KENTUCKY (4-2)
at No. 15/15 Indiana (7-1)
Saturday, Dec. 8 ? 4:00 p.m.
Bloomington, Ind. – (17,357)
TV: CBS – Verne Lundquist and Billy Packer
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After opening the season on a six game home stretch, the Kentucky Wildcats take to the road for the first time, traveling to Bloomington to take on longtime rival Indiana.
UK?s trip to Bloomington is its first game in Assembly Hall since the 1990-91 season. The Wildcats are 2-7 on the Hoosier?s home floor. Prior to last season?s matchup in Lexington, the UK-IU series was played on a neutral site between Louisville and Indianapolis for 15 consecutive years. However, a schedule conflict with Louisville?s Freedom Hall led to the series being moved to Rupp Arena last season, where Kentucky recorded a 59-54 win over the Hoosiers.
Kentucky leads the all-time series with Indiana, 28-22, having won six of the last seven and 11 of the last 13 games in the series. The two traditional basketball powers have met every year since the 1969-70 season.
CAT SCRATCHES
Kentucky is in its 105th season of basketball. Kentucky is the all-time NCAA leader in wins with 1,952. UK last won in Assembly Hall in the 1981 season, a 68-66 victory. The Wildcats rank sixth nationally and lead the SEC in field goal percentage defense (.344). UK also leads the conference in scoring defense (58.5). Kentucky is shooting 77 percent (82-107) from the free throw line, which leads the SEC. Patrick Patterson has three double-doubles, tied for the second-highest total in the SEC. Kentucky has used five different starting line-ups through the first six games of the season. The only constants have been Mark Coury and Patrick Patterson.
Joe Crawford (1,010) became UK?s 54th member of the 1,000-point club against North Carolina. He currently sits in 52nd place. Teammate Ramel Bradley is 68 points shy of 1,000. Once again, every Wildcat basketball game will be televised live, including UK?s two exhibition games. UK is on CBS seven times, ESPN/ESPN2 nine times, ESPNU twice, FSN South five times and Lincoln Financial Sports six times.
SCOUTING INDIANA
Located in Bloomington, Ind., (171 miles northeast of Lexington), Indiana is a member of the Big Ten conference.
One of the Wildcats? most-storied rivals, the Hoosiers possess a basketball tradition matched by few. Indiana, which owns the third-most national championships in the country (5) and the fifth most NCAA tournament appearances (34), ranks as the ninth winningest program in NCAA history with 1,611 wins.
Indiana is led by 6-4 freshman guard Eric Gordon, who has a 24.3 scoring average, and 6-9 senior forward D.J. White who is averaging a team best 8.6 rpg.
A defensive minded team, the Hoosiers are holding opponents to just 41.6 percent from the floor and 32 percent from three-point range.
The Hoosiers play their home games in Assembly Hall (17,357) where they own a 22-game winning streak. They are 175-17 (.911) all-time at Assembly Hall against non-conference foes.
Indiana is led by second-year man, Kelvin Sampson (483-269/24 years). Sampson led IU to a 21-11 record in his inaugural season at the helm, guiding the Hoosiers to their 34th NCAA Tournament appearance.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the 51st meeting between Kentucky and Indiana, with the Wildcats leading, 28-22, including last season?s 59-54 UK win in Rupp Arena. Kentucky has won six of the last seven and 11 of the last 13 games in the series.
Prior to last season?s game in Lexington, the UK-IU series was played on a neutral site between Louisville and Indianapolis for 15 consecutive years. However, a scheduling conflict with Louisville?s Freedom Hall forced the series to Rupp Arena for the first time since 1989.
This year?s match-up marks the first time since Dec. 18, 1990, that the series has been played in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, a place UK has gone 2-7 and has not won in since Dec. 6, 1980 (68-66).
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – DEC. 6
Head Coach Billy Gillispie
Opening statement…
“We’ve had a really good week. It’s been great. This has been our best week so far. We have a lot of improvement to make and I think we’re making it. We’re on the right track. We definitely have a long ways to go but I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
On the Alex Legion situation…
“Well, he’s not with the team. I think our guys have done a fantastic job, by not letting that be a distraction for them. They’ve been really focused in practice and done a fantastic job. We’re getting ready to go and play Indiana which will be a huge task for us. I don’t know about all of the reports. I don’t know exactly what has been reported. We talked today for the first time. I’d heard we’d been in discussions all week and we’d been sending guys to convince him to stay. Alex is a good person and he has the ability and opportunity to be a good player at some point. While he was with us, he did a good job for us. But when a player chooses to do something different, we understand that. We hate to lose anyone. But when they make that decision, we move on. I talked to Alex today and he wants to be back on the team. That’s the first time I’ve spoken to him. We wished him well. I love him as a person. I think he is a great young person. But it has not been a distraction for us and it will not be a distraction for us. Alex asked me last night if I could meet with him this morning. We met for a little bit. Alex is still not with the team.”
On avoiding distractions…
“One of the things that has been very difficult on our team so far this season is that we’ve had too many distractions. Usually, the groups I have been associated with, we’ve done a fantastic job at eliminating distractions. Once you eliminate distractions, then every single minute of every single practice is used to get better. Your mind has to be at 100 percent at the college level. You definitely have to have every ounce of energy that you can on a daily basis to improve as individuals and as a team. That being said, we’ve done a fantastic job. I’m so proud of everyone that is on our team, the efforts that they’ve given and the focus that they’ve given. They understand that we have a lot of improvement to make but their attitudes and their efforts have been fantastic starting last Saturday, that’s the first time that I really saw us play with the kind of passion we need for the kind of situation that we are in. We’re still making mistakes but the passion is starting to show up and that’s what it’s going to take for us to win.”
