Eastern Kentucky University heads into Rupp Arena Sunday night for an appointment with No. 1 ranked Kentucky. EKU's head coach says his team's style won't change for the highly anticipated matchup.
The Colonels are 4-2 coming off two straight losses, first to BYU and most recently Valparaiso. UK has won big over all seven of its previous opponents. As impressive as their offensive talent is, Eastern Coach Jeff Neubauer is more impressed with UK's defense. "I don't know the way to score just yet. We certainly do need to try to turn them over and get some steals. But, we've got to find a way to score in the half court, and no one's been able to figure that out just yet," said Neubauer.
Neubauer says his squad looks forward to a great challenge this weekend. He says UK's team is perhaps one of the greatest teams of all time in college basketball.
As a young kid, Eastern Kentucky University senior Timmy Knipp would watch the University of Kentucky play basketball on T.V. and then go outside to shoot, pretending he was playing in Rupp Arena. He gets his chance as a college player Sunday when EKU comes to Rupp. Now, Knipp says he'll need a different mindset as a player. "We just can't look at them like they're someone special or anything like that. We've just got to go in knowing our game plan and just stay focused on that," said Knipp.
Eastern guard Corey Walden knows Kentucky has big men inside, but that doesn't necessarily mean the Colonels will rely solely on outside shooting. "They do have a presence inside, but that doesn't mean that we not gonna still go inside. I mean, if we have open looks, we're gonna shoot from outside, but if we have a chance, an opportunity to attack the basket, we're still gonna do it," said Walden.
The EKU-UK game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. Sunday. Before that, UK takes on No. 6 Texas Friday in Rupp Arena.?
