Kentucky will face a desperate Texas team on Saturday

Life in the SEC is tough this season, and one of the league’s newbies is learning that lesson the hard way.

After starting the season No. 19 in the AP Poll, Texas is now at risk of not making the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns are 15-10, 4-8 in SEC play. They’ve lost three straight and four of their last five. Things have gotten so bad that some fans booed Texas coach Rodney Terry when he was introduced ahead of the Alabama game Tuesday night, which the Longhorns lost 103-80.

A road game against a desperate team? Kentucky has typically not fared well in these situations this season. After beating No. 6 Florida in a footrace on Jan. 4, the Cats dropped a clunker at Georgia, losing 82-69. They struggled similarly against Vanderbilt in Nashville, plagued by turnovers and scoring droughts. The loss to Arkansas happened at Rupp, not on the road, but there’s no better example of the Cats letting a desperate team outplay them (even if the emotional baggage of John Calipari’s return played a part in it).

Like Georgia (Asa Newell), Texas has a freshman phenom capable of taking over a game. Five-star guard Tre Johnson leads the SEC in scoring this season at 19.3 points per game. The former Kentucky target and projected lottery pick has carried the Longhorns, hitting 59 threes so far at a 38.6% clip. He’s got a green light to shoot from anywhere and will try to put the Longhorns on his back again tomorrow. Kentucky’s defense has improved in recent games, but containing Johnson will be another challenge.

You know Kentucky’s injury situation. The Cats will likely be without Jaxson Robinson (wrist) and Lamont Butler (shoulder). The Longhorns are also banged up, with five of their core players missing games recently. Chendall Weaver (hip) and Devon Pryor (calf) missed the Alabama game and Arthur Kaluma had to leave in the first half with a left knee issue. We’ll get an update on their status tonight on the SEC Availability Report.

Without Robinson and/or Butler, the obvious solution to Kentucky avoiding a slip-up on the road is shooting, but the Cats can capitalize inside as well. Texas has been outrebounded in its last two games, pulling down just 25 rebounds to Alabama’s 41 on Tuesday. Kadin Shedrick and Ze’Rik Onyema have been underwhelming in the frontcourt. That could provide ample opportunity for Amari Williams, Andrew Carr, and Brandon Garrison — who chose Kentucky over Texas in the transfer portal.

Although Texas is struggling, the Longhorns are still No. 33 in the NET rankings, making this a Quad 1 game on Kentucky’s team sheet. A win would take the Cats’ record in Quad 1 games to 9-6, a category where the Longhorns are just 3-8. Texas “needs” this game more to turn things around, so it’ll be good to see if Kentucky has outgrown its bad habits and can take care of business on the road.