UK Hoops face tough SEC road test

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Matthew Mitchell’s No. 6 ranked UK Hoops team (16-2, 5-0 SEC) is preparing for a critical conference road challenge on Thursday in Athens, Ga., when they face the No. 15/14 Georgia Bulldogs (15-3, 4-1 SEC).

The Cats, who are in sole possession of first-place in the conference with their program-best 5-0 start, are facing their third consecutive ranked opponent.

“We have a big road challenge ahead of us. Georgia is an outstanding basketball team with really good players and is always well coached,” Mitchell said. “We always have a real, real tough game any time we go to Athens. It will be a real, real difficult road test for us and we’ll have to work hard to earn a victory down there.”

The Bulldogs have a deep and balanced roster. They have a solid nine-player rotation and have four scorers averaging in double-figures.

“I’m really, really impressed by their team,” Mitchell said. “Georgia always has really big, tough, athletic players who are tough on the boards. Georgia, I think, will challenge us, particularly on the inside. You need to play really tough defense, rebound the ball and compete hard on the backboards on the road.”

The highly-ranked Bulldogs are a potential obstacle in the Cats’ effort to secure an SEC Championship. This is the only matchup between the teams during the regular season.

“When you just have a team one time this is your only shot, so you have to put everything in to this game,” Mitchell said. “So, it’s a huge game and they are clearly one of the best teams in the country and clearly one of the best teams in our league.”

Junior guard A’dia Mathies has led the Cats in early SEC play, scoring 34 points in the victory over Tennessee and earning SEC Player of the Week honors.

The Cats have also benefited from a resurgent Keyla Snowden, a senior guard who has been a welcome spark off the bench in conference play.

“It would be hard for me to accurately put how proud I am of Keyla, because after the disappointment in Middle Tennessee – we were so down and had been defeated by a good team, but just didn’t feel like we gave the kind of energy we needed – I just thought Keyla did what a senior should do,” Mitchell said. “She’s stepped up in every area where she could. She has been more vocal than I have ever heard her before and she has been much tougher than at any point in her career on a consistent basis.”

Snowden is the second-leading scorer for the Cats in SEC play, netting 12.4 points a game. Known as a long-distance sharp-shooter, Snowden is also performing well from the free-throw stripe, hitting 13-of-14 in conference play.

“She’s (Snowden) had some huge games here, but her stats aren’t even what I’m impressed with, it’s her attitude and her toughness,” Mitchell said. “She has really, really been tough in five games in the league. You need that and I just think it’s been a real evolution of Keyla Snowden from being considered a stand-still shooter and a weapon, to now just a really top-level Southeastern Conference basketball player, and we wouldn’t be where we are without her contributions. Real proud of her.”

The Cats return home Sunday at 2 p.m. to face the Florida Gators at Memorial Coliseum. The game will be a part of the “We Back Pat” week, an initiative within the SEC to help bring awareness and recognition to the Pat Summit Foundation and the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.