KENTUCKY WILDCATS (8-9, 2-2 SEC)
vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (9-9, 1-3 SEC)
Saturday, Jan. 26 ? 1:00 p.m.
Lexington, Ky. – (23,000)
TV:
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Kentucky looks to continue the momentum gained from Tuesday night?s 72-66 upset of third-ranked Tennessee when the Wildcats host South Carolina Saturday in a 1:00 p.m. game at Rupp Arena.
In addition to holding the Volunteers to their lowest offensive output this season and rallying from a 10-point deficit, Kentucky hit 16 straight free throws in the second half, 12 of which came in the final 1:30 to seal the victory. UK freshman Patrick Patterson paced the Wildcats with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Perry Stevenson came off the bench to contribute 14 points (6-7 from the field), seven rebounds and five blocks.
South Carolina lost a tough home game Wednesday to Florida, 73-71, after leading for much of the contest. Saturday?s game marks the final game in Rupp Arena for USC coach Dave Odom, who has announced his retirement at the end of the season.
CAT SCRATCHES
Kentucky is the all-time NCAA leader in wins with 1,956. UK boasts three of the SEC?s top 10 scorers: Patterson (7th, 16.8), Bradley (8th, 16.1) and Crawford (t-10th, 16.0). Kentucky leads the SEC and ranks ninth nationally at the foul line, shooting 77 percent. Ramel Bradley has made his last 24 free throws. UK finished the Tennessee game making 16 straight free throws, 12 of which came in the final 1:30. The Wildcats rank second in the SEC in field goal percentage defense (.388). Although UK has used 12 different starting lineups, the Cats have started the same five in SEC play. Patrick Patterson ranks in the SEC?s top 10 in both scoring (7th, 16.8) and rebounding (6th, 8.0). Ramel Bradley?s streak of six straight 20-point games came to an end against Tennessee, however in UK?s last five games, Bradley is averaging 15.4 points after halftime. Joe Crawford (1,172 career points) and Ramel Bradley (1,122) have become UK?s 54th and 55th members of the 1,000-point club, respectively, this season. Crawford is currently in 37th place on UK?s all-time points list, while Bradley is 44th.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
Located in Columbia, S.C. (431 miles southeast of Lexington), South Carolina is in the SEC East division.
The Gamecocks, who are celebrating their 100th season of basketball this year, come into the game off a 73-71 loss at home to Florida, and have dropped four of their last five games.
South Carolina is led by a pair of sophomores, Devan Downey and Dominique Archie. Downey ranks second in the SEC with a 19.9 scoring average and third with averaging 5.0 apg, while Archie leads the team and ranks 13th in the league in rebounds (6.3 rpg).
Dave Odom is in his seventh and final season as the head coach at USC. Odom announced his retirement at the end of the season after 22 years in the business. Odom has collected a 401-269 (.599) career record including a 123-95 (.564) mark at South Carolina. He is 3-14 vs. UK.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – JAN. 25
Head Coach Billy Gillispie
Opening Statement?
?We’re looking forward to tomorrow’s game and we’re playing a good team (South Carolina). We had a great win on Tuesday night; we’ve put that behind us and we’re focusing on them. We’ve had good work and we’re really excited about it. I’ve read in the last six games they’ve been to Rupp Arena, the total margin has been 20 points, so they’ve been close games. They are extremely well coached and they have four of the hardest guards anywhere I’ve seen. They are very, very athletic with their inside players and they are a major test for anyone’s defense, especially ours.?
On Devan Downey?
?He really knows how to play; he plays hard and is intelligent; he knows how to set up other players. He knows how to get his own shot and get to the foul line. Defensively, he could be leading the country in steals, and he really knows how to anticipate and read people’s eyes. He’s an outstanding player, but it’s not a one man team as good as he is.?
On matching up with South Carolina?s dribble penetration?
