The No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats and No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks will go head to head in a fierce battle Saturday evening. Kentucky leads the series 22-9, and this is the fifth consecutive season that these teams have met.

Head Coach: Bill Self (16^th season  at Kansas)

Record: 16-3 Overall, 5-2 Big 12

Likely Starters

#11 Devon Dotson: freshman guard, 6-2. 10.9 PPG and 3.3 AST

#5 Quentin Grimes: freshman guard, 6-5. 8.2 PPG and 1.7 AST

#24 Lagerald Vick: senior guard, 6-5. 15.0 PPG and 2.0 AST

#0 Marcus Garrett: sophomore guard, 6-5. 7.7 PPG and 2.6 AST

#1 Dedric Lawson: Redshirt junior forward, 6-9. 19.5 PPG and 10.9 REB

Kansas Threats

Kansas is the only team in the Big 12 Conference with two players who are ranked in the top seven in the league in scoring. Dedric Lawson is ranked second, averaging 19.5 points per game, and Lagerald Vick is ranked seventh, averaging 10.0 points per game. Standout Lawson has scored double digits in the last 11 games and leads the league in rebounding, averaging 10.9 rebounds per game. He is the only player in the league averaging a double-double. Lawson leads the team with 20 total blocked shots on the season. Recently, freshman Devon Dotson had a career high of eight assists, no turnovers, and 11 points against Iowa State. Freshman Quentin Grimes is second, with 22 3-pointers made this season.

Kentucky versus Kansas

“This is a team you will be playing if you’re lucky enough to get in the tournament and advance,” Kentucky head coach John Calipari said about Kansas. “At some point you’re playing a team like this.” 

Tipoff is at 6 p.m. on Saturday evening and will be broadcast on ESPN.