Daily Dish: We'll learn a lot from the ACC/SEC Challenge game between No. 8 Miami vs. No. 12 Kentucky

Since an early loss or two doesn’t knock a team out of contention for the national championship, the beginning the college basketball season always serves up a delicious buffet of match-ups. There’s another tasty dish on the menu tonight as the No. 8 Miami travels to No. 12 Kentucky for what could be the marquee game in this year’s ACC/SEC Challenge.

Not only are these two ranked teams, both programs have loaded rosters that play play fun, fast-paced and high-scoring basketball. Fresh off of last season’s run to the Final Four, Jim Larrañaga and the Hurricanes have raced off to a 6-0 start while averaging 89 points per game. They’ve looked experienced, poised and capable of running teams out of the gym when they are clicking.

On the other hand, John Calipari and the Wildcats have been a bit more of a mixed bag. Kentucky went from great to discombobulated in a loss to then-No. 1 Kansas and they escaped with an overtime win against St. Joseph’s at home. But in their other four wins, the 5-1 'Cats have been dominant, winning by an average of 32.5 points per game. On the season, they are averaging a rocket fueled 94.3 points per game.

For Miami, replacing the loss of their top two scorers from last year — Isaiah Wong Jordan Miller — hasn’t proven to be an issue, yet. They still play small- ball and they still have a group of starters who can all go off and carry them for a game.

On the perimeter Junior wing Wooga Poplar has emerged as the 'Canes leading scorer and has turned himself into an NBA prospect in the process, scoring 18 points and shooting a sizzling 59.4% from deep. Florida State transfer Matthew Cleveland is looking like the top-25 type prospect he was coming out of high school while Nijel Pack remains one of the most lethal three-point shooters in all of college basketball. On the interior, Norchad Omier is a walking double-double. His ability to handle business on the glass and run with guards allows Miami to play very fast.

The potential downfalls for Miami is its unproductive bench and porous defense. Part of their defensive struggles is due to their their tempo, but KenPomeroy.com has them at No. 101 on the defensive side of the floor. Against a team as loaded as Kentucky, that could be quite problematic. Beyond Kentucky, they'll simply have to be better on that end if they want to make another deep run in March.

As is always the case in Lexington, the talented freshmen are the talk of the town. Despite coming off the bench in five of six games, Rob Dillingham has been the star. He’s second in scoring with 16 points per game and is leading the way in assists at 5.2. He's doing all of this while shooting nearly 55% from the field. DJ Wagner is coming off of his two most productive games of the season after a slow start while Reed Sheppard has been a very pleasant surprise. Justin Edwards arrived on campus the highest ranked of this year’s recruiting class but also he's struggled the most. Can this be a breakout game for him?

While those freshmen have shined for the most part, they’ve benefited from some experience — even if they haven’t always looked to be on the same page. Fifth year senior Antonio Reeves is leading the team in scoring while another fifth year senior, Tre Mitchell , is third in scoring and second in rebounding. Sophomore Abdou Thiero has also given them a boost with his athleticism and physicality.

A game against Miami is a perfect opportunity to see how far this Kentucky team has come since its loss to Kansas. A battle with the 'Cane will tell how well they can blend the new with the old.

The stage is set for an incredibly fun game. It is undoubtably going to be played at frenzied pace. And while this contest won’t make or break either team’s season, both Miami and Kentucky have a lot to prove.

Is Miami a legitimate threat to win the ACC? Can they develop a bench and make a run at returning to the Final Four?

Are Kentucky’s freshmen for real? Can they develop a little more synergy with the upperclassmen?

We should learn a lot on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM ET.

The Daily Dish is a daily college basketball column by a rotating cast of 247Sports writers on the biggest stories of the day in the sport and will run through the NCAA Tournament championship in April.