KENTUCKY WILDCATS (7-9, 1-2 SEC)
vs. No. 3/5 Tennessee Volunteers (16-1, 3-0 SEC)
Tuesday, Jan. 22 ? 9:00 p.m.
Lexington, Ky. – (23,000)
TV: ESPN – Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes and Jeannine Edwards
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Kentucky returns to Rupp Arena Tuesday, where it hosts third-ranked Tennessee in an ESPN Primetime matchup at 9 p.m. It is the Cats? third-straight 9 p.m. ESPN contest.
UK dropped a pair of tightly-contested road SEC games last week, including an overtime battle at Florida (81-70). The Wildcats battled back from a 12-point deficit to force overtime on Ramel Bradley?s three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in regulation. Bradley led Kentucky with 23 points, his sixth-straight 20-point effort, the most since Jamal Mashburn ran off six straight in the 1993 season.
Tennessee enters the game on an 11-game winning streak after defeating Ohio State on Saturday, 74-69. The Vols are 3-0 in SEC play, with wins over Ole Miss, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
UK and Tennessee have met 203 times, the second-most played series in SEC history. The Wildcats own a 139-64 record against the Vols, including a 28-4 mark in Rupp Arena.
CAT SCRATCHES
Kentucky is the all-time NCAA leader in wins with 1,955. UK boasts three of the SEC?s top nine scorers: Patterson (7th, 16.6), Crawford (8th, 16.4) and Bradley (9th, 16.1). Kentucky leads the SEC and ranks 15th nationally at the foul line, shooting 76 percent (246-of-323). The Wildcats rank second in the SEC in field goal percentage defense (.389). Patrick Patterson ranks in the SEC?s top 10 in both scoring (7th, 16.6) and rebounding (6th, 8.0). Ramel Bradley is the first Wildcat to record six-straight 20-point games since Jamal Mashburn in the 1992-93 season. Kevin Grevey was the last Wildcat to post seven-straight 20-point games, reaching 20 in 12-straight games during the 1974-75 season. Kentucky has used 12 different starting line-ups through the first 16 games of the season. However, UK has started Bradley, Crawford, Harris, Coury and Patterson in the last three games. Joe Crawford (1,162 career points) and Ramel Bradley (1,106) have become UK?s 54th and 55th members of the 1,000-point club, respectively, this season. Crawford is currently in 39th place on UK?s all-time points list, while Bradley is 44th.
SCOUTING TENNESSEE
Located in Knoxville, Tenn. (171 miles south of Lexington), Tennessee is the closest SEC school in proximity to UK.
The Volunteers are led offensively by senior guard JaJuan Smith, who is averaging 14.8 points. Chris Lofton (13.4), Tyler Smith (13.3) and J.P. Prince (10.9) are all also averaging double-figures for the Vols.
The Volunteers lead the league and rank eighth nationally in three-pointers made per game (9.5). Tennessee is under the direction of third year coach Bruce Pearl. Pearl has recorded a 62-20 (.756) record in Knoxville, while leading the Volunteers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. The 20-year veteran (379-104, .785) reached the 300-win plateau faster than all active coaches but one (Roy Williams), doing so in 382 games.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – JAN. 21
Head Coach Billy Gillispie
Opening statement?
?I?m excited about playing tomorrow against a very good team. I don?t know what their ranking is, I am sure it is in the top five or six. That?s awesome for our conference. It is not much fun when you have to play against them. I really enjoyed watching and studying their team, because they really play hard and play well together. It will be a big task for us tomorrow night.?
On Tennessee?s Chris Lofton?
?He?s a good player and an outstanding shooter. He makes everyone stretch their defense. He?s not only a shooter but he can drive, force contact and make some foul shots. He?s a very competitive defender. I think a lot of people view him as just a shooter, but I think he is a complete player. I have heard nothing but the absolute best about him as a young man, being a team player and those kinds of things. He?s doing what his team asks him to do.?
On how important the tempo is against Tennessee?
?If we don?t guard better than we did against Florida, it is not going to matter what tempo you play. We have to guard the basketball better. I knew it was bad when watching it because once you see it on tape, it makes you want to throw-up. You have to guard the ball better and help each other more.?
On the challenge on defense UK faces against Tennessee, as opposed to Florida?
?Well both of them are really good offensive teams. They have really good players. They are put in positions to perform well. It?s a challenge every time out. They have good players that put pressure on your defense. It will be a major challenge for us but we will be up for the challenge. We?ll get better.?
On if fatigue is ever a factor in games where players play a lot of minutes?
?I don?t buy it. I think that most of them are in really good shape. I think that most of them that have practiced for the entire season are in outstanding shape. I don?t buy into the fatigue stuff. I think the only ones who get fatigued are the ones whose mind allows them to get fatigued. The opponents have a lot of guys playing a lot of minutes as well in the same game, so I don?t buy it.?
On if Patrick Patterson?s cramping was a concern to him?
