Dec. 22, 2000
Freedom Hall, Louisville, Ky.
KENTUCKY 88, INDIANA 74
Kentucky is now 4-5 on the season. Indiana is 7-5.
Kentucky now leads the Indiana series 23-21. UK has won eight of the last 10 meetings.
Kentucky improves its all-time record in Freedom Hall to 47-15. UK is 5-3 vs. Indiana in Freedom Hall.
Kentucky has an all-time record of 110-29 in games played in Louisville.
Kentucky shot 68.9 percent from the field, the best figure in the Tubby Smith era.
It was the second time this season that Kentucky had shot 60 percent from the field, joining the 60.8- percent performance against Jacksonville State.
Kentucky has scored at least 84 points in six of nine games this season.
Trailing by one point at halftime, UK outscored Indiana 52-37 in the second half.
Trailing 45-44 early in the second half, UK took the lead for good with an 11-0 run.
Sophomore guard Keith Bogans tallied a career-high 26 points and tied his career high for field goals made with nine.
Making his first collegiate start, freshman guard Gerald Fitch had career highs for points (10), field goals made (three), free throws made and attempted (four of six), and minutes played (23).
Junior forward Tayshaun Prince had 20 points for the third time this season. He also had 20 against UCLA and Georgia Tech. Prince had a career-high nine field goals and tied his career high for assists with six.
This was the second time this season that Bogans and Prince had 20 or more points in the same game. Bogans had 25 points and Prince 20 vs. UCLA on Nov. 10.
Sophomore forward/center Marvin Stone had career highs with seven free throws made and four blocked shots.
The Wildcats return to action on Wed. Dec. 27 against High Point. The game is set for 8 p.m. EST in Rupp Arena and will be televised live on the UKTV Network.
UK Coach Tubby Smith Quotes
“I thought that both teams came out and played an outstanding college basketball game tonight. These two teams went after eachother defensively. We played a hard schedule up until now, and I hope it will benefit us. In fact, I know it will. We got outstandingplay out of Tayshaun (Prince), Keith (Bogans) and Marvin (Stone), as well as our bench. We got them into foul trouble, and (Kirk)Haston had to leave the game. That made a difference.”
“Its important for everyone to be leaders in big games. When people design their defenses, they do so to stop Prince, Bogans andStone. If they still have a good game, then weve broken through that.”
On the play of Marvin Stone:
“Marvins had a lot on his mind this week. With exams ending and his academic situation, he needed to get those issues resolved.When that happens, everything will be fine.”
On how the game with Michigan State has affected the team:
“To go in there and almost win the game did a lot for us. Tonight we had some defensive slippage toward the end, with the foul onthe three-pointer and letting them get some open threes. Otherwise, I thought we did an outstanding job of making defensive stops.That loss has helped us as far as self-image and self-esteem. We know we can play with anyone in the country.”
“Tonight we tried to get Tayshaun inside more against Jared Jeffries, who is an excellent player but not as physical. With our smallerlineup, it pushed Tayshaun to the four-spot. Gerald came out on fire and has been getting it done. Hes been setting the tonedefensively, and tonight he set the offensive tone quite well.”
“We wore them down in the first half. Saul (Smith), Cliff (Hawkins), JP (Blevins) and Gerald (Fitch) did a great job defending theperimeter. They worked a lot on Tom (Coverdale) and Dane (Fife). In the second half, that took its toll.”
“The situation with Marvin Stone really made our team bond together and close ranks. They realized that they have to be united asone, a family and a team. That takes time. It takes adjustment. Its starting to happen for us.”
#21 Tayshaun Prince
On his play…
“I was happy with the way I played tonight. I worked a lot inside and got some good post-up looks. I gained confidence as the game went on and got really comfortable. I didn’t know what kind of numbers I had until after the game.”
On the victory…
“This was a big win for us. We had to bounce back after that last lost. We played good at Michigan State and couldn’t pull it out. We knew we had to come in tonight and continue that kind of play, but finish up strong. Tonight we stayed aggressive.”
