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Off the bench: Freshman Akira Levy showed flashes on a huge stage against South Carolina. She is more athletic than starter Lauren Aldridge and gives the Tigers an ability to create off the bounce. She finished with 12 points and 3 assists in 17 minutes against the Gamecocks. A game like this showed why Levy had so much buzz coming into the season. She had five turnovers as well. However, her athleticism and playmaking is something the Tigers desperately need. Levy's minutes will only increase as the season continues.

Off the bench: The Wildcats starting lineup has shifted due to regular starters Rhyne Howard, Maci Morris, and Taylor Murray missing games last week. Jaida Roper and Amanda Paschal moved to the starting lineup in their absence and Kentucky has gone 1-1 during that span. Roper and Paschal combined for 2 points in 21 minutes against the Tigers last season.

Now that several Wildcats have new roles, Blair Green has stepped up off the bench for Coach Matthew Mitchell. Green is averaging 6.3 points and 2.2 rebounds this season. But she has increased her scoring to 9 points as the new primary scorer for Kentucky’s second unit. Green is shooting 58.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three in conference play.

The rest of the bench struggled last week against Ole Miss and LSU. Outside of Green, Kentucky had four bench points in the loss to the Rebels and seven in the victory over the Lady Tigers.

TIPOFF: 5:30 p.m. Central

WHERE: Memorial Coliseum

TELEVISION: SEC Network

RADIO: KTGR 1580 AM

1. Contain Maci Morris. The past two weeks has been a roller coaster for the Wildcats leading scorer. It began with Morris dropping 27 points to push Kentucky past Tennessee. The win put the Wildcats at 2-1 in the SEC and gave the Lady Vols back-to-back two-point home losses. However, Morris was forced to sit out the next game against Ole Miss due to a leg injury suffered in the first half against the Lady Vols.

Kentucky was outscored 23-13 in the fourth quarter and lost. It’s the Rebels only victory on the road this season.

Morris is fifth in the SEC in scoring and it’s fair to say the Wildcats go as she goes. Her scoring becomes even more important for Kentucky as the Wildcats continue to play without second-leading scorer Rhyne Howard. The 6-foot-2 freshman is averaging 16.9 points per game this season. But, she was held out of the LSU game with an injury.

Morris has had success against the Tigers in the past. She is shooting 61.5 percent from the field in her last three games against Missouri. Morris had two double-digit performances against Missouri in the 2016-17 season. Then last season she has 22 points on 9-17 shooting in Kentucky’s 83-78 loss to Missouri.

Morris and Taylor Murray will be the primary scorers on Thursday night and it will be interesting to see who Robin Pingeton puts on Morris. She is 6-0, which could eliminate Lauren Aldridge and leaves Sophie Cunningham and Jordan Roundtree as the most logical options.

2. Control the boards. Kentucky has one glaring flaw: rebounding. The Wildcats are near the bottom in every rebounding statistic in the SEC. Kentucky is 13th in offensive rebounding, ninth in defensive rebounding, and 12th in rebounding margin. South Carolina dominated the Tigers on the glass and controlled the paint. The game had parallels to when the Lady Vols handled Missouri down low earlier this season. The Tigers are down a post player since Grace Berg announced she will be transferring earlier this week. However, that doesn’t take away from Missouri’s clear advantage on the boards. The Tigers should aim to turn offensive rebounds into second-chance points against the Wildcats. Missouri had six or less second-chance points in the past three games.

3. Set the tone early. South Carolina took control of the game from the jump. Whether that was because of their play or because of favorable calls is up for debate. Regardless, Missouri was punched in the mouth in the first quarter and didn’t really recover. It was clear that the team was originally overwhelmed by South Carolina’s physical play and the atmosphere in Colonial Life Arena. This is Tigers second top-25 road matchup this week and getting a solid start would do wonders for this team.

Missouri is in a vulnerable position in the SEC right now. The team is third in the standing but could fall to fourth with a loss to the Wildcats. Then the Tigers could fall to fifth with a loss to Auburn on Jan 27. Missouri needs to show life and get out to a hot start against Kentucky. The Tigers need to win if the team has any plans of staying in the top half of the conference.

Missouri was outplayed by South Carolina. The score didn’t really reflect the control the Gamecocks had on that game. It was a disappointment, Yet, it could be remedied with a strong showing against No. 15 Kentucky.

Missouri escaping this week with a 1-1 record would be huge. Several Wildcats are recovering from injuries and could possibly miss Thursday’s game. Therefore, this is the time for Missouri to make a statement and get another top-25 road victory in the SEC. If Taylor Murray and Rhyne Howard don’t suit up for Kentucky, the Tigers should pull out the victory. A loss to a team without two of its top three leading scorers would be tough to swallow.

The Tigers respond and defeat a depleted Wildcats team. Or they falter and miss a chance at really making noise in the SEC this season. Missouri was named No. 25 in the AP Poll this week. That will quickly go away if the Tigers loss to Kentucky on Thursday. We are all waiting for Cunningham to have the breakout game and it hasn’t happened yet this season. She’s been good, but it’s time for her to completely carry the team. She can't let this season get off the rails.

PREDICTION: Kentucky 71, Missouri 65

PLAYER OF THE GAME: If Murray and Howard are available to play, this is a more lopsided victory. If they don’t senior Maci Morris and Sophie Cunningham battle it out in Lexington with Morris getting the victory.