The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - Indiana coach Mike Davis hopes Kentucky junior point guard Cliff Hawkins tires early today in his first game back from a semester-long academic suspension.

Hawkins said Davis will have to find a better way to stop him when the sixth-ranked Hoosiers (8-0) meet the 18th-ranked Wildcats (5-2) at Freedom Hall in Louisville.

"He's going to have to try something else," Hawkins said. "Me not being in shape is not going to be a factor."

The 6-foot-1 Hawkins scored a season-high 17 points, dished out five assists and had two steals in Kentucky's 66-52 win over Indiana in the RCA Dome last December. He also helped Kentucky limit Indiana to 32 percent shooting from a field, including an anemic 3-of-17 from 3-point range.

"Cliff's defensive pressure was a big key," said Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, who's 4-1 against Indiana.

The Hoosiers aren't the same team one year later. They're off to their best start since opening 10-0 in the 1989-90 season, and their 3-point shooting is one reason why.

Indiana leads the Big Ten with 69 3-point baskets but is shooting only 36 percent from 3-point range (69-of-194). The Hoosiers were a dismal 21 percent (3-of-14) from 3-point range against Purdue last week.

Davis thinks his team is overdue to break out of its shooting doldrums.

"The guys who we have on the floor, I'm thinking there could be an 18 or 19 3-point game," Davis said. "We haven't even come close to that and haven't had a really good percentage. We have guys who are capable of making a whole lot of 3s who haven't made a whole lot of them yet."

Indiana's best shooter is its least experienced starter, freshman Bracey Wright, who leads the team with 18.4 points a game.

Wright is 22-of-57 from 3-point range (39 percent) and 27-of-30 from the free throw line (90 percent). He is the first IU freshman since Calbert Cheaney in 1989 to hit double figures in scoring in his first eight games. He had 31 against Vanderbilt on Dec. 9, the most points by an IU freshman in six seasons.

"I hope he's a freshman, a sophomore and a junior for me," Davis said. "The thing I like about Bracey is that when you have a really good player on your team, they tend to pout and complain about not getting shots. "Bracey never complains about getting shots, about someone missing him with a pass, about teammates taking bad shots," David said. "He just plays the game."

Scoring hadn't been a problem for the Wildcats until last week's 71-67 loss to No. 15 Michigan State.

Kentucky topped 55 percent from the field in three straight games before the Spartans held them to 46 percent. Senior Keith Bogans delivered his fifth straight 20-point game, but Gerald Fitch, who has played point guard in Hawkins' absence, scored a season-low three points.

The 6-3 Fitch, Kentucky's second-leading scorer with 13 points a game, will move to his more natural shooting guard position with Hawkins back in the lineup.

Fitch is looking forward to the switch, although he still expects to see time at the point as Hawkins settles in.

"It might help me out a lot more, getting involved in the game in two different ways," Fitch said. "It's going to be a plus for me, because I like doing both."

Smith hopes today's game hinges more on the interior matchups than the perimeter ones.

Kentucky center Marquis Estill ranks fifth in the nation in field goal percentage (70 percent) and is the Wildcats' third-leading scorer, with 12 points a game. Jules Camara, a 6-11 senior, leads the Cats with six rebounds a game.

"Our strength is inside right now," Smith said.

Estill and Camara could face the best pair of big men they'll see all season in Indiana's Jeff Newton and George Leach. They're averaging 22 points, 22 rebounds and five blocked shots per game.

"All four guys are equal," Davis said of the frontcourt matchup. "They're all athletic, they all block shots, they run the floor and post well."

The Wildcats hold a 24-21 advantage in the storied series and have won seven of the past eight meetings.

Davis said he would like to see the game moved to a different date so it wouldn't conflict with final exams and Christmas. He said some players had finals Friday night, meaning the team wouldn't be arriving in Louisville until 10 p.m. at the earliest.

Davis said his team came out flat and emotionless in last year's game, and that the timing of the game may have played a role.

"It's always the game before Christmas and always the game after our final exams. They're young kids, and sometimes their minds wander away from basketball," Davis said. "When you play in a game like this, it's a shame if both teams don't come out and fight to the very end."

No. 18 UK vs. No. 6 Indiana

Tipoff: 5 p.m. today, Freedom Hall (18,865), Louisville.

Records: UK 5-2, IU 8-0.

Radio: WSAI-AM (1530).

TV: Ch. 12, 7.

Series: UK leads 24-21.

Line: UK by 2.

KENTUCKY

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Chuck Hayes	So.	6-6	7.4
Jules Camara	Sr.	6-11	9.3
Marquis Estill	Sr.	6-9	12.4
Keith Bogans	Sr.	6-5	19.3
Gerald Fitch	Jr.	6-3	13.1

Coach: Tubby Smith (137-45, sixth season; 261-107 overall).

INDIANA

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Bracey Wright	Fr.	6-3	18.4
Jeff Newton	Sr.	6-9	15.0
George Leach	Jr.	6-11	6.7
Kyle Hornsby	Sr.	6-5	7.9
Tom Coverdale	Sr.	6-2	14.3

Coach: Mike Davis (54-25, third season; same overall).