The Kentucky Wildcats have a tough road test coming up against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
In SEC play, the Wildcats haven't played well on the road, losing in overtime to Texas A&M and barely escaping Gainesville with a win over the Florida Gators. This is to be expected as Kentucky is a young team and playing on the road in the SEC is a difficult thing to do for freshman heavy teams. Kentucky will play away from Rupp Arena twice this week, heading to Columbia, South Carolina, to take the Gamecock and Fayetteville, Arkansas, to take on the Razorbacks. If Kentucky is able to go 2-0 this week, it would be huge for this team's chances of winning the SEC Regular Season Title.
One person standing in the way of Kentucky starting the week 1-0 is South Carolina star guard Meechie Johnson. He is averaging 16.7 points per game and shooting 37% from deep. Kentucky fans might remember this name as last season in Rupp Arena, Johnson scored 26 points on 9-16 shooting while going 6-10 from three en route to a 71-68 South Carolina win. Johnson is a player who can light up the stat sheet and Kentucky can't let that happen on the road.
Johnson believes in his team and implored the fan base to "Keep staying with us" after their loss to Georgia last Tuesday.
Statistically, this South Carolina team isn't great but isn't bad either, so in a challenging environment, the Wildcats need to play well. This game could get stressful. Kentucky also needs to play good defense against Johnson since he can get hot and beat you, as he proved last season in Rupp Arena.
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