Scouting Report: Rider Broncs

Big Question: Rider University comes into Rupp Arena on Saturday for their second game of the Cancun Challenge. The big question is, just which Rider team will come rolling into Rupp this weekend? Will it be the team that went into Starksville, Mississippi and blew out the Bulldogs on their home court, or will it be the Rider team that got creamed at Virginia on Thursday night? Time will tell.

Who to watch: Despite playing poorly at Virginia on Thursday, Rider is lead by sophomore, Novar Gadson. He was averaging 20 points per game before last night but only managed 3 points against the Cavs. If he gets hot, watch out though. Mike Ringgold is another player that the Cats will need to get after defensively. Ringgold, a junior forward, scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Broncs to an 88-74 win at #18 Mississippi State. He also tallied one assist and one block while connecting on 52.6 percent of his attempts from the field (10-19).

What they do best: The Broncs like to drive the ball and attack the paint. Kentucky defenders will need to stay in front of their men and fight through screens. In the first two games of the season (against Mississippi State and Lehigh), Rider was able to get to the rim or kick it out to open jump shooters. However, Virigina was able to guard their penetration and jump shooting effectively.

Where UK should have the advantage: Rider does not have the size to bang down low with Cousins, Patterson or Orton. The Kentucky big guys should be able to dominate underneath. Kentucky also has more talent outside too. We haven't even begun to see the potential of John Wall come alive yet, so let's hope we see this tomorrow. Of course, we need to see improvement on the defensive end. Rider has already proven that when their shots are falling, they can play with anybody.

What the Broncs are saying: "We came (to Virginia) expecting to win and we're going to Kentucky with the same attitude," Rider Senior, Ryan Thompson said after last night's loss. "We had a bad game and now we have to turn it around. Every team has its ups and downs. When our offense is clicking we can beat anybody."

"We have to go into Lexington thinking we can win," Mike Ringgold said. "If we don't, the same thing could happen that happened tonight. We go into every game thinking we can win. We went to Mississippi State thinking we could win and we did."

Head Coach Tommy Dempsey said after the loss: "This will bring us back to earth and get us more focused for the task at hand, Kentucky."

Prediction: I think Kentucky gets it's all figured out and finds a way to put Rider out of their misery quickly, 96-70.