Friday, March 20, 2015

Unbeaten Cats need last year's NCAA edge back



After ho-hum NCAA opener, undefeated Kentucky basketball needs 2014 tournament edge backSubscribe Now

6

Share This Story!

Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about

Unbeaten Cats need last year's NCAA edge back

After ho-hum NCAA opener, undefeated Kentucky basketball needs 2014 tournament edge back

Try Another

Audio CAPTCHA

Image CAPTCHA

Help

{# #}

CancelSend

Sent!Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | UK's John Calipari previews Cincinnati | 20:53

Kentucky's John Calipari talks about playing Cincinnati Saturday in the Louisville NCAA Regional. Video by Matt Stone, The Courier-Journal

1 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | Cincinnati's Larry Davis Previews Kentucky | 15:54

Cincinnati's Larry Davis says John Calipari has done great job of coaching the All-American talents of his players. Video by Matt Stone, The Courier-Journal

2 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | UK's Willie Cauley-Stein on playing at Kentucky | 01:00

Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein on playing at Kentucky

3 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | UK's Cauley-Stein holds court, Part I | 08:37

Video | UK's Cauley-Stein holds court, Part I

4 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | UK's Cauley-Stein holds court, Part II | 08:34

Video | UK's Cauley-Stein holds court, Part II

5 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | UK talks about win over Hampton in NCAA tournament opener | 14:43

Kentucky talks about win over Hampton in NCAA tournament at Louisville Regional Video by Matt Stone, The Courier-Journal

6 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | Kyle Tucker breaks down UK's 79-56 win over Hampton | 02:34

The Courier-Journal's Kyle Tucker talks about Kentucky easy win over Hampton and their upcoming matchup against Cincinnati.

7 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | Aaron Harrison says UK needs urgency | 01:52

Video | Aaron Harrison says UK needs urgency Video by Matt Stone, The Courier-Journal

8 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | Devin Booker on continued cold streak | 01:24

Video | Devin Booker on continued cold streak Video by Matt Stone, The Courier-Journal

9 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | Hampton Coach talks about loss to Kentucky | 11:07

Hampton Coach talks about loss to Kentucky Video by Matt Stone, The Courier-Journal

10 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | Andrew Harrison on UK's NCAA-opening win | 02:54

Video | Andrew Harrison on UK's NCAA-opening win Video by Matt Stone, The Courier-Journal

11 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | UK's Cauley-Stein on ho-hum NCAA opener | 04:51

Video | UK's Cauley-Stein on ho-hum NCAA opener

12 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | UK's Towns on strong NCAA debut | 04:20

Video | UK's Towns on strong NCAA debut

13 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | UK Pep Rally | 01:43

University of Kentucky fans hold a pep rally before the game against Hampton. Marty Pearl/Special to The Courier-Journal

14 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTNCAA Quick Takes l There's a certain song Karl-Anthony Towns wants to hear | 01:30

Towns, Aaron Harrison, Willie Cauley-Stein and a jovial Dakari Johnson talk hoops, music, and teammates Wednesday at Louisville Regional. Video by Matt Stone, The Courier-Journal

15 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | Like UK, Dominique Hawkins' beard is undefeated | 01:27

Like the University of Kentucky, Dominique Hawkins' beard is undefeated.

16 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | Hampton talks about playing Kentucky...and Jesus | 11:13

Watch as Hampton talks about playing Kentucky...and Jesus

17 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | Kentucky's Karl Anthony-Towns makes a half-court shot | 00:10

Video | Kentucky's Karl Anthony-Towns makes a half-court shot

18 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | Kentucky's Karl Anthony-Towns does a through-the-legs dunk | 00:18

Video | Kentucky's Karl Anthony-Towns does a through-the-legs dunk

19 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | Thousands of UK fans flood KFC Yum! Center to watch the Cats practice. | 01:22

Kentucky was greeted by thousands of their fans as they participated in the open practice for the NCAA tournament.

20 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | UK's Aaron Harrison: America vs. Cats is "fun" | 02:55

Video | UK's Aaron Harrison: America vs. Cats is "fun"

21 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | UK's Cauley-Stein previews NCAA opener | 05:49

Video | UK's Cauley-Stein previews NCAA opener

22 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTVideo | UK's Andrew Harrison on flipping a switch | 02:45

Video | UK's Andrew Harrison on flipping a switch

23 of 24

VIDEOS | UK BASKETBALL IN THE 2015 NCAA TOURNAMENTFormer UK and U of L greats on Christian Laettner | 01:29

Former U of L players Milt Wagner and Derwin Webb, and former UK Wildcat Rick Robey on Christian Laettner. Eric Burse, The C-J

24 of 24

Last VideoNext Video

  • Video | UK's John Calipari previews Cincinnati

  • Video | Cincinnati's Larry Davis Previews Kentucky

  • Video | UK's Willie Cauley-Stein on playing at Kentucky

  • Video | UK's Cauley-Stein holds court, Part I

  • Video | UK's Cauley-Stein holds court, Part II

  • Video | UK talks about win over Hampton in NCAA tournament opener

  • Video | Kyle Tucker breaks down UK's 79-56 win over Hampton

  • Video | Aaron Harrison says UK needs urgency

  • Video | Devin Booker on continued cold streak

  • Video | Hampton Coach talks about loss to Kentucky

  • Video | Andrew Harrison on UK's NCAA-opening win

  • Video | UK's Cauley-Stein on ho-hum NCAA opener

  • Video | UK's Towns on strong NCAA debut

  • Video | UK Pep Rally

  • NCAA Quick Takes l There's a certain song Karl-Anthony Towns wants to hear

  • Video | Like UK, Dominique Hawkins' beard is undefeated

  • Video | Hampton talks about playing Kentucky...and Jesus

  • Video | Kentucky's Karl Anthony-Towns makes a half-court shot

  • Video | Kentucky's Karl Anthony-Towns does a through-the-legs dunk

  • Video | Thousands of UK fans flood KFC Yum! Center to watch the Cats practice.

