SEC Tournament 2012 Bracket and Schedule: Players Who Must Step Up for Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats advanced to the semifinals with a victory over LSU on Friday. It wasn't as easy as the Wildcats were probably hoping since they face a potential stretch of three straight days with a game, but they got the job done.

Here are three players who will need to shine if Kentucky is going to run the table and claim the SEC championship. To see the team's road to the title, check out the conference bracket and schedule.

Marquis Teague

The Wildcats don't rely on Teague for much scoring, they have plenty of other players who take care of that, but they do need him to be a good distributor. He had five assists against LSU, which matches his season average, but also four turnovers.

For Kentucky to beat some of the conference's better teams, the ratio will need to be much better than that. Teague's struggles were one of the major reasons the Tigers were able to stay in it for as long as they did.

Moving forward he needs to focus on protecting the ball. He has to think of himself as a quarterback with a great supporting cast. Avoid mistakes and everything will be fine.

Doron Lamb

Kentucky only knocked down one three-point shot against LSU. While that will be enough to knock off inferior opponents, when the Wildcats face more battled-tested foes throughout March they are going to need more points from beyond the arc.

That's where Lamb comes in. He's the team's best long-range shooter at 48 percent. If he's able to maintain that efficiency while taking a couple extra attempts per game the Wildcats will be golden. That's been their only conceivable weakness.

Anthony Davis might get most of the spotlight, but Lamb is a star too. Look for him to illustrate that in the semifinals.

Darius Miller

Even though the Wildcats operate with a small rotation, Miller does see pretty significant playing time off the bench. He played 17 minutes vs. LSU, but didn't score. He did turn the ball over three times and picked up three fouls, though.

That type of production certainly isn't going to cut it. He doesn't have to put up huge numbers every night, but against top teams he'll need to contribute something. It's the only way Kentucky will be able to survive tournament runs in both the SEC and NCAA.

The key for Miller is getting up a couple quick shots when he first enters the game. He should be able to find a much better rhythm that way, and that's what the Wildcats need.