Kentucky Basketball: 3 Keys to a Wildcat Victory over Indiana

Kentucky and Indiana, two of the most legendary college basketball programs, go at it on Saturday.

Both teams enter this highly-anticipated matchup with identical 8-0 records.

The Wildcats are No. 1 and want to stay there. The Hoosiers are unranked and want break through and get there for the first time in head coach Tom Crean's time in Bloomington.

Here are three keys to a Wildcat victory over Indiana

1. Get the Hall out of the Game

Assembly Hall in Bloomington will be rockin', and the best way to neutralize the Hoosiers' home-court advantage is to take the crowd out of the game.

Indiana will no doubt feed off of their fans' energy if Kentucky doesn't start the game by sending a clear statement to everyone: "It ain't gonna happen!"

2. Defend the First Shot Fiercely

Indiana is a good shooting team, hitting 52.3 percent of their shots from the floor (No. 6 in the nation).

They are a good shooting team from beyond the arc, knocking down 44 percent (No. 4 in the nation).

But the Hoosier are not a good offensive rebounding team. They pull down 10.3 offensive rebounds per game, tied for No. 254 in the nation.

Translation: The Wildcats can go hard at the Hoosiers in challenging their initial shots without much fear of being beat on the O-glass. 

With the Wildcats being the top shot-blocking team in the country, Coach Cal should cut the Cats loose!

3. Force the Game Inside

Kentucky has an advantage when it comes to the overall interior matchups.

No disrespect intended to Cody Zeller and Christian Watford, but when the Wildcats put Terrence Jones and Anthony Davis on the court, they are usually in the driver's seat.

When Jones and Davis need a breather, Kyle Wiltjer comes in and there's not much of a drop-off.

Coach Cal needs to start the game by relentlessly pounding the ball inside. In doing so, Kentucky will take control of things early.

Whoever controls the paint will win the game.