Fourth-ranked Wildcats head South of the Border

Sports Network | November 24, 2009

Cancun, Mexico (Sports Network) - The fourth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats leave the friendly confines of Rupp Arena for the first time this season, as they travel to Mexico for this afternoon's showdown with the Cleveland State Vikings as part of the Cancun Challenge.

John Calipari has yet to taste defeat as the head man of the Kentucky program, as the Wildcats have opened the season with four straight victories, including a 92-63 rout of Rider on Saturday as part of this event's regional action.

The Vikings have also successfully navigated the tournament waters as a host of regional action as well. The team hasn't lost since a season-opening 72-62 setback at St. Bonaventure and enters this contest with a three-game win streak in tow, including last Saturday's 80-65 victory over Sam Houston State.

The winner of this game will play either Virginia or Stanford on Wednesday.

Freshman John Wall continued his strong play and proved once again why he is considered one of the top newcomers in the nation, as he erupted for 21 points and 11 assists in the lopsided win over the Broncs this past weekend. All- American candidate Patrick Patterson was just as impressive, if not more so, tallying 19 points to go along with 18 rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins added to the offensive onslaught with 18 points, followed by Daniel Orton (14 pts) and Eric Bledsoe (11 pts). Kentucky shot a blistering .583 from the floor in the first half (21-of-36) and took a 25-point lead into halftime to put the game out of reach. Averaging 85.2 points per game in the early going, the Wildcats have shown to have plenty of scoring depth on the roster. Wall has been everything that he was advertised to be, having played in three of the four games, with averages of 20.3 ppg and 7.3 apg. Patterson has dominated in the low post to the tun e of 19.0 ppg and 12.3 rpg. Cousins (15.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and Bledsoe (14.0 ppg) have provided plenty of firepower down low and from the perimeter.

Norris Cole was on fire once again, this time converting 6-of-10 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line, pouring in 24 points and doling out six assists in the win over Sam Houston State. Fellow guard Trevon Harmon added 16 points to the cause, while forward Jared Cunningham chipped in with 10. Cleveland State kept SHSU at arm's length by shooting over 53 percent from the floor, including a first half that saw the Vikings drain 9-of-10 from three-point range. Cole is the offensive catalyst for this team. Through four games he has been red-hot, shooting .565 from the floor, including .583 from behind the arc (7-of-12). He has also delivered on 89.3 percent of his free throws (25-of-28), all leading to a robust 21.0 ppg. Harmon and Cunningham are the next two options offensively, at 10.3 and 10.0 ppg, respectively. The Vikings have proved to a be a solid offensive team thus far, averaging nearly 80 points per game (79.8), on .467 shooting overall.