Jay Bilas reveals keys to Kentucky-Kansas basketball game

ESPN’s Jay Bilas revealed the keys to the Kentucky–Kansas game Saturday. The Wildcats are on a hot streak while No. 9 Kansas reeled coming into the contest.

But there’s a way for Kansas to come out on top on the road in Rupp Arena. If Oscar Tshiebwe is contained, the Jayhawks could come out on top.

Meanwhile, Jalen Wilson has to step up big time for the Jayhawks.

“Oscar Tsbiebwe has been on a tear,” Bilas said on SportsCenter. ‘He’s playing at a National Player of the Year level. He was the National Player of the Year last year, led the nation in rebounding. He’s leading the nation in rebounding again and he just had 37 points, 24 rebounds against Georgia.

“The second half against Georgia is what started this and it’s really the way Kentucky needs to play. They’ve gone with a little bit of a different lineup at times. And Kentucky’s defending at a much higher level. 

“Dealing with Tshiebwe, keeping Kentucky out of transition and really doing a good job on the glass is going to be really important for Kansas. Because Kentucky’s a great offensive rebounding team. They’re getting 40% of their misses in SEC play. But Jalen Wilson is going to be the key matchup, I think, for Kentucky to deal with. Over the last three games, he’s averaging 30 points ,he went 38, 30 and 23. And so he’s going to be the focus of the Kentucky defense to try to keep him from going off.”

No. 9 Kansas takes on Kentucky

Other than the mains keys to Kentucky-Kansas, which include Tshiebwe and Wilson, there’s another player involved with Kentucky that’s huge.

Senior Antonio Reeves put together a solid season this year for the Wildcats, averaging 12.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.

On Friday afternoon, the Chicago native said he expects an electric atmosphere for the highly anticipated matchup.

“The energy’s gonna be crazy in there. I know that our fans will show up, support us. It’s gonna be really loud in there (smiles). They’re definitely gonna show up,” Reeves said.

Reeves transferred to Kentucky from Illinois State, where he led the Missouri Valley Conference with 20.1 points per game. He spent three years with the Redbirds before he became one of the many Missouri Valley stars to hit the transfer portal after the season.

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