By Josh Ellis

[email protected]

No. 9 UK (11-2,1-0) v. LSU (8-5,1-0)

Tipoff: Tuesday, 9 p.m., Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, La. TV: ESPN Radio: UK Radio Network, Sirius Channel 84, XM Channel 84

Three points of emphasis as UK travels to Baton Rouge to face the LSU Tigers on Tuesday:

Slowing down Ben Simmons

The freshman powerhouse leads the nation in rebounding (13.1 rpg) and his team in scoring (20.5 ppg). His athletic 6-foot-10 build creates a nightmare matchup for opponents, as he can blow by a bigger defender or back down a smaller defender. Simmons is coming off one of his best performances of the season – hanging 36 points, snagging 14 rebounds and handing out four assists against a solid Vanderbilt team – and will carry that momentum into Tuesday’s showdown against UK.

UK knows it doesn’t need to stop Simmons completely in order to pull out a win on the road, but slowing his production is a necessity. UK assistant coach Kenny Payne said the Cats plan to slow down Simmons by throwing a lot of bodies at him, and that there’s been a number of guys who are ready to prove themselves against the star freshman.

“Well, I think it’s going to be a number of guys,” Payne said. “I think it has to be Alex (Poythress), Marcus (Lee) and maybe at times Isaiah (Briscoe). We want to throw a bunch of players at him that are going to compete against him, put pressure on him, make everything that he does hard. Just compete.”

Two unknowns for LSU

A highly touted LSU squad started the season 4-4 with losses to Marquette, North Carolina State, College of Charleston and Houston. For the first seven games, the Tigers were without senior Keith Hornsby – who has averaged 17.5 points and 34.3 minutes in his six games back. For the first eight games, the Tigers were without Craig Victor II – who has averaged 13.4 points and five rebounds in his five games back.

Needless to say, LSU is not the same team without Hornsby and Victor – regardless of how well Simmons is playing. The Cats must realize that Simmons isn’t the only Tiger that can hurt them, and that LSU is in fact a deep team and every player must be accounted for, especially Hornsby and Victor.

“They bring a lot to the table. Hornsby is a really big key for their team to succeed,” Payne said. “He’s been playing really well. He’s a leader for their team. He’s going to be a tough guy that we have that we have to guard. Victor is a big-time rebounder. Big-time rebounder, can shoot the ball, good in the post – he’s a challenge.”

Skal Labissiere’s progress

Head coach John Calipari called Labissiere’s nine points and three rebounds in the SEC opener “a step forward.” It wasn’t Labissiere’s best game of the season, but he had two momentous dunks that proved he was moving in the right direction after a midseason slump.

Payne said on Monday the team expects “that at any time he’s going to break out and have a super game.” There would be almost no better time to have a breakout game than on the road against another potential lottery pick in Simmons. Labissiere said he feels his hard work in practice is paying off and he’s ready to continue improving his game.

“Every day, I’m just getting better. Every day in practice, going against my teammates, practice has gotten harder over the past few weeks,” Labissiere said. “But I feel like I’m getting better, and that’s what I came here for. Coach Cal, when he was recruiting me, told me it wasn’t going to be easy at all. So right now, I came here to get better and that’s all I could ask for, and I feel like I’m getting better.”