Kentucky facing a "really well-rounded" Texas team on the road Saturday

Kentucky is hitting the road to head to Austin, taking on the Texas Longhorns on Saturday night, a team who will be hungry for a resume-boosting win after losing their last three games, most recently a 23-point loss to Alabama at home. The Wildcats are going to have to be prepared for a hungry Longhorn squad Saturday.

Mark Pope spoke with media on Thursday to preview their matchup on the road with Texas, calling the Longhorns a "really, really well-rounded" team, who is pretty even all-around in every area. They're pretty efficient in many categories, and shouldn't be a team that Kentucky should take lightly, especially given the position they are in right now. Not to mention they are led by the SEC's leading scorer, Tre Johnson, a one-time Kentucky target.

"A couple of things. One, they're a really, really well-rounded team. I think they're 30 (in college basketball) and 40 defensively, like, they're really solid. They're very even that way. They're over one-point per possession as a team on the offensive end, they're really efficient. They have four or five guys who are over one-point per possession. They have complimentary pieces that they've put together really well. (Kadin Shedrick), their starting center, a real short role threat, a real threat around the rim. He'll make a shot from time to time. (Arthur Kaluma), transfer from Kansas State, is just a terrific, terrific talent, and he's an incredibly skilled and physical and versatile four-man that can hurt you in a lot of different ways. (Tramon Mark) is incredibly physical. Hungry, hungry, scorer, and (Julian Larry) is a 1.4 points per possession plus assist guy. He's in the 97th percentile. They're really well constructed. They pose a lot of problems, and they function well together."

Pope also talked in-depth about Longhorn star guard Tre Johnson, who is the leading scorer in the entire SEC, averaging 19.3 points per game. A very tough scorer that Pope, saying he makes some really tough shots, and that really makes him a dangerous player.

"He's a problem because he makes hard shots, he makes bad shots. Normally, you go into a game like, okay, we're going to force guys to take these shots and we're gonna live with it. It's hard to live with any shots with him because he's just makes every single one. He's an incredibly talented player. I've really enjoyed watching him on film the last couple of days because he plays hard. He gives great effort, makes plays for teammates, he's incredibly, incredibly skilled, he's aggressive, he's fully engaged in the game. He's a terrific talent, real challenge."

The Longhorns need a win, and it's worth noting that before their current three-game losing streak, they had wins over the likes of Texas A&M, who is currently #8 in the country, and Missouri, who comes in at #21. Those are a few impressive wins on their resume, and have been a little banged up within the last couple of weeks, while Kentucky will likely be without Jaxson Robinson and/or Lamont Butler on Saturday.

They'll be eager to knock off the Wildcats when they come to town for a clash on Saturday night. You can watch at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.