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00:00 headlining the ACC SEC challenge is a top 12 tilt between the Kentucky Wildcats, number
00:06 12 in the country, and the Miami Hurricanes, number 8 in the land.
00:11 Of course, the Hurricanes were a Final Four team last year under Jim Laranega, in return
00:16 a lot of the talent that we saw last year for Miami.
00:19 But tonight, John, they're a 6.5 point favorite against John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats.
00:25 We over under 164.5, John, it's the marquee matchup of the ACC SEC challenge.
00:31 What do you expect tonight in Lexington?
00:33 Well, I expect this to be the first real national showcase game for Wuga Poplar, who is quietly
00:40 playing like a first team All-American.
00:43 And look, I know that Miami played games in the Baha Mar Bahamas Championship against
00:49 Kansas State and Georgia, but when you play at Rupp Arena, you are stepping into a different
00:54 weight class.
00:55 Wuga Poplar hasn't just taken a nibble and gotten better, Ben, he has taken a gigantic
01:01 bite.
01:02 A lot of people wondered how Miami would replace Isaiah Wong.
01:06 It's Wuga Poplar, shooting 59% from three, entering tonight's game at Kentucky.
01:11 I spoke to Jim Laranega about him on Monday.
01:14 He told me he reminds him of Rip Hamilton.
01:17 Ben, I've said it before, I'll say it again, this is only November.
01:22 One of the best players in the nation coming out of Camden, New Jersey, DJ Wagner struggled
01:26 a bit to start the season, even only scoring four points against Kansas, and Kentucky's
01:30 only lost to the year.
01:31 But he's got back-to-back games, 22 points against St. Joe's, 28 points against Marshall
01:36 on a national stage tonight, John.
01:38 What are we looking at for DJ Wagner?
01:40 Well, St. Joe's and Marshall are obviously very good programs, but doing it against an
01:45 opponent the caliber of Miami, a power conference opponent, is a true measuring stick.
01:50 Not just for somebody like DJ Wagner, but for anybody, obviously, in college basketball
01:55 who is held to a high standard.
01:57 And I think about this for a second, and I think about Miami starting five.
02:01 Bensley Joseph, Wuga Poplar, Nordstadt O'Meara, Nigel Pack, that quartet was all integral
02:10 to Miami's run last year to the Final Four.
02:13 On the other side, we have a Kentucky team that is filled with freshmen, Trey Mitchell,
02:18 a grad transfer from West Virginia, and Antonio Reeves, who also is obviously an experienced
02:24 player.
02:25 So the experience in terms of the advantages in tonight's game is shifted towards Miami.
02:31 However, I will say this, this is not a deep Miami team.
02:35 It's another thing I talked about with Jim Larenaga on Monday when I had him on my podcast.
02:40 That is one of the million-dollar questions for Miami moving forward.
02:44 Keyshawn Jords, Michael Nowoko, those guys have to become valuable reserves for Miami
02:50 in order for the Canes to get back to a team that can go deep in the NCAA tournament.
02:54 But guys, I was going over my numbers yesterday, and this is something that I think is really
03:00 interesting.
03:01 Kentucky, so far this season, has assists on approximately 58% of its made field goals
03:09 this year.
03:10 That is an all-time high in the John Calipari era.
03:14 I talked earlier about how Kentucky can captivate a nation.
03:18 I think, and I'm not going to say this will be the best team definitely that John Calipari
03:23 has had since he's been the head coach of Kentucky since 2009, but it's definitely up
03:27 there with the most aesthetically pleasing teams that he's coached since he's been in