No. 4 Kentucky has won seven straight games to start the season. On Tuesday evening the Cats face a new challenge – the away game.

UK travels to Clemson on Tuesday night to play in the SEC/ACC Challenge at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Tigers are 7-1 this season, with the only blemish being an 84-71 loss at Boise State two weeks ago.

Kentucky has played outside of Rupp Arena this season, but it was a neutral site game against Duke in Atlanta. UK probably had more fans in the arena than Duke that night, so that hardly qualifies as a hostile atmosphere. Kentucky center Amari Williams knows Tuesday night will be very different.

“There will be a lot of noise against us, but that will be the case all season going into SEC play. It’s a good test to put yourself in someone else’s arena.”

According to Williams, Clemson is also a very talented team.

“They’re a physical team and they rebound well,” Williams said. “I think we had good practices against (Western Kentucky and Georgia State), so just carrying that over will be important. They have a lot of big guys. It will definitely be a physical game.”

Senior guard Chase Hunter leads the Tigers with an average of 16.4 points per game, while senior forward Ian Schieffelin averages 12.5 per game and senior center Viktor Lakhin averages 11.1 for Clemson.

Kentucky has six players averaging double figures, led by Otega Oweh with 15.9 points per game. Koby Brea is averaging 14.1 off the bench, while Lamont Butler is averaging 12.4 points per outing. Jaxson Robinson is averaging 12 points per contest, while Andrew Carr (10.7) and Williams (10.0) also score in double figures.

The Cats hit some rough patches in wins over Western Kentucky and Georgia State. Both times Great Britain managed to come out on top. What does head coach Mark Pope tell his team when things aren’t going well?

“He just always reminds us to have fun,” Williams said. “No matter how the game goes, there’s always the next play, so just go out there with a smile on your face and love what you do.”

Kentucky will have its first real road test of the year on Tuesday night in Clemson. When those difficult times come, Williams and the Cats hope to follow Pope’s advice and have fun while using their experience to help them through these difficult times.