Texas is one of the biggest and most talented teams Kentucky will face this season. The #6 Longhorns come to Lexington Friday night to take on the top ranked Kentucky without star point guard and leading scorer Isaiah Taylor.
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports thinks Texas can beat Kentucky, just not in Rupp.
From purely a roster and physical standpoint, it’s fairly clear no team faces up with the Wildcats like UT. Texas has five starters and/or rotation players who are 6-foot-8 or taller. From a DNA basepoint, this squad is the closest size matchup you can ask for, and Texas’ trees would all need to log at least 15 minutes to challenge UK’s mighty front line.
Man, wouldn’t that be a fun game to see.
Wait, the best part: We get to see it! And in just four days. Perfect. It’s come together so nicely because the Longhorns have built themselves a tough slate, and on Friday, they’ll head to Rupp Arena for the hardest part, facing what many are calling the clear-cut best team in the sport, and (foolishly) maybe the 29th-best team in the NBA.
If the Wildcats are to lose a game (and they will lose a game), this would be the ideal opponent (though not the right site) to have it happen. Just six outcomes in, Texas has proven what it is (awesome on defense, fairly deep, capable of scoring at all three levels) while showing more than glimpses, but rather sustained evidence, of what it can be.
These guys are long and tall. And experienced. And familiar with each other, and that intrateam understanding has been vital in the past two weeks. Winning without Taylor has been ultra-impressive, given the venues and overt doubts about how the offense would manage without one of the best point guards in the sport. Yet Texas remains on course.
Read Texas standing tall in early going, has horses to make run at Kentucky by clicking here.