On the play of Marvin Stone…
“Marvin played tough tonight. He responded well when he came off the bench. I think he had two or three practices last week, but he came to play tonight and had a big night for himself and for the team. The time off that coach gave him helped him out. He had some time to visualize and gain confidence to come out and have a game like this.””We responded well as a team tonight. We played with fire. This was a must win for us. We accomplished a lot of good things tonight and we found some things that we can work on. This was a good win.”
#50 Marquis Estill
On the win…
“Coming off a loss it was important that we didn’t get down on ourselves. We came out focused and got a big win. A win like this is going to make Christmas better for all of us.”
On the play of Marvin Stone…
“I feel good about the way Marvin played tonight. He came out and played great for us. I think he definitely raised the morale of the whole team.”
#10 Keith Bogans
“We came out and stayed focused tonight. We came out with the same intensity in the second half that we had in the first half. We maintained that intensity throughout the game.”
On being patient…
“Coach told me I was rushing a little bit. I had two turnovers and then Coach took me to the side and told me to take my time and let the offense come to me. I began to set screens more and move more and then I got a lot of open shots.”
On building confidence…
“This win keeps us up and positive. By beating a team like Indiana, we have something to build on. Now we have to stay focused on basketball and get back into the gym.”
#11 Saul Smith
“It was a total team effort tonight. Everybody all the way down the line, even the players that didn’t play were in the ballgame. The coaches were excited about the game. It was a total team effort tonight. Some examples of that occurring were that we may have gotten some stupid fouls diving around, but we were diving and we were going after the ball. That shows that this team was hustling and putting forth the effort to win the ballgame.”
“I think we saw maturing from a lot of players tonight. We saw some sophomores become juniors and some freshmen step in and gain a lot of experience in a great game and atmosphere. I’ve been through it and it is really special to see that happen. Some players have been through early struggles and now they grow and learn and become better players. We saw that tonight.”
Indiana Coach Mike Davis
Opening Statement:
“After a win, you’re excited, happy, cordial. After a loss, it’s disappointing. As a coach, you try to stay on an even keel. We didn’t play hard. I’ll take the blame. UK played well. Anytime you shoot 79 percent in the second half, you’re playing well. Defensively, we were not ready to play. Defense is usually our strong suit.”
“UK manhandled us. They got the ball in deep, took two dribbles and had a layup. It was like men amongst boys tonight.”
“I’ve said all I can to these guys to try to motivate them. Until they change, it’ll be a tough season for us. We refuse to play tough in tough times.”
“Tonight Kentucky came out and played with fire. Stone played very well. Bogans played very well too. He’s a tough player.”
“The first three minutes, my two-year-old son could’ve played better than we did. The players have it in their mind that it’s Christmas time and time for a break. It’s my job to make sure that these guys play hard and tonight they didn’t.”
“I felt great at the half. At halftime we talked about our offense and hitting the boards harder. We came out in the second half and played well on the first couple of possessions. Then, for 10 minutes, we played all panicky. No one was willing to control the tempo or execute our offense. We played like we did the first two halves in New York.”
“I’m extremely disappointed in the team. I can’t get through to them. I’m not the guy for this job. I can’t want it more than the team. I’m fighting harder than they are. For three years, this team has been soft, and now we’ve played three straight bad games. Maybe next year we’ll play harder. I can’t do it for them. I’m not the guy.”
“We are not a talented basketball team. Did you see any player out there that has any talent? Can you tell me any player out there, other than Jared Jeffries, that has the ability and the talent to play in the NBA. These guys think that they have talent. I keep telling them that they aren’t.”
Indiana Players
Kyle Hornsby
“They out-rebounded us and we had too many turnovers. It was ridiculous.”
“We need to play with more heart and pride. Haston was aggressive to the basket and we all need to be more aggressive.”
“If you are a real basketball player, you will not just go home and sit over Christmas. You will go home and take shots, make baskets. You will work on what you didn’t like tonight. If you are dedicated you will work on this at home. I know I will.”
Jared Jeffries
“We needed to do more defensively. We need to get on the shooter more.”
“We had a lot of opportunities in the second half but we just couldn’t get it done.”
“Coach Davis told us after the game that we need to play hard and not just roll over. I agree with what he said. We need to play hard the whole time. You would think that a team would miss a shot every once in a while but they didn’t miss much.”
