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LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Keeneland race course is traditionally Lexingtons home to fast thoroughbreds, but the historic landmark will have to take a back seat to Rupp Arena on Saturday for an anticipated epic battle between college basketball titans Kentucky and UCLA.No. 1 Kentucky is 7-0 and averages 95.6 points per game. The Wildcats topped 100 points in each of their last three games.No. 11 UCLA is 8-0 and averages 97 points. Coach Steve Alfords Bruins scored more than 100 points in three of their first four games and 98 and 99 on two other occasions.Steve has done a great job with this team. Hes really playing to their strengths, is what hes doing, Kentucky coach John Calipari said Friday. When you watch them play, they play to this teams strengths. Theyre not trying to do stuff this team cant do. Their bigs can really shoot 15 footers. Their bigs can shoot some 3s, so they play that way.But for all the mind-boggling offensive statistics, this game could be determined by the defenses, and that is where Kentucky holds an advantage.UK gives up 65 points per game and holds opponents to 37.6 percent shooting. The Wildcats also force 19 turnovers per game.UCLA, by contrast, surrenders 73 points and opposing teams shoot 39 percent. The Bruins force 13.4 turnovers.I think this is a shot-makers game and if either team is not making shots, youll be in trouble, Calipari said. I doubt both teams are not making shots. So you just hope its them and not you. Both are good-shooting teams, both have players that are able to go on runs. Score different ways. Its about making baskets. If youre missing baskets, missing shots, missing -- hard to win a game like this.One fascinating sidebar to this game will be the battle of freshman point guards.UCLAs Lonzo Ball was the No. 1-rated point guard in the Class of 2016 by 247Sports.com and is heralded by some recruiting analysts as the best passer in a generation. In his last game, a 98-56 win over UC-Riverside, the 6-foot-6 Ball set the school record for freshmen with 13 assists.Kentuckys DeAaron Fox was the No. 2-rated point guard. In his last game, a 115-69 rout of Arizona State in the Bahamas, the 6-3 Fox recorded the schools first triple-double since 1988 with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.Ball, from Chino, Calif., has passing skills that are drawing comparisons to another California product, Jason Kidd. He has 77 assists to just 18 turnovers.Fox is beyond heralded, by his coach John Calipari as possibly faster than another former Wildcat, John Wall. His assist-to-turnover numbers are 53-19.Ball is really good, Calipari said. Like, hes big. He sees the court. Hes OK to take no shots -- he doesnt care -- or if he needs to score 25 he will. Hes smart. You can see on the court -- hes like our guys -- hes got a nimble mind. Hell see something happening before it happens.Those, of course, are not the only cast of characters who could play a role in determining the outcome of Saturday afternoons game.Freshman guard Malik Monk is Kentuckys leading scorer at 19.3 points per game. Sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe is next at 18.4, followed by Fox at 15.3. Freshman forward Bam Adebayo averages 11.1 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds.UCLA has six players averaging in double figures, topped by senior guard Isaac Hamilton at 18 points per game. Next comes freshman forward T.J. Leaf at 17.3, senior guard Bryce Alford, 15.5; Ball, 14.6; sophomore guard Aaron Holiday, 12.9; and junior center Thomas Welsh, who scores 10.8 and grabs a team-best 9.8 rebounds. Leaf checks in at 9.0 rebounds per game.This is a great game in early December for us, Calipari said. They could bash us. They beat us last year. We never had a chance. They got the same team back with Ball. We lost everybody and have a brand new team. Itll be interesting. Nike NFL Jerseys China . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. 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MIAMI -- Thanks to a dose of defense, Illinois recent turnaround gained momentum Saturday.The Illini held Virginia Commonwealth to 30-percent shooting and won 64-46 in the HoopHall Miami Invitational.The win was the second in a row for Illinois (6-3) after a pair of losses to ranked teams, including a thumping by 32 points from West Virginia.Im proud of our guys for the way they responded from where we were at last week, coach John Groce said. I love the fact that our staff, our support staff, our players said, `Lets get this stuff fixed. Lets come up with solutions. We fixed a couple of things and we played better this week. We took steps in the right direction.Illinois sophomore Leron Black tied a career-high with 18 points, added eight rebounds and was chosen the games most valuable player. Malcolm Hill had 16 points, five assists and two steals, and Jalen Coleman-Lands scored 12 points.VCU (6-2), which was off to its best start since 1993, had a three-game winning streak snapped.We just got hammered, coach Will Wade said. We werent ready to play. We got beat in every hustle category. Its on me. I didnt have us prepared to play. Its embarrassing as Ive ever been in four years coaching a team.We were crying and moaning. ... We were just awful.The Rams shot a season-low 16 for 53, including 2 for 18 (11 percent) from 3-point range. Things got worse at the end, when Illinois outscored VCU 14-3 in the final 4:20.We finished so well because we defended so well, Black said. As our defense goes, so does our offense. We wanted to keep them uncomfortable.JeQuan Lewis, averaging a team-high 15.7 points, was held to three points and shot 1 for 7 from 3-point range.ddddddddddddHe limped out of the game with a right ankle injury, and although he returned, he played only 21 minutes.I dont think it certainly helped when he hurt his ankle, Wade said.Mo Alie-Cox led the Rams with 10 points. They came in shooting 50 percent this season and had scored at least 63 points in every game.RUNSThe Illini missed 10 of their first 11 shots while falling behind 11-4.We werent making shots at the beginning, but we were aggressive, Black said. We kept competing. We knew we couldnt put our heads down. We kept fighting.A 9-0 run put them ahead 22-14, and they led the rest of the way, although VCU scored 11 consecutive points to cut the margin to 35-34 early in the second half.I like the response we had to the second-half run by VCU, Groce said. They really popped us in the mouth. We just had a great response by the team. Our guys exhibited some of the toughness that we want.SHARPSHOOTERHill, who came into the game shooting 43 percent from 3-point range, improved that by going 2 for 3.BIG PICTUREIllinois: The Illini won with defense for a change. They scored at least 79 points in their five previous wins, and had allowed at least 62 points in every game.This win shows what kind of team we are, Hill said.VCU: Lewis wasnt the only VCU player to struggle with his shot. Samir Doughty went 3 for 11, and starter Doug Brooks was 0 for 5.UP NEXTIllinois: The Illini return home to play IUPUI on Tuesday.VCU: The Rams play host to Virginia Tech on Wednesday. ' ' '