Cats Try to Put History Behind Them in Trip to Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – When it comes to home-court advantages in college basketball, it doesn’t get much more dominant than Kentucky basketball at Rupp Arena.
The Wildcats are 571-66 (.896) all-time at Rupp Arena, including a ridiculous 144-6 (.960) mark over the past eight-plus seasons under head coach John Calipari. Life on the road hasn’t been too shabby either. Under Calipari, UK is 156-53 (.746) in games played outside of Rupp Arena – road or neutral site.
Playing at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee, is a different story, however. Kentucky is 3-4 at the 21,678-seat arena in the Calipari era and has lost three of its past four games there.
And so, coming off a gritty 74-71 win at LSU earlier in the week, Coach Cal and the Wildcats know they will have their hands full when they head down to play the No. 23/22 Volunteers (9-4, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
“It’s going to be a war,” said Calipari, who will be on the opposite end of the court from his good friend Rick Barnes, who has the Tennessee men’s basketball program ranked for the first time since the 2010-11 season. “It’ll be good for these guys to feel this. Playing on the road last game was good, and now you go here and it’s always a difficult game for us. Great environment, but it’s going to be hard.”
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| Kentucky at Tennessee | ||
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Sat., Jan. 6 – 9 p.m. ET |
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TV: SEC Network |
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| UK | 2017-18 Team Stats | UT |
| 12-2 | Record | 9-4 |
| 2-0 | Conference Record | 0-2 |
| 79.9 | PPG | 79.2 |
| 69.1 | Opp PPG | 70.2 |
| .484 | FG% | .441 |
| .403 | Opp FG% | .403 |
| 39.9 | RPG | 38.1 |
| .366 | 3PT FG% | .391 |
| .292 | Opp 3PT FG% | .336 |
| .688 | FT% | .747 |
| 15.4 | APG | 17.5 |
| 6.6 | SPG | 6.8 |
| 5.7 | BPG | 5.4 |
Not that the Wildcats (12-2, 2-0 SEC) were looking to make the game even more difficult, but they are likely to face a “desperate” Tennessee team working to not fall into an 0-3 hole in conference action.
The Volunteers played a difficult nonconference schedule highlighted by a win over then-No. 18/16 Purdue. Tuesday’s loss to Auburn was the Vols’ first loss of the season in which it didn’t lead at halftime. Tennessee led then-No. 5/3 Villanova by a dozen at halftime, led then-No. 7/7 North Carolina by six and was up by seven at Arkansas at the break before losing by two in overtime.
“We expect them to give us 100 percent,” UK freshman forward Kevin Knox said. “They lost their last two and of course they’re playing Kentucky, so they’re going to go out there and give it their all. I know it’s going to be a great game. I know every player is going to play their best because one, they’re 0-2, and two, they’re playing Kentucky, and everyone plays their best against us.”
Tennessee has been led by 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Grant Williams, who is the team’s top scorer (15.6 ppg) and rebounder (6.7 rpg). Close behind him is junior Admiral Schofield, a physically gifted 6-5 forward who is putting up 12.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 43.4 percent (23-53) from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Jordan Bowden is the SEC’s most accurate 3-point shooter, connecting on a blistering 60.5 percent (26-43) of his outside shots.
“I’m expecting a dogfight, as usual,” UK sophomore forward Wenyen Gabriel said. “I think they’re really looking forward – they think they can beat us every game. They’re going to come out really aggressive. I know they shoot the ball really well and have a good inside post presence. We gotta prepare for that and we gotta go out there and play our game.”
Kentucky’s game, of late, has been driving the ball to the rack with its multitude of athletic and versatile players. Freshman guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he of the 6-6 frame and 7-0 wingspan, has been nearly unstoppable over the past three games by driving to the rack, averaging 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
“Shai is doing a really good job,” Knox said. “The last three, four games he’s been doing a really good job of getting to the basket. A lot of teams can’t stop him. He’s just really gifted at getting to the basket and finishing layups. He finishes almost everything around the basket. So, if he can keep that going that’d help a lot.”
Kentucky got away from its tendencies in the first half against LSU before bouncing back over the final 20 minutes to eliminate a seven-point deficit and win its first true road game of the season for just the third time ever in the Calipari era.
For many of the Wildcats, Wednesday’s game against the Tigers was their first taste of what playing on the road in the SEC is like. Knox, for one, was a fan of the experience, which is good for him because Saturday’s sold-out game figures to be one of the tougher environments the Cats will all season.
“We were driving around the (LSU) campus two days before and we didn’t see one person on campus,” said Knox, who is now practicing and working out with the forwards instead of the guards. “Then, we get there on game day and it’s sold out. That’s how Cal says it’s going to be in Tennessee. It’ll probably be crazier, to be honest. I love road games, I love when we play against other teams, I love the crowd and all that yelling. That’s what I like to see. It’ll be another good test for us and hopefully we can get there, fight through it and win as a team.”
Kentucky Passes First Road Test of Season in Win at LSU
Freshman forward PJ Washington scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half as No. 17/14 Kentucky held off feisty LSU 74-71 on Wednesday night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Kentucky trailed 36-31 at halftime, but Washington asserted himself in the second half with an array of power moves, getting free along the baseline for three dunks in a three-minute span to help Kentucky move in front. He also blocked two shots.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander capped his 18-point night with two free throws with 16 seconds left for the Wildcats (12-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), who survived their first true road test this season.
