(Sporting Alert) — The No. 1 ranked Kentucky and No. 2 Michigan State have scheduled an early head-to-head clash in college basketball Tuesday night and both sets of players are buzzing to earn the early bragging rights.
Watch Live Streaming of No. 1 Kentucky v No. 2 Michigan State on WatchESPN and ESPN
Even the coaches themselves are bracing for the early regular season encounter.
“I am excited. The things in a game like this, with this team, questions are answered,” said Kentucky head coach John Calipari.
“I don’t think they are going to say I wonder if they have a talented team, let’s watch, they know. So then the question is about how we play together, how hard we play, how we deal with adversity and how we deal with prosperity, questions will be answered.
“You are playing against a well-coached team, Tommy (Izzo) does a great job and has a veteran team.”
The Wildcats’ clash with the Spartans is the first 1-2 matchup of Associated Press ranked teams since Feb. 23, 2008, when Memphis, also coached by Calipari then, and Tennessee faced off.
The 2013 meeting between Kentucky and Michigan State will earn the recognition as the earliest meetings between the top-two ranked teams in the country in the history of the AP poll.
Michigan State have the advantage of being the more experienced of the two sides and Calipari will be mindful of that.
“Well whatever we have in which isn’t much, just do well with what we have and let’s worry about us. Knowing you have to run back first then you have to guard them,” he said.
He added: “They’re a terrific 3-point shooting team; they have got big people, and you know their front line is as big as ours. You have to guard them. They run their stuff.
“They run their little back screens, their curl cuts, they get the ball from one side, they do pick and rolls that are really effective and their guards shoot it. You can’t go under pick and rolls, their guards will come up shooting.”
