Overview
- Tipoff is Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, with the game airing on CBS/WLKY as part of the CBS Sports Classic.
- Kentucky enters 7-4 on a two-game win streak; No. 22 St. John’s is 7-3 with three straight wins, and neither team has a victory over a Top 25 opponent this season.
- Kentucky seeks a second Quad 1 win, while St. John’s is still chasing its first such result, a key metric for March seeding.
- Rick Pitino praised Kentucky’s size and rebounding and said the Atlanta setting could feel like a road game for St. John’s because of expected Wildcats fan support.
- Reporting cites near-parity on defense per KenPom’s adjusted efficiency (St. John’s No. 15, Kentucky No. 16), with rebounding and physical play flagged as likely deciding factors.