*The UK-Ohio State on Friday has been slated for a 9:45 p.m. tip on CBS. Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg are scheduled to call the game.Headed to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season, here are 16 things to feel good about if you’re the Kentucky men’s basketball team heading into this week’s trip to Newark, N.J.:
1.) Knight’s already a tourney vet: Questions surrounded the youth of Kentucky’s freshmen entering the NCAA Tournament, and rightfully so. The trio of Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and Dorn Lamb did little to quiet those for the first 39 minutes of the opening-round game against Princeton. But after hitting the game-winning shot against Princeton and then scoring a career-high 30 points against West Virginia, any anxiety Knight admitted to feeling is likely gone. He’s already become one of the faces of this year’s tournament.
2.) Jones is healthy again: Terrence Jones was in a serious funk over the last four games as he dealt with a cold and some congestion. A day after declaring a clean bill of health, though, it looked like Jones’ illness wasn’t the reason behind his dip in play after the first half against West Virginia. Fortunately for the Cats, Jones returned to his early season form with 10 points and seven rebounds in the second half. UK will need Jones in the next game, especially against the big men of Ohio State.
3.) Miller’s not afraid to take the big shots: The evolution of Darius Miller over the last month and a half has been remarkable. But to say all doubts about him were gone would be completely untrue. Miller has had the bottom drop out on him before, so it was reasonable to wonder what would happen when the shots didn’t fall for him. That happened Saturday in Tampa, Fla., when Miller missed his first six shots. But with the outcome teetering from side to side late in the game, Miller gave the Cats a five-point lead with a huge 3-pointer from the left wing. “I let it go,” Miller said of his only field goal. “I wasn’t going to quit shooting. I’ve still got confidence in my shot. I don’t want to quit shooting just because I’m missing.”
4.) Harrellson’s a legitimate inside threat: Head coach John Calipari wasn’t sure after the Louisville game if Josh Harrellson’s performance was a fluke. But a full season of work that includes 8.8 rebounds per game and a .604 field-goal percentage has confirmed what some started to believe after the Louisville game: Harrellson is the most improved big man in the country. Harrellson still isn’t capable of taking over a game, but he isn’t just a “garbage man” anymore. He’s developed just enough back-to-the-basket moves and has a great floor presence that he’s forcing the opposition to keep him honest.
5.) Kentucky has found its “it” guy: You ever notice how most national championship teams have the kind of “it” player or “glue” guy that does a little bit of everything? He’s not the best offensive player or the most talented, but he usually comes up with the winning plays. That guy for the Cats is DeAndre Liggins. We already knew Liggins was a lockdown defender, a reputation that he added to Saturday, but his energy and fearlessness of late has been contagious. He’s developed an edge that’s helped ignite the current eight-game winning streak. On Saturday, he shut down Cat killer Joe Mazzulla in the second half in addition to nine rebounds.
6.) Playing loose: The pressure’s off Kentucky. Seriously. How many of you have picked Kentucky to go past the Sweet 16? How many of you thought a month ago UK could even get out of the second round? In some ways, this team has already met expectations. But more than that, Kentucky will enter a rare NCAA Tournament game in which it’s an underdog. Everyone expects Ohio State to be in Newark. Just about everybody expects Ohio State to advance to the Final Four. And a lot of people expect Ohio State to win it all. That means the pressure is on the Buckeyes, not the Cats, to win Saturday.
7.) The law of averages: Surely Ohio State isn’t that good. The Buckeyes mauled George Mason 98-66 Sunday, hitting 61 percent of its shots, including 16 of 26 from the 3-point line. Yikes. But as eye popping as those numbers are, they don’t always translate from game to game. Remember what Kentucky did in its first three games in last year’s NCAA Tournament? Things happen. Maybe Ohio State has an off night. But surely the Buckeyes don’t shoot 61 percent again, right?
8.) The great motivator: You can bet John Calipari is salivating at the scenario that is playing out. He’s going to tell his players how much everyone wants to see them lose. He’s going to say they’re lucky to be there. He’ll tell them over and over again that if they don’t execute, they’ll get blown out of the gym. It’s the perfect scenario for one of the great motivators in the game.
9.) Extra incentive: Speaking of motivation, you don’t think the fact that Ohio State Athletics Director Gene Smith was in charge of the committee that tabbed Kentucky a No. 4 seed won’t be a factor? You can bet Calipari will use that as ammo, too.
10.) Man of March: A lot of coaches can rack up victories before the postseason, but Calipari has the numbers to prove he can win when it matters the most. Calipari is now 30-12 in the NCAA Tournament, including two Final Four appearances.
11.) Depth is overrated: If there is one thing that March teaches us year after year, it’s that depth doesn’t mean a whole lot, at least in terms of conditioning. For all the questions Kentucky has faced about its six-man rotation this year, it’s hardly seemed to matter since the postseason started. The Cats have managed just fine with a short bench. The one concern, of course, is foul trouble, but it hasn’t been as big of a factor as you might believe. For as much as it seems like UK is flirting with players fouling out, only 11 times this year has a Wildcat gone to the bench with five fouls.
12.) De-fense! One of the nation’s top defense units in the regular season has taken it up another level in the postseason. Starting with the Ole Miss game in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, UK has limited its five opponents to 33.9 percent, 41.5 percent, 38.6 percent, 46.2 percent and 41.5 percent from the field. No team has scored more than 66 points.
13.) Winning close games: Remember that inability to win in the clutch and close teams out? That seems like an awful long time ago now. After the loss at Arkansas, UK was 0-6 in games decided by five points or less. Kentucky is 2-0 since, but the statistics don’t actually do the Cats justice. The Tennessee, Florida (in the SEC Tournament) and West Virginia wins were decided by six, six and seven points, respectively, but the games were even closer than that. UK was able to hits its free throws in the closing seconds in each of those games to clinch the victory.
14.) Hanging on to the ball: UK isn’t wasting possessions in the postseason. Beginning with the SEC Tournament, the Cats are only averaging 9.6 turnovers a game. Really, Kentucky’s minimal turnovers throughout the season have led to the nation’s seventh-most efficient offense, according to kenpom.com.
15.) Playing fast: After the rout of George Mason, analysts on CBS wondered what the best way was to beat Ohio State. Their answer was a fast, athletic team. Sounds like UK, right? That’s what most of the analysts agreed upon when previewing Friday’s matchup. That doesn’t necessarily mean Kentucky has the athleticism and speed of Ohio State, but the Cats push the ball just enough to give the Buckeyes problems.
16.) Fan turnout: With one of the biggest collegiate fan bases in the country, Ohio State usually owns a decisive home-court advantage when it plays at neutral sites. As we’ve learned time and time again, against the most passionate fans base in college basketball, that won’t be the case. There’s no telling who will have the most fans in Newark, but given the stakes, the fan bases and the traditions of the programs, it should have the feel of a Final Four game.
