Jan. 21, 2011
| Gameday Information | |
|---|---|
| Game Notes |
Kentucky Game Notes  | South Carolina Game Notes |
| Date & Time | Sat., Jan. 22, 6:00 p.m. ET |
| Coverage | TV: ESPN Radio: BBSN GameTracker Online Audio Live Video via ESPN3 Live Blog Text Updates |
| Location | The Colonial Center Columbia, S.C. |
Despite a furious comeback, the Wildcats’ road woes continued at Alabama, dropping a 68-66 game in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday.
Trailing by as much as 20 in the second half, Kentucky battled back and cut the lead to one point three times in the final 3:30 of the game. However, the Cats were never able to get over the hump.
UK did finish with four players scoring in double-figures led by Terrence Jones’ team-high 17 points. Doron Lamb (16), Brandon Knight (14) and Darius Miller (12) all scored in double-digits as well.
Jones and Josh Harrellson finished with team-highs in rebounding with nine while Jones also added three blocks, two assists and two steals.
The loss was UK’s second straight on the road, however the Cats are 4-0 in bounce-back games this year.
Pregame Press Conference Quotes
Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari
On keeping South Carolina off the offensive glass …
“We haven’t been doing a very good job. They’re another scrappy team. If they out-scrap us it’ll be hard for us to win the game, bottom line. If they out-scrap us – watching the tape of us down there a year ago, they out-scraped us. They just were more aggressive and they weren’t afraid to foul, they just went after balls. (Devan Downey) made a couple shots at the end that were outrageous and we missed a bunch of layups. They just out-scrapped us.”
On South Carolina losing Devan Downey and others from last year’s team …
“They’re starting young guys too, they are. And they’ve been in two overtime games and a game they’ve been down 14, and they’ve won them all. The two overtime games and the game they were down 14 they could have easily got beat and they won them all. They went to Alabama and Alabama and those guys were nose to nose. Alabama, obviously, was up 20 on us. Scrapping and us playing passive, if we play that way it’ll be a hard game.”
On what it says about a team to be down 14, or down repeatedly, and be able to pull it out …
“They’ve been down – the Florida game they were up and Florida came back and it went to overtime, so they’re one of those kind of teams. Their little guard (Bruce) Ellington is really good. He has a football body and he uses it that way. He really understands angles and he’s good. The other guys, (Sam) Muldrow is way better, and the other guys all fit their role and do what they’re supposed to; they play off Ellington and they play off him well.”
On if he’s concerned about what his team will give him energy level wise on the road compared to what it has been like the last two times in the SEC …
“Again, it’s a young team going on the road and you’re counting on freshmen, and we’re expecting a lot and demanding a lot out of those guys. It’s hard and I’ve got to get on two juniors and a senior to do more. They’ve got to be a big part of what we’re doing at the end of these games. They’re the veteran guys; two juniors and a senior. Part of it is that. `Let’s go, what are you three doing when the game is on the line? What are you giving us?'”
On what specifically he would like to see senior forward Josh Harrellson and junior guards Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins do at the end of games …
“Make plays, make a block, get a ball, grab a rebound, dive on the floor, take a charge. Do something. `What are you doing to help us win?’ Or are we sitting there saying, `Let’s hope one of these freshmen make a play.'”
On what they did on the road against Louisville differently than what they’ve done in their two SEC road games …
“Well, one of the things we did is we shot the ball well (at Louisville). We were able to create gaps and then play a little different and not have it on us, it was on the other team and we played better. Again, Georgia and this game, we had guys start games 0-5. First five shots you miss. And it’s not just one guy, it’s another guy. So now all of a sudden, it’s a two-point game versus being a 12-point game. It’s a different ball game. At Louisville we made those shots.”
On how much South Carolina forward Sam Muldrow has improved and if Kentucky is vulnerable to big guys …
“(I am) really impressed. What he’s doing is he’s shooting jump shots. That’s what it is. They’re putting him in pick-and-rolls and he’s popping and he’s doing a heck of a job with it. You have to guard him to the 3-point line because he’ll shoot it. Now we have to figure out how we play in this – how we play in these pick-and-rolls because we can’t just leave him. He’s also making 17-footers so if they stretch out the court to give the little kid a chance to go, and he’s at 16, 17 feet, he makes shots. But, again, watching the tape last year, he did that to us last year. He made that shot in the short corner that was just an absolute dagger. So, he’s good. He’s really a presence and the little kid is leading them and doing a heck of a job.”
On if he has anybody as a leader right now who will step up and say, `This is unacceptable and we have to change.’ …
“No, and just take responsibility. Someone’s got to say, `OK, this is on me,’ or, `This is on all of us. It’s on you and you and you…’ We’ve got a lot of guys that don’t want to take that responsibility and that’s part of the leadership of the team and where we need to go. We’ve all got to look at everything. I’m telling them there were coaching things we went through that I said, `If I had to do it over again I’d have done this or I would have done this.’ I’m trying to get them to say it’s OK to be wrong. It’s OK to screw up. It’s OK, you don’t have to act like you’ve never done anything, it’s always somebody else. Just understand that when we lose you have to take responsibility, all of us, including me as a coach.”
#4, Jon Hood, G, So.
On the mood after the Alabama loss …
“Yeah, we should have won it. We have been in every game this year and we think that we should win every game. We have always thought that. Even when we lose we come out looking back and feel bad, because an L is an L. You always want to win.”
On if playing on the road has been the problem or other factors …
“I don’t know. I think that it is just not coming to play certain plays and certain stretches. I mean, you can’t really say that we haven’t come to play for the whole game. We came back from 20 points down. We just have to put the whole game together.”
On watching the Alabama game on tape and if there were some things they saw that will help in the
future …
“It is evident on tape (the mistakes we made and how much better we are as a team when we don’t make them.) I don’t know what it is but it is like something clicks and we are two different teams. We just have to bring it into one and play the whole game. When we do that we are one of the best teams in the nation.”
#55, Josh Harrellson, F, Sr.
On coach Calipari having to coach effort instead of basketball recently …
“It really has been (frustrating). At times you see that some guys aren’t playing hard and that is when coach really starts to get on us about playing hard and playing every possession. If you can’t go, then come out. We are trying to build reserves and backups and the only way to do that is to let them get in the game and play. He is trying to say if you are tired now you have to come out of the game. I think the first 10 minutes of the Alabama game I don’t think anyone came out. I was the first one to ask for a sub at the 12-minute mark. He said something about me being the only one that asked for a sub the entire game. No one body can play their best effort for 40 minutes. So he wants us to play as hard as we can all the time and if we are tired take a sub.”
On the overall mood of the team …
“Yesterday, actually we had a tremendous practice; everyone came out with a great intensity because we know how it is after a loss now since we have had a couple. The guys are starting to mature and we know that we have to come out and play in practice with great intensity and be ready to go. We can’t keep going down this road losing and stuff. We just come out and practice and have great intensity and hopefully we can carry that over to the game now.”
On what has happened on the road in the SEC that didn’t happen at Louisville …
“I don’t know. Maybe it was because at Louisville we were more excited because they are our rival and stuff. I don’t know. We just have to focus like that every game and come out with great intensity from the get go. In the Louisville game they scored the first couple of buckets but we didn’t let that affect us. We came back and score like the next 10 points or something. That is what we have to do every game, is get the crowd out of it and come out and play our game and get them out of their game. We have to continue playing like that.”
