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No. 23 UK (13-4, 3-2) v. Arkansas (9-8, 3-2)

Tipoff: Thursday, 7 p.m., Bud Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Ark. TV: ESPN Radio: UK Radio Network, Sirius Channel 81, XM Channel 81

Three things to know as the Cats travel to Arkansas for Thursday’s matchup.

High-scoring Razorbacks

In UK’s four loses this season, the Cats have allowed teams to score an average of 80.2 points and shoot 46.3 percent from three. On Thursday they will face an Arkansas team – on its home floor – that leads the SEC in both of those categories (83.8 ppg and 44.7 percent from three). Already possessing a telling statistical advantage over the Cats, if head coach Mike Anderson can get his guys to play with high energy and excitement, Arkansas would give itself a good chance to knock off UK. 

The two guys Anderson will be counting on most to bolster the Arkansas offense are Anthlon Bell and Dusty Hannahs. Anthlon (17.1 ppg) and Hannahs (16.0 ppg) both shoot 47 percent from behind the arc and will need to keep that stroke for a possible upset. UK assistant John Robic said on Wednesday he knows how good the two Razorback guards can be.

“Anthlon Bell and (Dusty) Hannahs can really shoot the ball,” Robic said. “If you look at their stats, they take the majority of their threes, those two young men, but shoot it at a really high percentage. I would call them both elite shooters, both off the dribble and off the catch.” 

Building off Ulis

The one consistent bright spot for UK thus far has been sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis. He’s scored 20 or more points in four of the Cats’ last six games and leads the team with 6.1 assists per game. Robic believes Ulis’ efforts will eventually rub off on his teammates and lead to less weight on the sophomore’s shoulders.

“I think it will. It did the last couple days,” Robic said. “I’m sure it will (Wednesday) in practice here in a little while. That’s what we expect. That’s what we demand. It’s just taking some time but I think the competitive edge in everyone is starting to blossom.”

Getting his teammates to play to their potential and have a competitive edge is what John Calipari needs his point guard to accomplish now more than ever.

Labissiere playing loose

Since Skal Labissiere’s last double-digit outing (10 points against Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 9), he has squandered any chances of proving himself worthy of more playing time – averaging just 11 minutes in the last six games. On Wednesday Labissiere said he’s beginning to put less pressure on himself and feels more confident out on the floor.

“I did (put pressure on myself) a little bit, but definitely now I’m just playing,” Labissiere said. “I’m not worried about anything anymore so I’m just going to play basketball.”

There was unreasonable amount of merit put on the freshman – especially after his 26-point performance in UK’s second game of the season. Calipari said he plans to continue to mix Labissiere into the rotation but isn’t ready to give him major minutes yet. Keep on eye on Labissiere’s progress Thursday against Arkansas.