?It was the other night during the game. He is trying to do some things to make sure that that doesn?t happen continuously, as far as his diet and water and those kinds of things. It was definitely a concern the other night because it affected the way he was able to play.?
On Tennessee?s depth?
?They have great depth. They have a very good roster. It is a very complete roster and they have good players at every position. They have back-ups at each position that are very capable. That?s why they are so highly ranked and won most of their games.?
On Tennessee?s full-court press ?
?They don?t use it nearly as much as other teams we?ve faced. But when they do pressure you they pick their spots and they are very good with it.?
On stopping Tennessee?s points off turnovers?
?Well we are getting better at it. But they are probably the most athletic team top to bottom that we have faced. So we have to do a good job having a patient offense, attacking the basket better and finishing plays around the rim.?
On what UK has not done well against pressure this season?
?We have not scored enough against it. If they are going to play pressure, we want to score every time and let them make a decision whether they want to continue with the pressure. But we have settled just too many times by just getting the ball across half court. We are way too slow. We need to be in more of an attack mode. We need to get some two-on-ones or three-on-twos and attack the basket. Then if we don?t have something, bring it back out and make good decisions with it. But so far we haven?t been in attack mode enough.?
On the play of Patrick Patterson?
?I like the way that he is playing. We?re going to throw it to him and he is going to take it to the basket strong ? and he better be doing that. He can use both hands. He has been playing against some pretty decent guys and some of those guys are about 22 years old and some aren?t. He is learning every time and getting better. I have no problem with the way that he has played. We are going to continue to throw it in there. If they are good enough to block it, let them block it. We have improved offensively, we have a long ways to go, but the reason is we are getting the ball to the paint much more either on the dribble or the pass and we are attacking the basket.?
On the improvement he has seen with the team so far this season?
?I am really proud of them because they have improved greatly. The record is definitely not anything that any of us want. We?re trying to continue to improve every single time out. We will if we continue to have the right attitude and the right work ethic. If we can get a little bit more healthy and work some guys in some quality, consistent practice time for a two or three week period, then I think you will see a team that is pretty fun to watch. I think we will be aggressive on offense and defense.?
Kentucky Players
#32 Joe Crawford, Senior
What makes going against Chris Lofton so tough?
?He never thinks about his last shot, even if he misses three or four in a row, you know he?s going to shoot it the same way with confidence. I admire that attitude. I think it?s tough sometimes to forget your last shot, if you miss a couple in a row, it?s tough to do other things. But he just sticks with it and continues to shoot.?
On Tennessee?
?They are a great team. They have about four or five different guys who can start the offense for them. So it is going to be very important that we communicate and stop the ball early.?
On Tennessee keeping players ?fresh??
?We can?t concern ourselves with that. We realize they are a very deep team with guys who are going to come in and go at us. We have to focus on what our strengths are and continue to be confident.?
What are you learning about yourselves from the Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Florida game?
?We are showing some fight and getting better. I think our freshmen are learning a lot more and our younger players are learning a lot more. And I think we are going to have a better chance having the game at home. That plays to our advantage.?
Does the world seem flipped upside down right now?
?Yeah, I don?t think Kentucky has been in this position in a long time. We have to look at it positively; if we win we can change our season around and be more confident. We have to build our confidence and get the fans back into it.?
On Ramel Bradley?
?As a player you are always going to be criticized. I don?t think anyone is ever going to move up [and not be] criticized. That?s just what comes with playing basketball and playing sports. I think his confidence is at an all-time high since he?s been here. He?s been helping us, with digging down deep when other players are tired and putting us on his shoulders.?
#34 Ramon Harris, Sophomore
On gaining confidence from SEC play?
?These last two games have been determined by a basket and unfortunately it was a basket that both Mississippi State and Florida scored instead of us. We have been trying to focus on the things that we have not been doing as a team and really trying to help each other on defense as a team. Basically, we had a few missteps in the Florida game and they got some easy baskets. If we cut those things out then we will be good.?
On playing defense?
?We feel like our defense has been getting better in practice and we have to carry that out into the game. We can play as hard as we want in practice but if we don?t communicate in the game then it is useless. We have to execute in the games and we have really been working on that. We have been working on help defense and that is something that we are going to execute tomorrow against Tennessee. We need to play better off the ball on ball screens. Florida had a few easy baskets where they were all alone underneath the basket.?
On playing in the road?
?I don?t think it was the environment. I just think it was just miscommunication within the team. We have improved since the beginning of the season, but right now it is about getting the concentration to do what Coach Gillispie wants. If we can get the whole team doing that, then we will be a better team. We have had some gaps in communication that led to them getting some easy baskets and get their momentum going.?
On Tennessee?s press?
?Tennessee is very active and they are pressing and trapping to make a steal. We have to be careful with the ball. Florida was pressing to take time off the clock and force us into an early shot. Tennessee?s press is more about trying to get turnovers and get steals so they can get some easy buckets for them.?