Duop Reath had 24 points and 11 rebounds for LSU (9-4, 0-1), which missed two 3-point attempts that could have tied it in the final seconds.
Tremont Waters had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, but his attempt to tie the game with a late 3 was off-balance and way off-target. He said coach Will Wade had drawn up a good play which had worked in the first half, but the players failed to execute it correctly.
The ball deflected out of bounds off Kentucky, giving LSU 0.8 seconds to get off one more shot, but Brandon Sampson’s right corner 3-point attempt bounced off the far rim as time expired.
Washington got the roll and the call when he collided with Sampson under the hoop on a fast break, completing a three-point play that gave Kentucky a 67-65 lead.
Shortly after, Gilgeous-Alexander hit a tough driving scoop to put Kentucky ahead 71-67 with 1:22 left.
NOTABLES:
• Kentucky leads the series 89-26 and 31-18 in Baton Rouge
• The Wildcats improved to 7-2 in SEC road openers under Calipari
• Kevin Knox busted out of a recent slump with his team-leading second double-double. Knox totaled 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, including 10 points in the first half. It was the fourth time he’s scored 10 or more in the first half but the first time he’s done so since Dec. 2 vs. Harvard
• UK did not attempt a free throw in the first half. It was the first time Kentucky has failed to shoot a free throw in a half since an 88-79 win at Florida on March 1, 2016. UK shot a combined 33 free throws in each of its previous two halves. Kentucky shot a season-low 13 free throws for the game
• Trailing at halftime, the Wildcats used a 7-0 run over 1:30 to regain the lead 43-42
• Washington had three dunks over 2:44 of play to help UK take a 56-52 lead into the under-12 media timeout
• UK made seven straight field goals between the 15:53 and 11:16 marks
• Washington and Gilgeous-Alexander combined to score 15 of UK’s last 18 points over the final 11:15 of the game
• After LSU went 5 of 11 from 3-point range in the first half, UK limited the Tigers to 1 for 13 in the second half
• Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 21.0 points over the last three games
• Wenyen Gabriel tied his career high wtih three steals
Tennessee Has Been Tough on the Cats
In the big picture of things, Kentucky’s series history vs. Tennessee fits the same storyline as it does against just about every opponent its played in its storied history: dominance. The Wildcats are 153-69 vs. the Volunteers all-time and 11-4 under the direction of John Calipari.
But, the Volunteers have been a bit of a nuisance for Kentucky, especially as it relates to games in Knoxville, Tennessee. UK is just 4-6 over its last 10 trips to Knoxville, 3-4 under Calipari and just 1-3 over the last four games. Kentucky’s four losses on the road under Calipari are more losses on the road than any other opponent under Coach Cal.
Tennessee has beaten the Wildcats 69 times, more than any other oppenent in UK history, but again, perspective is needed in that its taken place over 222 games, the most of any matchup in school history.
The Wildcats own a slight 54-50 edge over UT in Knoxville.
S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!
Kentucky has the unquestionable reputation as the league’s gold standard. Since the SEC’s inception in 1932-33, the Wildcats have been the most dominant team in the league, recording a 974-270 mark (.783) in regular-season conference play. Only two other teams have won more than 700 regular-season SEC games (Alabama, Tennessee), and no other team has a better winning percentage.
• UK has averaged 11.6 wins and only 3.2 losses per season in 84 seasons in the SEC
• Kentucky has won 48 SEC titles and 30 SEC Tournament championships
• The Wildcats have won 15 of the last 25 SEC Tournament titles
• UK has won at least a share of five of the last eight SEC regular-season championships under head coach John Calipari
• Kentucky has played in the championship game of the SEC Tournament in seven of Calipari’s eight seasons following its 2017 title
• The SEC was 11-5 in NCAA Tournament games in 2017 with three teams in the Elite Eight
• Nine SEC schools have recruiting classes that ranked in the top 40 of ESPN’s 2017 national rankings. A quarter of all ESPN’s top 100 players signed with SEC schools
• Four SEC teams are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, and three are receiving votes, a testament to the league’s strength this season
• An NCAA-best six SEC teams rank in the top 25 of the Jan. 4 NCAA RPI. Eight teams are in the top 60 and 11 rank in the top 100
• UK improved to 7-2 in SEC road openers under Calipari with the win over LSU
Kentucky Picked to Win 49th SEC Title
Heading into conference play, Kentucky finds itself in familiar territory under the direction of ninth-year head coach John Calipari. A select panel of media voted the Wildcats to once again win the Southeastern Conference championship. Should Kentucky achieve that standard, it would mark the sixth regular-season title under Calipari and the program’s 49th overall.
It’s the 13th time since the 1998-99 season the Wildcats are the overall preseason favorite. UK was picked to win the title a season ago and did not disappoint. Calipari has directed his teams to regular-season SEC crowns in 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Each school selected media members that cover their team and additional media from across the nation were selected by the conference office to comprise the voting panel. Points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for two All-SEC teams.
Big-Game Cal, Cats
John Calipari’s teams aren’t just good against the best teams in the country, they’re great. Not only does Kentucky have a 50-23 record (.685) vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams, UK is 5-3 when both teams are ranked in the AP top five under Calipari.
All-time, Calipari is 11-7 when both teams are ranked in the AP top five. When both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25, Calipari’s all-time record is 75-47, including a 44-19 mark at Kentucky. When both are ranked in the top 10 he has a 24-15 record, including 13-8 at UK.
