Road wins have been few and far between for Kentucky basketball. They have struggled heavily away from home this year as they continue to risk dipping out of the Top 25. The Wildcats are fresh off a convincing win against UGA, but that was at home. This time they hit the road in a critical weekend for the team as they face South Carolina on Saturday.
While the Wildcats have no issues winning games at home, neither does South Carolina. The team has a perfect record at home this year as they get the Wildcats in town. The last time Kentucky played on the road, they suffered a bad loss to Tennessee where they blew a 21-point lead. They cannot afford the same performance as they sit in a three-way tie with Kentucky and LSU for the lead in the SEC. The team is in need of a statement win and a corner-turning performance if they are going to regain the form they are known for.
The Gamecocks are looking to get back in the Top 25 after falling out with a loss to Texas A&M. They got a solid win over LSU which is helping build their case, but they need everyone to step up to defeat Kentucky. The Gamecocks will rely heavily on Sindarius Thornwell who is the No.2 scored with 19.2 points per night on 41.2 percent shooting in his last five games. He is pairing well with Michael Carrera who is averaging 20.3 points on 55.8 percent shooting. Those two players will be the x-factors for South Carolina.
The issue for the Wildcats is the number of injuries they are dealing with. Jamal Murray will likely be held out of the game while Alex Poythress and Dominique Hawkins are dealing with issues as well. That is leaving them short-handed, but it did not play a role when Kentucky got a key win over Florida in the middle of the week.The team shot a combined 51.8 percent overall something they hope to repeat against South Carolina. Head coach John Calipari told the media that he is hopeful his team's road issues change with this game.
"I think if you look around the country, everybody on the road is struggling. When you're not a dominating team, it's hard to win on the road. ... I'd like to see how we respond," Calipari said, via ESPN.com.