KENTUCKY WILDCATS (11-9, 5-2 SEC)
vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (13-10, 2-6 SEC)
Saturday, Feb. 9 ? 1:00 p.m.
Lexington, Ky. – Rupp Arena (23,000)
TV: RAYCOM
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Kentucky returns to Rupp Arena riding a season best four-game winning streak as they host Alabama in a 1:00 game being televised regionally on Raycom Sports.
The Wildcats are coming off a 66-63 win at Auburn. UK hit 67 percent of its shots, the highest percentage by a Kentucky team since the 2000-01 squad shot 69 percent against Indiana, but a season-high Wildcat 24 turnovers kept the Tigers close until the end. Joe Crawford led the Cats with a game-best 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 3-for-4 from three-point range. SEC Freshman of the Year candidate Patrick Patterson tallied 19 points (8-of-10) and eight rebounds, as Kentucky won back-to-back road games for the first time since winning its first two league road games of the 2006-07 season.
Alabama comes into the game off a 73-66 midweek loss at Mississippi State.
CAT SCRATCHES
Kentucky is the all-time NCAA leader in wins with 1,959. UK boasts three of the SEC?s top 12 scorers: Patrick Patterson (7th, 17.2), Joe Crawford (8th, 16.7) and Ramel Bradley (12th, 15.8). Kentucky leads the SEC and ranks 12th nationally at the foul line, shooting 76 percent. The Wildcats rank second in the SEC in FG percentage (.479) and FG percentage defense (.389). In league play, UK ranks second in the SEC in rebounding margin (+4.7). Ramel Bradley has made 29 of his last 30 free throws. Patrick Patterson ranks in the SEC?s top 10 in both scoring (7th, 17.2) and rebounding (5th, 7.9). Mark Coury was named First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District. UK has held its last 12 opponents under 50 percent shooting. In SEC action, Patrick Patterson is averaging 41.3 minutes, Ramel Bradley is averaging 37.5 minutes, and Joe Crawford is averaging 35.8 minutes. Joe Crawford is shooting 73 percent (11-for-15) from three-point range over his last three games. Joe Crawford (1,218 career points) and Ramel Bradley (1,148) have become UK?s 54th and 55th members of the 1,000-point club, respectively, this season. Crawford is currently in 34th place on UK?s all-time points list, while Bradley is 43rd.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – FEB. 8
Head Coach Billy Gillispie
Opening Statement ?
?We are really excited about tomorrow?s game. We are playing a very good Alabama team. They are very talented and a well-coached team. They have a chance to win every single game in conference and we have been the same way. We have had a chance to win them all or lose them all and that is the way I believe they are too. That goes to show the great competitive spirit in the Southeastern Conference. Alabama is a very difficult team to play against but we are looking forward to the game.?
On Ramel Bradley ?
?I expect him to play tomorrow. We had 24 turnovers the other night when he didn?t play. He looked fine in practice and he better be ready to go tomorrow.
On late game situations ?
?You can?t turn the ball over down the stretch and you can?t turn the ball over during conference games. We have been improving on that quite a bit. We fell back a little the other night. I believe both teams tomorrow will be very competitive on the ball. From one end to the other, the ball will be moving very quickly and I think that the teams will be very physical and play extremely hard. Alabama will contest every shot and rebound and I think that is the reason they have been right there in so many games which is very similar to us. We are two very competitive teams that are trying very hard to win and we want to achieve that.?
On Derrick Jasper ?
?He keeps showing great toughness and caring about the team way above himself. He is totally selfless. He is not injured right now but he is obviously hurt, there is no question about that. His pain tolerance in through the charts and he is able to handle a lot of pain. It is all for the team. He could have sit out the whole season if he was worried about low numbers but he loves Kentucky and Kentucky basketball and his teammates. Those are the best kind of players to have.?
On the level of toughness ?
