KENTUCKY WILDCATS (10-9, 4-2 SEC)
at Auburn Tigers (12-8, 2-5 SEC)
Wednesday, Feb. 6 ? 8:00 p.m.
Auburn, Ala. – Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum (10,500)
TV: RAYCOM
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Having claimed its first road win of the season last Saturday in Athens, Kentucky continues on a five-game stretch that includes four away games when the Wildcats visit the Plains to take on Auburn.
The Wildcats have won three-straight in the SEC, most recently using a depleted roster to defeat Georgia, 63-58. It was the Bulldogs? first home loss of the season. Joe Crawford, who battled cramps and sat out the final 4:30 of the game, led all scorers with 26 points. Freshman Patrick Patterson had his sixth-straight double-digit game in league play with 16 points while once again playing the entire 40 minutes. However, Ramel Bradley suffered a concussion and left the game after just 11 minutes.
Auburn enters the game with a 12-8 overall record, 2-5 in the SEC. The Tigers have dropped three in a row, including a 78-71 loss at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
CAT SCRATCHES
Kentucky is the all-time NCAA leader in wins with 1,958. UK boasts three of the SEC?s top 12 scorers: Patterson (7th, 17.1), Crawford (8th, 16.6) and Bradley (12th, 15.8). Kentucky leads the SEC and ranks 12th nationally at the foul line, shooting 76 percent. The Wildcats rank second in the SEC in field goal percentage defense (.388). In league play, UK ranks second in the SEC in rebounding margin (+4.3). Ramel Bradley has made 29 of his last 30 free throws. Patrick Patterson ranks in the SEC?s top 10 in both scoring (7th, 17.1) and rebounding (5th, 8.1).
UK has held its last 10 opponents under 50 percent shooting. In SEC action, Patrick Patterson is averaging 41.5 minutes, Ramel Bradley is averaging 37.5 minutes, and Joe Crawford is averaging 36.7 minutes. UK owns an 81-17 record over Auburn, has won eight in row in the series and 22 of the last 23. Joe Crawford (1,198 career points) and Ramel Bradley (1,148) 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 43rd.
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES – FEB. 5
Head Coach Billy Gillispie
Opening Statement ?
?We?re really excited and loving the way our team is maturing right now. It?s such a joy and it makes me so proud to go to practice everyday because these guys are giving fantastic effort. We always try to play hard, play smart, play together, and we?re getting closer to being able to do that on a consistent basis. There was a time where I really didn?t know what we were going to have when we went into games. Now we don?t have any question about what we?re going to get. We?re going to get maximum effort and great team play. That doesn?t always equate to wins, but it gives us a chance to win every single time. I?m really proud and excited about the direction of our team.?
On Kentucky?s injuries ?
?Ramel (Bradley) hasn?t practiced much, but he looks more alert from the infection. I don?t know what his status will be tomorrow. I just know that he wasn?t able to play today. Jodie (Meeks) hasn?t been able to practice for a good while, so it looks doubtful for him, but some of those things are day-to-day. Joe (Crawford) looks like his feet aren?t bothering him, but I?m sure they are and he?s just playing through it. We won?t know until game-time comes about cramping and those sorts of things. I assume he?ll have some of those until he gets himself into fantastic condition like he was a couple of weeks ago. Whatever happens, we?ll try to deal with it.?
On Auburn ?
?They have really good players, they?re really athletic and they shoot the basketball so well at every position. I haven?t seen anyone match-up with them very well because they?re quick, which is better than height any time. They have great quickness, and they put so much pressure on your defense. They?ll make threes on you, and if you get out too close to them they?ll drive past you. So, it?s difficult to guard those guys. This team plays hard, and I think they are very much improved defensively. They can really pressure you with their quickness and strength. They changed defense all the time to keep you off balance, so it?s a very difficult matchup for anyone.?
On Wednesday?s game at Auburn ?
?Tomorrow night Auburn is going to play hard and Kentucky is going to play extremely hard. I know that you never know how the game is going to go, but I know what?s going to happen tomorrow night. It?s going to be a very intense game played by both teams and whoever makes the most shots and executes the best will win.?
On team positives ?
?There have been a lot of positive experiences for us that a lot of people don?t recognize. A really great practice is a positive experience that you can put in your bank and go back and look upon it sometime. The tough times you have are experiences you can go back and think about. But, really good experiences where you do get the desired result, no matter what you?re faced with, you can say ?we?ve been here before and no matter what happens we?re going to work our way out of it.? I don?t think the attitude, effort, and togetherness are ever going to be absent.?
On Bobby Knight?s retirement, announced Tuesday ?
?I don?t think there could ever be a basketball coach that wasn?t affected by Coach Knight. He was a very compassionate, passionate, and competitive person. It?s a tremendous loss to the game, but I?m very happy for coach because that?s what he wanted to do at this time. He?s one of the best to ever grace the sidelines, and I really enjoyed our competition when we played at Texas El Paso and Texas A&M. He?s a model for any coach or anyone in coaching because of his ability to teach.?