On preparation for big games like Indiana …
“You can’t play against great teams, and you can’t ever become a great team if you have too many distractions. I don’t care how experienced you are or how talented you are. Whatever your situation is, you have to have total focus. We’re learning that each day of practice is the most important day of our basketball life. They’re gaining confidence. We have a one-day plan for everything and we’re trying to get better. We’re trying to play our next opponent which is a team that could advance to the Final Four and win the championship this year. You have to have total focus for that.”
On how he is addressing turnovers in practice …
“Decision-making is not something that changes overnight. I think we’ve been in the right spots for the most part. I think our guys have been thinking too much. When you’re thinking about what you are supposed to do instead of reacting naturally – we’re not to that point yet, but we’re getting closer. I don’t see this team not ever being turnover-prone. I don’t think we are great ball handlers. I think that we hold onto the ball a little bit too long. I don’t think we have enough guys that see plays before they are about to develop. I hope that’s going to change. We are getting better. I thought our defense against North Carolina was very good when we got a chance to go five-on-five. But you can’t defend turnovers because it’s usually a lay-up or a two-on-one situation. We have to limit our turnovers, get a shot at the basket every single time and we have to give our defense a chance to play five-on-five and if we do, we’re going to get better as a team.”
On post defense against Indiana …
“We’ll do a few different things. I thought we did a real good job on the post for the most part (Saturday). I thought we had some missed assignments on the perimeter to where we didn’t really recognize who we were guarding and we let the wrong guy shoot too much. I think that’s a growing process and that we’ll get better at that. So there will be some things that are similar and some thing that are different.”
On Indiana…
“They are very athletic. They’re very, very confident. They have really good players. They get to spots well. They compete extremely hard.”
On D.J. White…
“He has such a knack for scoring. He can make shots facing the basket. He can make shots with his back to the basket. No matter how he shoots it up there, it seems he has a soft touch. It seems like when he gets the ball up on the rim it goes in. He’s a very efficient player. I don’t think he wastes a lot of energy. I think he really understands how to play, get angles and that type of thing. He’s a very efficient player.”
On competing against Coach Sampson teams…
“They really compete hard. This is one of the most talented teams I’ve seen him have. The first year I was at (Texas) A&M we played them (at Oklahoma) and he had a really nice team. His teams really compete hard. His teams seem to perform really well at the toughest times. That’s a sign of a mentally tough team that’s prepared mentally for each and every situation. I think he’s a fantastic coach that gets the most out of his players.”
On injury updates for Jasper and Meeks…
“Derrick has been practicing some this week and he’s been out there for a while for us. I don’t know what his situation is as far as playing. I doubt that he’ll play. He hasn’t done any full-court stuff. He’s been limited to half-court stuff. He’s been out there doing a few things. Jodie had an x-ray yesterday. It showed healing but the stress fracture is still present. So he has done a few things, but not with the team. He’s doing things with the training staff.”
Kentucky Players
#32 Joe Crawford, Senior
On playing against his younger brother Jordan, a freshman at Indiana…
“I think about it everyday, and we talk everyday. He’s pretty confident going in. Playing against him growing up, it was funny. He wouldn’t let anything up against our younger brother (Jalen), and he’d beat him pretty bad. But then I’d go out there and did the same thing to him. We used to play all the time; we just loved to play basketball. A lot of our friends would get tired of it and run around the neighborhood, but we’d be the kids who played and competed each day. Whether it was in parks or someone else’s house, in our backyard, we were always playing against each other.”
On how Jordan compares to himself as a freshman…
“There are some similarities, as far as moves and stuff like that. He’s really skinny though, so he won’t overpower anyone, even though he thinks he can.”
On the game against Indiana…
“It’s our second big game in a row. It’s important for us to be recognized as a top-20 team. We’re just working hard everyday and we’re going to go out there and try to do that for 40 minutes.”
On the play of Indiana freshman Eric Gordon…
“He’s a great player who can shoot and drive. It’ll be a challenge if I get a chance to match-up with him. But anyone I match-up against I’m just going to give 100 percent and play hard.”
On the importance of Kentucky freshman Patrick Patterson…
“It’s huge because he’s such a big part of our offense. He makes it easier for everyone to get their shot, much like Randolph (Morris) did.”
#34 Ramon Harris, Sophomore
On Indiana…
“Indiana is a good team. We will have to go there to compete and play our game. The main thing that we need to worry about is going to Indiana and doing what we do best. I think we are ready for it and it is going to be a great game. Indiana is going to be a good test because they are a good team all around. They are also a very good shooting team. Our guys are going to compete and play hard all game.”
On losing last Saturday to North Carolina…
“Coach (Gillispie) said that we found our heart beat last Saturday. We have to go off that and continue to get better day after day.”
On the team being a family…
“Coach Gillispie wants us to be a family. We have been close since day one. Alex (Legion) deciding to leave was his choice. We do not have any control over that and we cannot worry about the things that we can’t handle. I am only worried about the guys that are here right now and focus on becoming a closer family.”
#13 Michael Porter, Sophomore
On the good week of practice…
“Yeah we’ve had a good week, just competing really hard. I think we’re starting to buy into the concept a little more and we’re starting to get a heartbeat as a team now.”
On the game against Indiana…
“It should be a big challenge because we’re such a young team, and going on the road won’t be easy. But I think our guys will be ready to play and step up for this rivalry game.”
On Indiana freshman Eric Gordon…
“He’s just so athletic and versatile that you can’t just try and stop him from shooting or driving, because he can do both so well. He can do so many things, so I’m just going to try and give 100 percent to stay with him.”
