By Josh Ellis

Expect Derek Willis to play another 25+ minutes

The Mt. Washington, Ky., native was a pleasant surprise in UK’s season opener, scoring a career-high 14 points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing three assists. Willis finished the game shooting 4-of-7 (57 percent) from the field and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.

Willis’ quickness and agility make it a daunting task for power forwards go guard him, and his 6-foot-9 220-pound frame can overpower opposing small forwards.

“He’s very versatile. When he plays the power forward for (UK), our power forward has to chase him on the perimeter,” Albany head coach Will Brown said. “When he’s playing the small forward, you have a 6’9 small forward out there. Willis is a long and rangy guy. When he’s in there, they’re big.”

After Willis proved his ability to play “positionless” basketball, head coach John Calipari said he liked what he saw Saturday night despite Willis making some mistakes in the second half. Don’t be surprised to see Willis on the floor for another 25+ minutes on Saturday.

Keep an eye on Damon Lynn and Terrence Smith

Inheriting a team that went 0-29 the season before he took the reins as NJIT head coach, Jim Engles has boosted the program by recruiting players like Lynn and Smith. Lynn averaged 17.5 points (a school record) and 3.7 assists per game last season, while Smith missed the whole season with an injury.

Lynn hit a pivotal three-pointer against Michigan last year and led the Highlanders to a 72-70 upset in Ann Arbor. The junior point guard scored 20 points and had four assists in the upset. Lynn also received an All-American honorable mention from the Associated Press for his efforts in 2014-15.

Despite sitting out all of last year, Smith will have a legitimate presence in the NJIT frontcourt. He’s a solid post player who led the Highlanders in scoring and rebounding as a sophomore in 2013-14.

Look both Lynn and Smith to hoist up at least 10 shots on Saturday, as the two are the primary source of scoring for NJIT.

Cats need to take care of the ball

Albany, who will likely make the NCAA Tournament again this year, took advantage of 20 UK turnovers Friday night. The Great Danes capitalized off the UK errors, scoring 18 points off turnovers and 16 second-chance points.

Tyler Ulis was held to just two assists and had five turnovers on the night. Jamal Murray also had five turnovers, although he did dish eight assists. The turnovers prevented the Cats from blowing Albany away, who was only outscored by two points in the second half.

“10 turnovers from my guards. Not getting it done,” Calipari said. “So you got to have grit and toughness and fight when you get somebody there, you just put them away. We’re not there yet.”

If UK wants to get over the hump and extend a 10-point lead into a 20-point lead, taking care of the ball needs to become a priority.