LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky guards Tod Lanter, Brian Long and Sam Malone started against Florida on Senior Day. It was supposed to be the last home game for UK’s three walk-ons, with the emphasis on supposed to be.If you closed your eyes while in Bridgestone Arena during the Southeastern Conference Tournament last week, or during Wednesday’s open practice at the KFC Yum! Center, you would have thought you were in Rupp Arena.Blue has gotten in and blue has made itself heard.”Our fans follow us pretty much everywhere we go,” sophomore forward Marcus Lee said. “So they make it kind of home for wherever we go.”In Nashville, Bridgestone Arena was painted in blue with UK fans descending on the Music City and turning it into Lexington South. In the championship game, a Bridgestone Arena record was set for an SEC Tournament game, as 20,315 fans, mostly dressed in blue, cheered on the Cats.”I mean, this (SEC Tournament), it was crazy,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “I mean there were 97 percent Kentucky fans in that building. What? And they said 10,000 came to the opening games because they couldn’t get tickets to our games. So they just bought tickets and went to the opening games to be a part of the thing. Which is great for the SEC and our fans, but I say it again, it’s like Woo. But I would expect we’ll have a pretty good crowd.”He was right.When Kentucky took the floor for its open practice Wednesday at the KFC Yum! Center, the entire lower bowl was filled with UK fans, as they chanted “Blue, White!” and “Go Big Blue!” consistently throughout the 40-minute glorified shootaround. When a Louisville fan made his way into the arena, boos showered down so loud that freshman guard Tyler Ulis stopped shooting free throws to turn around and see what was going on.When it was announced Kentucky would play its opening game of the tournament in nearby Louisville, many of the players were asked how they felt about that. Most said it was cool, but that it didn’t matter where they played, Big Blue Nation would be there.”Our fans would still travel even if we played in California,” Cauley-Stein said. “They would still be there. It just makes it a lot easier on them I guess.”In regards to them, personally, as players, the Cats said playing in a familiar gym, one where they’ve experienced success this year already, was a nice perk as well.”We’ve all played in this gym, so we’re used to it already,” freshman guard Devin Booker said. “That, combined with our fan base, it’s basically a home game for us.”Harrisons shifting gear in March, againIt’s March, so that means the Harrison twins are shifting their games into a higher gear again.One year after point guard Andrew Harrison reaped the benefits of Coach Cal’s famous “tweak” to help lead his team to the national championship game, and his twin brother, shooting guard Aaron Harrison, hit three of the bigger shots in UK’s postseason history, the backcourt duo is at again in 2015.Andrew actually heightened his game a month early this season, scoring 11.8 points and dishing out 3.5 assists per game to just 16 total turnovers (2.8 assist-turnover ratio) since the calendar turned to February. Aaron, meanwhile, is averaging 12.2 points per game in March and hitting 43.8 percent from beyond the arc, a stark improvement from his February averages of 10.3 points per game and 22.0 percent shooting from distance.”I think just a competitive switch flips,” Cauley-Stein said of the twins. “Knowing without them we’re not gonna be able to do this without them and they know that, so they have to play a way that Coach set out for them to play and they know how to play.”For Andrew, that way to play is with high energy and an aggression to attack the lane. When he’s doing that, the Cats’ offense, including both the guards and the bigs, excels. Coach Cal also stresses a positive mindset and outlook, which includes strong body language.”It’s a spirit,” Coach Cal said. “It’s a spirit that we all feel when you watch him play. He doesn’t stop on the court. There’s nothing. I’m in attack mode, I’m aggressive. I’m talking to my teammates. I’m running this. You know I’m controlling this. I’ll score when I have to. I’m not trying to get fouled. I’m driving to score, not get fouled.”And his teammates notice as well.”We feed off their energy and Coach harps on it,” Cauley-Stein said. “If their energy is bad then the whole team’s energy is not good. When they’re playing with high energy and a lot of effort, doing the things that they do, everybody benefits from it.”For Aaron, March brings about a time to step up to the main stage, a place where he thrives under the bright lights and high pressure situations. While the 6-foot-6 guard from Richmond, Texas, has shown this season that it doesn’t have to be March for him to put the team on his back in a tight game, last season’s run gave him the knowledge that he can do it again this year if needed.”It really helped my confidence, and also my teammates’ confidence just to go out there and be able to beat the best teams in the country even though we had an up and down year,” Aaron Harrison said. “That was really helpful.”Hopefully we don’t have a game that close, but if we do, if Coach wants to give me the ball I think I’ll be confident enough to hit the shot for us.”UK keeping focus internalAs Guy Ramsey wrote Wednesday, Kentucky is not straying away from what got it to this point. Part of that includes continuing to play against themselves each game, rather than against their opponent.That, however, doesn’t mean the Cats are overlooking their 16th-seeded opponent, Hampton (17-17). UK has done this all season long, and it’s part of how they’ve been able to get to 34-0. They’re not only playing against themselves during the games, they do it in the pregame as well.Kentucky doesn’t spend days on scouting its opponent. Typically, the players don’t see tape of their opponent until their pregame meal. Asked Wednesday what he knows about the Pirates, freshman forward Trey Lyles said he knew nothing yet.”But I’m sure the coaches do and we’re going to get a lot of information from them,” Lyles said.Keys for the Cats will remain the same for this game as all games, come out with energy and attempt to maintain that energy for all 40 minutes. If Coach Cal sees a decrease, subs, or reinforcements as he calls them, will be ready.”We just gotta come out with a lot of energy because we know they’re going to come after us like every other team this year has and we just gotta be prepared for it,” Lyles said.One nice change of pace for the Cats will be seeing a team on the other side of the court that doesn’t have an “SEC” patch on its jersey. After going through a tough and physical 18-game SEC schedule and three-game SEC Tournament, the Cats will face an out of conference opponent for the first time since Dec. 27, when they defeated Louisville in this very gym.During the non-conference portion of its schedule, Kentucky outscored its opponents by an average of 25.7 points per game (75.8-50.1). Facing an opponent that isn’t as familiar with UK’s players and schemes will be a welcome change of pace, Aaron Harrison said.”I think the SEC teams are a little tougher because they’ve played us so many times, and they’re more physical,” Aaron Harrison said. “They’re a lot more prepared than the other teams are.”