Who Will Rise To the Occasion? Any Volunteers?

Primetime games ask for primetime players to step up and Saturday night's SEC battle between Kentucky and Tennessee will display what primetime players will rise to the occasion.

The Wildcats and Volunteers will tangle themselves in a SEC East Division battle at Rupp Arena where the Cats are yet to lose (15-0) this season.

Kentucky’s recent success has come by playing well collectively as a team—beating SEC opponents by an average of 15 points at home.

The team effort is evident by Kentucky’s largest victories occurring when John Wall has scored six and nine points, his single-game lows, and 16 and 14 assists—his single-game highs.

But this is no ordinary game as it will be up to the star players of each team to rise above and take control.

Game-changing players like Wall who has had his better games at home, averaging 17 points in SEC play, will be tested mentally.

In his past few games, Wall had started lethargic but finished strong.

If early shots don’t fall, keep attacking, if you turn the ball over, ask for it back. Wall has to play like he owns this game as all eyes will be watching to see how he can handle the challenge.

You become the best college basketball player in the country by showing up in primetime games and controlling the pace, like last game against Alabama, is critical in big conference games.

Wall’s physical test will be to start the game rolling either with a couple buckets, creating turnovers, or dishing dimes he can hurt you in multiple ways making him the most versatile game-changer there is. 

Freshman sensation Demarcus Cousins has been nothing but lights out of late reaching a double-double in his last seven games.

The most dominating big man has shot 55 percent from the field in SEC play and the only answer from teams to stop him has been to triple team. He has been simply too big and powerful for SEC opponents, but will have his toughest match up of the season going against the experience of Wayne Chism.

Cousins is the type of player who wears his emotions on his sleeve. Like Wall, his test will be to get off to a strong start either with offensive boards or getting to the line.

If neither Wall nor Cousins start of well, it will be interesting to see how they adjust later in the game—whether they fold or boss up.

While the Wildcats possess a potent potion of freshmen, this, in a way, is a downside because the lack of experience in crucial conference games can prove costly. The energy and emotions exerted can be exhausting and surprise inexperienced players.

The only player that understands this magnitude and who I am looking to quiet critics is junior forward Patrick Patterson.

Patterson was the guy who was supposed to lead the young cast of freshmen to victory, but instead, in what some might say, has taken a back seat.

The team’s best field-goal shooter (.586) averages a respectable 15 points per game and has gone under the radar.

Patterson’s experience should speak volumes and this is the type of game to put him back on the radar.

It might not show up in the box, but the Wildcats will need a leader and that needs to come from Patterson.

The same should be said for senior forward Wayne Chism, who has never played particularly well against the Wildcats with his best game (18 points, nine rebounds) coming last year at home in a loss.

Ever since the loss of senior guard Tyler Smith, Tennessee has struggled at times to put points on the board.

The lack of pure scorers for the Volunteers, tells me that Bruce Pearl will come out the gates over-physical to see how the young Cats react.

The Tennessee head coach knows he cannot keep up with the scoring of the Wildcats and a way to slow them down is to be overly physical to frustrate them—hoping to result in turnovers and easy buckets for the Vols.

Kentucky needs to use this to their advantage by driving hard to the hoop and creating fouls for easy points at the line.  

After getting swept by Kentucky last year, Tennessee will try to come out firing on all cylinders.

If Kentucky can do what they have been doing to their opponents by out-rebounding and getting to the line, they will control this game and soon the SEC East Division.