  • Video | UK's Aaron Harrison: America vs. Cats is "fun"

  • Video | UK's Cauley-Stein previews NCAA opener

  • Video | UK's Andrew Harrison on flipping a switch

  • Former UK and U of L greats on Christian Laettner

Kentucky head coach John Calipari was not too happy with his team's play at the start of the first half against Hampton at the NCAA Louisville Regional. By Scott Utterback, The Courier-Journal March 19, 2015(Photo: Matt Stone/The C_-J)

The locker room was quiet, somber even. Top-seeded Kentucky had led its NCAA Tournament opener by 35 points and won without breaking much of a sweat, but maybe that was the problem. This was not the Wildcats' finest effort.

They knew it, too, so the players sat stoically at their stalls inside the KFC Yum! Center late Thursday night, after a wholly unsatisfying 79-56 victory over 16th-seeded Hampton, unsurprised by the "we expected more" tone of postgame interviews.

"We should expect that out of ourselves," said freshman guard Devin Booker, who made just 1 of 6 shots he took. "Coach expects that out of us. He came in here and told us we didn't play our best game and if we keep playing like that, it's going to be trouble."

A much better Cincinnati team awaits in Saturday afternoon's Round of 32. The eighth-seeded Bearcats (23-10) staged a furious comeback to beat Purdue in the game before Kentucky-Hampton. Depending on when they got back out to the court to see the Wildcats, they're either very impressed or totally underwhelmed.

In one 18-minute span in the middle of the game, UK shot 63 percent, held the Pirates to 17.2 percent and outscored them 49-18. The ugliness was in those other 22 minutes the first 12 and last 10 during which the Cats shot 32.3 percent and were outscored 38-30.

Cincinnati has "guys that aren't going to be afraid of us," Kentucky coach John Calipari said, and if they watched the beginning or the end of Thursday's game, "they probably have in their mind, 'We can beat these guys.' "

The Wildcats (35-0) know what that's like to be the underdog who believes it can pull the upset. That was UK a year ago, an eighth seed who knocked off 35-0 Wichita State in the Round of 32. Those Cats had an edge about them in postseason, and these Cats need to rediscover that.

"Last year, it was a different mindset, definitely, because we were an eight seed. We were just fighting for our lives, really," said sophomore shooting guard Aaron Harrison, who missed all five shots he attempted, "and I think we need that mindset this year as well. It's kind of tough to do that when you're undefeated."

That has always been the question, the danger, as Kentucky kept piling up wins without experiencing a single sting of defeat. Would the Wildcats inevitably succumb to complacency? They say no, that Thursday's lackluster performance and the subsequent shredding by their coaching, served as a sufficient wakeup call.

The Courier-Journal's Kyle Tucker talks about Kentucky easy win over Hampton and their upcoming matchup against Cincinnati.

"A lot of guys didn't play well individually, so we're just going to come out the next game and do the opposite," said point guard Tyler Ulis, who had a season-high four turnovers against the Pirates. "We're going to come out with something to prove to ourselves and to Coach because last game we came out flat."

After 12 minutes against Hampton, which lost more games than it won this season, UK led by just four points and had made only 7 of 21 shots.

"You can't start games like this," Calipari said. "You can't do things that we talk about every day and you choose to do something else. You can't do things on your terms in this tournament, because what happens is you'll have a 12-point lead and then you'll turn around and it will be a two-point game. What just happened?"

Lucky for the Cats, in this case it was a 35-point lead that shriveled to 23. But the point remains.

"You've got to follow the script," Calipari said. "Here's how we play. This is what we do. Here's the energy we play with."

Freshman forward Trey Lyles, despite 10 points and six rebounds, was "pretty disappointed" by what he called a lackadaisical tournament opener for Kentucky.

"We gotta start out with our foot on the gas," he said, "and we can't look back at any point."

In the final 10 minutes against the Pirates, the Cats made just 4 of 13 shots, turned it over seven times and got outscored 24-12. The horde of Kentucky fans that have taken over downtown Louisville for the week grew restless. As did the coach and, by the end, the players.

Video | Aaron Harrison says UK needs urgency Video by Matt Stone, The Courier-Journal

Everyone involved knows the simple truth: play like this again and the season could be over early.

"That's basically what we pulled away from here, is we were fortunate that we were able to get the lead high enough, but if we're playing a big-time school then you can't make those mistakes," said junior 7-footer Willie Cauley-Stein, who shot 1 for 5. "We're not really worried about what we did; we just gotta take what we did and turn it into something better.

"Me and Book were talking like, 'I wish we played tomorrow. I wish we played now.' Because (it's like) you lost a game. So guys are ready to play again just to redeem themselves."

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.

Video | UK's Cauley-Stein on ho-hum NCAA opener

Read or Share this story: http://cjky.it/1C4SO9T

0) { %>

0) { %>

0) { %>

Source: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2015/03/20/unbeaten-cats-need-last-years-ncaa-edge-back/25073529/



Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)