March 14, 2002
Box Score?|?Notes?|?Photo Gallery
By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) – All disorder disappears when Kentucky steps on court for the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Keith Bogans had 21 points, and Tayshaun Prince made up for poor shooting with strong defense, leading the Wildcats to a 12th straight opening-round victory, 83-68 over Valparaiso on Thursday.
“It wasn’t easy,” Bogans said. “We had to go out and work. It goes to show what kind of team we can be when we play for 40 minutes.”
Kentucky, seeded fourth in the East Regional, came into the tournament having dropped four of its last nine games. In addition, two players were suspended this season, and the school’s athletic director was fired. Coach Tubby Smith called this probably his toughest year ever.
“Disarray unites a team,” Valparaiso coach Homer Drew said. “It tends to have a rallying effect.”
The Wildcats (21-9) played Thursday as though they didn’t have a care in the world.
“This is the consistency we needed,” Smith said. “I thought we played as well as we have in a long time,”
Kentucky put the game away with an 18-3 run over a span of about six minutes late in the first half. Six players scored during the spurt, which gave the Wildcats a 38-19 lead with 2:15 to go.
Kentucky led by as many as 20 points in the first half, held a 41-23 edge at the break, and the advantage never dropped below 10 the rest of the way.
The Wildcats haven’t lost a first-round NCAA tournament game since dropping a 91-77 decision to Ohio State in 1987.
Valparaiso, which had won 14 of 15 games coming in, was unable to recover after shooting 36 percent in the first half and finishing with more turnovers (11) than baskets (nine).
Prince finished with 13 points, but had an uncharacteristically tough time. He went 5-for-14 from the field, including 0-for-6 on 3-point attempts.
But, importantly, Prince helped neutralize Valparaiso’s top scorer, Lubos Barton. The Mid-Continent Conference player of the year rarely got the ball inside the 3-point line and had only one point in the first half – a free throw in the final minute.
“I wanted to put a hand up there and get in his face,” Prince said. “I’m always up to the challenge of taking on the opposition’s best player.”
Barton reached 10 points with a 3-pointer in the final minute of the game.
“Prince forced me to drive, and every time I drove there were one or two guys waiting,” Barton said. “I just had a tough time.”
Bogans’ production has slipped since he averaged 17.5 points as a sophomore and considered jumping to the NBA. He averaged only 10 this year as a junior, his lowest in three seasons with the Wildcats. But against Valparaiso, he was 4-for-5 from 3-point range, had six rebounds and three assists.
“My confidence, it can’t really suffer,” Bogans said. “I’ve got too much confidence. And my teammates always told me to keep my head up.”
Kentucky opened things up for Bogans by hammering the ball inside in the early going. The Wildcats’ first eight baskets were layups and they outrebounded Valparaiso 40-32 overall.
“We established an inside game,” Prince said. “That’s why Keith was able to get open and knock down shots.”
Marquis Estill had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting for Kentucky.
Raitis Grafs led Valparaiso with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Jared Stovall had 10 points and six rebounds, and Stalin Ortiz scored 10.
Valparaiso (25-8) was in the NCAAs for the sixth time in seven seasons. The Crusaders won the Mid-Continent Conference tournament with three victories by an average of 25.7 points and set a school record for victories.
“We were so anxious to play and excited to do well,” Drew said. “But some things didn’t go well. We tried too hard.”
