By Josh Ellis

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UK (2-0) v. Duke (2-0)

Tipoff: Tuesday 7:30 p.m., United Center, Chicago TV: ESPN Radio: UK Radio Network

Three things to look for as two powerhose programs prepare to take the court.

Isaiah Briscoe-Grayson Allen matchup

Briscoe, the 6-foot-3 guard from New Jersey, who John Calipari said can be one of the best defenders in the country, will have the task of slowing down the Blue Devils’ leading scorer Grayson Allen. In Duke’s first two games, the sophomore has averaged 27 points per game and has thrown down some monstrous dunks.

In his college debut, Briscoe poured in 11 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had two steals. Calipari has described him as a bulldog who has a winning attitude. Briscoe said he gets his toughness on the court from the way he was raised.

“I’m from the East Coast. I’m from the North,” Briscoe said. “I’m the youngest in my family, so growing up I always had to prove myself with everything in the house.”

Win the rebound battle

UK will face a Duke team that’s shooting just 49 percent from the field, so collecting the Blue Devils’ misses will be a huge deciding factor in Tuesday’s showdown. The Cats didn’t have a particularly solid shooting performance from the field against NJIT, but were able to pull off a 30-point victory by outrebounding the Highlanders 54-23.

Duke will have the height advantage against the Cats, something that rarely happens to Calipari-coached teams. The defending national champs starting lineup will likely go 6’5, 6’5, 6’9, 6’9 and 7’0.

Tuesday’s matchup will be the first time both frontcourts will play top-level talent, so besides controlling the boards, we’ll get to see how Marcus Lee, Skal Labissiere and Alex Poythress’ post games fare against actual competition.

UK might play some zone

With the height advantage Duke presents, don’t be surprised to see Calipari go to a zone and force the Blue Devils to shoot over the top. UK has played mostly man-to-man defense in its first two games, but has shown stretches where it switched to a 2-3 zone.

And with Duke shooting just 37 percent from beyond the arc, UK should try to expose that weakness as much as they can. Duke’s Matt Jones is the biggest threat from deep, but besides him Duke is shooting just 13-of-41 from three-point range.

If Duke is breaking the UK press with ease and getting easy buckets in transition, switching to a zone defense might be in Calipari’s best interest if he wants to remain undefeated through the team’s first three games.