This is the jammed packed preview of 4 games: Liberty, Texas Southern, Stony Brook, And the North Carolina Tar Heels.  I skipped over the 2k Tournament but I do have my predictions, I believe UK will go 3-1 in this tournament with a loss to Memphis[who is stacked this year] in the final.

Game One: Liberty

Guards: This is more intriguing than one might think.  Liberty has some talent at guard including some size in "6'4" five time state champion from Kentucky Jeremy Anderson.  Anderson is a very strong player that can beat you with any part of his game. TJ Bannister is a transfer from Virginia so you know he had to have some talent to transfer from an ACC school.  Justin Holland proves to be more of a passer than a scorer with his game high last season in points only being eight.  UK will win this guard fight because Liberty lack of speed and perimeter shooting. I look for Joe Crawford to be able to drive the lane and score, and Ramel "Smooth" Bradley to have a great game from beyond the arc.

Big Guys: This is were UK has a big advantage, Liberty only has one true Center Russell Monroe and his high in points last season was six points.    Perry Stevenson should be able to handle this scrappy player with his wing span to block shots and his jumping ability to grab big rebounds.  Senior Alex McLean is a solid player, collecting twelve double-doubles last season. But he should be no match at all for Patrick Patterson's strength and size down low.

I Like the Cats to move to 5-1 with a 76-55 win over Liberty.

Game 2: Texas Southern

Texas Southern is a team that lost four players to graduation after last season so they will be replacing two guards and two forwards this season. The team is very athletic, and even though they are VERY small they can usually make up for it with good team speed. But they won't be able to do that versus Kentucky. I look for Kentucky to use there speed and power to win this game.  Jodie Meeks and Alex Legion lead Kentucky to a 82-55 win.

Game 3: Stony Brook

Guards: The teams leading scorers Ricky Lucas [16 PPG] and Mitchell Beauford [12 PPG] are gone and these kids were talented.  Lucas was one of the better pure scorers and shooters in the conference, and this didn't shock anyone since this kid was a top 50 prospect at one time. Beauford got the best out of his ability and fought for his points of second chance rebounds and inconsistent shooting ability. I do not believe they can replace these guys and Alex Legion should have a field day with his quick hands and three point touch.  Unless Eddie Castellanos is ready to step up from a mere 8 points per game last season this should be an easy advantage for the CATS.  

Big Guys: UK will have a big advantage here also. The only player who might be a threat for UK is Andrew Goba a 7 foot forward from South Africa but considering this kid has no muscle and considering  Patrick Patterson does we should get rebounds easily. I look for Jared Carter to shine here and gets some nice turnaround jumpers as he gets more playing time.

UK will win this game easily because this Stony Brook team only won nine games last year and they are looking even worse this year.

Game Four: North Carolina

I am from North Carolina and let me say there actually isn't much hype for this team compared to last year.  Last year the fans handed them the national title before the season began and honestly the team didn't meet there expectations. I think this years Carolina team is better than last years honestely and they should be a great rebounding team.

Point Guards: Tywon Lawson Vs. Ramel Bradley. I think Tywon's speed gives him the advantage here, this guy is one of the fastest players in the nation and I don't think Ramel can guard him one on one.  Even though Ramel's jump shoot will make this closer than it looks I doubt Lawson lets him drive to the bucket that much at all.

Shooting Guards: Wayne Ellington Vs. Joe Crawford
Got to go with Crawford. Crawford is only going to  get a better jump shot and legs in the off season, and I know for a fact that he is stronger than Ellington.  Ellington is to inconsistent for me to go with him. Crawford out shoots and for once in his life out works a player.  

Small Forwards:  Jodie Meeks [Proj. Starter] Vs. Marcus Ginyard.
Got to go with Meeks for consistency reasons.  Ginyard can be a force grabbing rebounds and shooting at times but for most of the time he is just a pretty good defensive player. Jodie Meeks will beat him with his blazing speed and three point shooting and he should be able to guard Ginyard.

Power Fowards: Patrick Patterson vs. Tyler Hansbrough

Boy this should be a absolute war.  Both of these guys are some of the most agressive guys you will ever see play college basketball.  As long as the refs don't get in the way this should be awesome to watch. I give the advantage to Hansbrough because of experience and scoring ability.

Center: Perry Stevenson/Jared Carter Vs. Deon Thompson/ Alex Stepheson

This is the biggest mismatch and the advantage goes to Carolina.  Deon Thompson and Stepheson are twice as agressive and have three times the scoring ability of Carter and Stevenson and that's why I give them the advantage.

X FACTOR: Rupp Arena will go as nuts as they did when Florida came to town this past February. This crowd wil be hectic as it is truely there first big game in the Gillispie era at home.  This crowd will push UK to win a very close game 77-75 on a winning two point shot by Jodie Meeks.

So that's my four game preview.