-95 range

My Prediction: Morehead comes out strong and gives Kentucky a battle; in the second half, Kentucky pulls away to secure the win, but not as convincingly as many would like to see