Kentucky Basketball: Wildcats' Keys to Beat Kansas in 2014 Champions Classic

After a pair of mostly unchallenging contests to open the 2014-15 season, Kentucky is set to take a major step up in competition when it faces Kansas on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic in Indianapolis.

The wins over Grand Canyon (85-45 on Friday) and Buffalo (71-52 on Sunday) gave us our first glimpse of how the Wildcats' platoon system would work, and for the most part it looked pretty solid. But now, with a far more talented opponent up next, the five-for-five sub program gets its first real test.

What will it take for Kentucky to beat the Jayhawks on Tuesday? A win shouldn't be assumed, because last season, Kentucky's first defeat came in this same event against Michigan State. Take a look at our keys to victory.

Staying Fresh

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Through two games, coach John Calipari has used two distinct sets of players on the court. The "blue" platoon of forwards Willie Cauley-Stein, Alex Poythress and Karl-Anthony Towns and guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison has started both contests, and the "white" platoon of guards Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis, forwards Marcus Lee and Trey Lyles and center Dakari Johnson has come in as a group after that.

The groups have switched on and off, almost always together, though on Sunday, Towns' early foul trouble led to some mixing.

Regardless of how the rotation works, though, the key to the system working at this point is that the players remain fresh. Buffalo led at halftime but wore down in the second half against a team that kept cycling in fresh legs.

Kansas has nearly as much depth as Kentucky, however, so it will be important for the Wildcats to make sure players get their rest when they're being platooned.

Crash the Boards

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With two 7-footers and two more players listed at 6'10" or taller who play significant minutes, Kentucky is going to have a distinct size advantage on most opponents. Kansas didn't have a player taller than 6'8" log more than nine minutes in its opener against UC Santa Barbara, yet it out-rebounded the Gauchos (who feature one of the best rebounders in the country in Alan Williams) 42-31.

Kansas had 13 offensive rebounds in that game, and its 6'8" juniors (Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor) both had 10 rebounds.

Kentucky has been dominant on the boards to this point, but the competition wasn't to where that wasn't going to happen. This will give a better idea of how the Wildcats' frontcourt players handle true competition for loose balls.

Stifle Selden

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While Kentucky's big men have their own challenges against Kansas, the wings and guards will be challenged by the Jayhawks' speedy ball-handlers. The toughest test will be Wayne Selden Jr., a 6'5" sophomore who is expected to make a big leap forward in production this season.

Selden had 10 points but only made two of eight shots in Kansas' opener, an efficiency that will no doubt improve. As Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore wrote, Selden is "a bulldozer attacking the rim and should only get stronger in that area."

Of all of Kansas' players, Selden is the one who seems most capable of taking over the game like Andrew Wiggins did last season. Kentucky has to prevent that from happening.

No Kid Gloves

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If there's any team that should understand that freshmen in college basketball aren't built like they used to be, it's Kentucky. The Wildcats are the gold standard when it comes to relying on first-year talent.

Kansas has a trio of freshmen who are expected to make big contributions this season: power forward Cliff Alexander, wing Kelly Oubre and point guard Devonte' Graham. That trio combined for 23 points in Friday's game against UC Santa Barbara, though none of them started.

Whether they play only a few minutes (Oubre had just four) or a lot (Graham played 26, making five of eight shots for a team-high 14 points), Kentucky has to treat them like any other player. This will be their first high-profile game as well, and the last thing the Wildcats can afford is to have it be one of their young opponents' coming-out parties.

Play for March

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Not that the Kentucky players are paying much attention to the renewed "40-0" hype, but they are aware that every single thing they do this season is going to be under a microscope. That being said, this game will have even more eyeballs and flashbulbs on it than most during the preseason.

While winning the game is preferable, the ultimate goal for the Wildcats on Tuesday against Kansas is to compete hard and continue to make progress. The platoon experiment needs to get stressed and challenged to see if it will live on, and all efforts have March and April games in mind.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.