Feb 13, 2016 11:00 AM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The Kentucky Wildcats (22) find themselves in a rare position this late in the season: fighting for first place in the SEC with multiple other teams.

Kentucky will start its stretch run against the South Carolina Gamecocks, one of the three teams sharing a lead of the SEC. Saturday's slate of games will go a long way in determining who starts next week atop the SEC, as two of the other teams vying for first place, Texas A&M and LSU, are also going head to head.

Tipoff: 12 p.m. ET in Columbia, S.C.

TV: ESPN

Listen live online: TuneIn Radio

Watch live online: WatchESPN

Kentucky has not fared well on the road, suffering five of its six losses away from Lexington. Saturday afternoon's tilt against South Carolina will be a good opportunity to build confidence against a tough conference foe and put more distance between back-to-back losses to Kansas and Tennessee.

South Carolina, on the other hand, is trying to make some noise in a conference typically dominated by Kentucky. The Colonial Life Arena will be packed Saturday afternoon, and though Kentucky may only be ranked 22nd in the nation, the Gamecock fans will be itching to celebrate a win on their team's home court.

"I think if you look around the country, everybody on the road is struggling. When you're not a dominating team, it's hard to win on the road," Kentucky head coach John Calipari said at a pregame press conference. "We've won games on the road where I was like, 'There's no way we're winning this game.' We beat a team that's 80-5 at home. We beat them. This is a little different setup. I'm anxious to see how we respond."

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