We?ve been inconsistent and Devan (Downey) is outstanding at it, so it will be a big test. He?s not the only guy on their team who can dribble penetrate, as good as he is. Zam (Fredrick), Dwayne (Day) and Dominique (Archie) can do the same thing. It?s a very difficult team to match up with. I think that you can always play conventionally and be able to match up with them most effectively. I think if you play conventionally for the entire time, you will probably be hoping they miss some shots, because it will be very difficult to help on their extreme quickness, penetration and get to all their shooters. It?s very difficult to match up with their team.?
On winning in conference play?
?You have to win all your games, and we?re in a situation where we have to win them all. We?ve been trying to do that the entire season, but we?ve fallen short a few times. But, we?re taking it one game at a time. Every single one of our games has been determined by one or two plays. Sometimes the margin ends up being bigger than one point or two points, but it?s a five minute stretch where you don?t score; a five minute stretch where you hold your opponent from scoring, six free throw attempts, and an offensive rebound on the free throw. You have to concentrate on continually getting better in every phase if you want to try to survive in a conference game, not just in a conference race, but in a conference game.?
On Perry Stevenson?
?It?s easy to say he looks different when he has a really good scoring game, but I see those things in practice everyday. If the shots wouldn?t have gone in, he still played well. And if you play well, your shot goes in more. He?s getting into the right spot more quickly than he did at one point. He probably has a better understanding, and he still has a ways to go. The sky is the limit for Perry and we definitely need him to reach for the sky, because he can really help us to improve. His numbers have been much better and I think he?s played great in conference.?
Kentucky Players
#3 Ramel Bradley, Senior
On late game confidence?
?My confidence has been building. Coach (Gillispie) has been confident putting the ball in my hand in late game situations. Hopefully we can play well enough and not be in that position.?
On importance of momentum late in the season?
?It?s really important. If we want to put ourselves in a position to make the postseason we have to win some ball games and build on the Tennessee game. Like coach said, it ended at 11:30 that night and now we have to get ready and focused on a very good South Carolina team.?
On minutes played?
?That?s what I have to do. No player wants to be taken out, but sometimes you are out there and you?re like, ?I want a break.? I kind of like it now. Coach really put me in a position in the off-season, with conditioning, and now I think I?m ready for it.?
On importance of his last season?
?When I was a freshman, I kept saying, ?It?s going to go by fast, it?s going to go by fast.? Now I can see it coming, the end of the road, and I don?t want it to be short. I want it to be as long as possible.?
On containing South Carolina?s Devan Downey?
?We are going to have to have five guys defending and stop his dribble penetration because he is a very good scorer. We are going to have to lean on each other and that?s the way we are going to contain him.?
#5 Derrick Jasper, Sophomore
On the importance of getting two wins in a row?
?We just need to approach the game knowing that Tennessee is in the past. We have to take it one game at a time. South Carolina is a great team so we need to go out there tomorrow and compete. This time of year is really important to get two wins in a row. It?s the middle of the conference and every game is important and every team is really good.?
On Kentucky?s defense?
?Coach really stresses rebounding. If we get five rebounds then we know we get to play. We just need to continue playing aggressive against the boards.?
On how winning boosts team confidence?
?We had a really tough schedule at first. We?re just going to every game and competing. We are working harder at practice so we can perform better during the games.?
#21 Perry Stevenson, Sophomore
On the importance of playing with the same intensity from the Tennessee game?
?It?s very important because, most of the time, playing with that kind of intensity results in a win. Saturday?s game will be tough and very emotionally charged. Coach (Gillispie) let us know that the game (against Tennessee) was over Tuesday at 11:30 p.m. He let us know that we have another tough one coming up. Their defense will probably be the most difficult we faced all year. They?re great individual players which make up a great team. It?ll be tough.?
On defense becoming one of Kentucky?s strengths?
?It is just what we work on. It?s kind of a surprise to me that we hadn?t done it earlier because of how much we work on it. It?s good that we?re finally coming around. Coach calls it toughness and toughness is what has improved our rebounding.?
On improving from last season?
?I was just trying to get into that mindset of hitting first instead of getting hit. Before I was tired, not as productive and didn?t do much to help the team win. Off season conditioning really helped my game. We did a lot of running and a lot of lifting. It?s definitely paying off.?