?It is immeasurable really. The improvement they have made as far as playing hard, playing smart and playing together. We took some steps backwards the other night and did not play to smart. For the most part we have played extremely hard and smart. You have to try and survive in conference games. I am real proud that they have and it is a direct reflection of how you practice. Once Jodie came back it maybe gave our guys some hope and a breath of fresh air. We are now playing at a different level even though Jodie (Meeks) hasn?t been able to stay out there and having Derrick (Jasper) back. Having those two guys has elevated the competitive spirit of our whole team. I think it was an issue of having a couple of their brothers back and being in the battle with them; so as far as where we are now with our competitive spirit, the difference is night and day from the beginning of the season. I think the difference is pretty easy to see. All I know is that we put on our hard hat at the beginning of every day and you care about each other and go to work. We will keep grinding it out, it has always worked in the past and we keep improving in that area right now.?
On the fans tomorrow ?
?One of the biggest factors for tomorrow is how involved our fans are. They have been fantastic but we have to have them as a sixth man tomorrow. We need their best effort tomorrow and we have given people a few reasons lately to really help us. We didn?t give them much at the beginning and they still tried to help us. We need more help from them tomorrow. I hope everyone gets a great a night of sleep tonight; and gets plenty of water; and comes ready to scream their lungs our every single time Alabama has the ball; and Alabama talks about the fans making a great difference in the game because we need it.?
Kentucky Players
#3 Ramel Bradley, Senior
On the concussion ?
?I remember Derrick passing the ball for a wide open lay up and then I was just hitting the floor. When I got hit, I couldn?t catch myself and protect myself, and that?s what made it so bad.?
On not being able to play in the Georgia and Auburn games ?
?It?s been good because we?ve been winning, but it?s a little frustrating being hurt, knowing I can?t help out. It just felt crazy being over there [on the sideline], knowing I couldn?t go get the ball and having to watch. But we pulled out the wins and got some stops, the stops we needed in the end to win the games, so I was happy. I was very proud and it?s good to know that my teammates can step up in those situations and pull out the win.?
On whether he?ll play against Alabama ?
?I felt good being out on the floor practicing and I feel like I haven?t missed a beat. I think I?ll be out there tomorrow. I?m usually 150 percent, but now I?m probably 100 percent.?
On possibly reaching career highs this season ?
?I think it has a lot to do with my coach, teammates, and how much we?ve grown. Just the steps we?ve been taking to improve each and every day. The things we do at practice we?ve been getting a lot better at, and my teammates and coaches have been putting a lot of confidence in me.?
#32 Joe Crawford, Senior
On his free-throw shooting ?
?I?ve been spending a lot of time afterward in the gym. It?s something personal and easily corrected. I am not worried about it right now, I know I can shoot them and that is the important thing.?
On team?s toughness ?
?I think this year has been extremely tough but we?ve battled through. We went through losses and other things and have really built our character.?
On his health and conditioning ?
?I have been practicing a lot ever since I came back completely from the injury, and I think the biggest thing is to just stay hydrated. I am prepared to go 40 minutes in a game.?
On biggest difference in current winning streak ?
?Well, I think that some of the wins have allowed us to build confidence and that is very important. So I believe that is the biggest thing, confidence.?
#54 Patrick Patterson, Freshman
On Alabama?s Richard Hendrix ?
?He?s a beast, 6?9? and 250 pounds. He has great footwork in the post and is able to establish himself deep into the post. I have to approach him the same way I do with other big men, keep him off of the post and limit his touches. He?s averaging a double-double and I?m looking forward to going one on one with him.?
On having senior guard Ramel Bradley back ?
?It will be huge. He has been practicing since this past weekend and hopefully since he has been out there that he will be able to go Saturday.?
On team?s amount of turnovers against Auburn ?
?I don?t think we are slipping; I think down the stretch they started trapping and pressing us and some of us didn?t come back to the ball to help out our teammates. We just got out of sync.?
On team?s momentum ?
?Oh absolutely, we feel like we are starting to turn around some things. We are on a roll right now and have been able to pull out the game in crunch time situations. We feel like the ball is rolling and it?s on our side right now.?
On team?s improvement ?
?We?ve done a lot of hard work and risen to the challenge. We feel like we have created our own breaks. Everything we?ve done previously in the year has given us a sense of toughness, togetherness and we are a family.?
