Welcome to A Sea of Blue's open game thread for the Portland Pilots at Kentucky Wildcats game today in Rupp Arena. Game particulars are as follows, courtesy of UKAthletics.com:

Gameday Information
Kentucky vs. Portland Sat., Dec. 8 - 12:00 p.m. ET Lexington, Ky. Game Notes: UK | Portland
Coverage
Gameday Live: Online audio, blog and stats TV: ESPN Radio: UK IMG Gametracker Live Blog Live Audio Text Updates

Portland hasn't been particularly tough this year, but they have some size, will play a pretty good zone, and will run their offense, which basically means getting the ball inside to their post scorers. They are not a bombs-away 3-point team and will get out and run in transition when they can.

Keys to the game for Kentucky:

• Intensity on defense. Kentucky has had some good moments defensively, but their intensity comes and goes;
• Rebound. Kentucky's big people will get a challenge today, and how they respond will be obvious in the rebounding statistics;
• Patience against the zone. The Wildcats have rushed their offense against zone defenses all year long.
• Movement without the ball. UK's zone offense tends to stand around. They need to flash a player to the center of the zone and run from there;
• Get out and run in transition. Advance the ball with the pass rather than the bounce, but do it in a controlled manner that values every possession.

I don't expect to see great improvement today despite the advent of Camp Cal. I hope that we see better, and more consistent intensity and effort, but I'm not holding my breath. Improving this team will take time.

Go, 'Cats!