But when Pope looks at the Gamecocks, he sees a team with "great size" that is "really disciplined in what they do." So while No. 14 UK is favored, Pope expects to receive South Carolina's best.

Kentucky has lost four of its last five games. The Wildcats are 15-7 overall and 4-5 in the SEC. They are 24th in the KenPom rankings for adjusted overall efficiency. They are No. 2 in adjusted offensive efficiency but 108th in adjusted defensive efficiency. UK is 22nd in the NCAA NET rankings with a 7-6 record in Quad 1 games.