After Sunday’s 23-point trouncing of Georgia on the road, UK head coach Billy Gillispie said he saw “a million things,” he liked that day. Later in the post-game interview, Gillispie one-upped his compliment, calling the Cats his “kind of team.”

Gillispie’s team has had to work hard to earn that billing, playing two Eastern division road games last week. The Cats (14-4, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) won both of those games by an average of 20.5 points. On Wednesday, junior Jodie Meeks dropped a school-record 54 points on Tennessee before returning from orbit to lead the Cats with 22 points against the Bulldogs — a sub-par number compared to his 25.7 points-per-game average.

Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo knows how dangerous Meeks can be — when asked how to defend Meeks, Lebo’s asked in return, “Do you have any ideas?” But Lebo, who is 0-4 against UK in his fifth year at the helm of the Tigers (11-6, 1-2 SEC), is just as concerned about the Cats’ prowess on the other end of the floor.

“You talk about Kentucky offensively, but I think where you really start with them is defensively,” Lebo said. “They are one of the top teams in the country defensively. They have size, strength. They are not weak defensively at any position.”

Lebo’s assessment of UK’s size and strength may be a deciding factor in the game, especially at the guard position. The Tigers’ projected starters include four guards, none of which is taller than 6-foot-5.

One of the hallmarks of Gillispie’s squad has become its size. The shortest player to start a game this year is 6-foot 3 Michael Porter. The team also features sizable guards DeAndre Liggins (6-6), Kevin Galloway (6-7) and guard/forward Darius Miller (6-7).

Lebo said UK’s size at the guard position may bother his Tigers. Gillispie said he likes the team’s size, but he couldn’t put a value on it.

“You only know that when you don’t have it,” Gillispie said.

When asked to define Gillispie’s “kind of team,” junior Ramon Harris didn’t flinch. In fact, his answer lined up almost verbatim with Gillispie’s description (“gritty, hard-nosed”) after Sunday’s game.

“Blue-collar,” Harris said. “Really playing hard on the defensive end, really competing.”

Gillispie’s message of hard-nosed defense is not just getting through to his players — it’s getting through on the stat sheet. The Cats, even in their four losses, have not allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent from the field all season.

After a reporter told Harris that Gillispie called the Cats his “kind of team,” Harris couldn’t hide the smile on his face at Tuesday’s news conference. As long as Gillispie uses that kind of language, Harris said he wouldn’t stop smiling.

“You always want to do what the coach tells you. When he says that, it puts a smile on your face,” Harris said. “That’s what you want to do. For coach to acknowledge that, it’s a good thing. It makes me smile.”