Monk, Cats Ready for Arkansas
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If it’s difficult to play well in your hometown, how difficult is it to play well when your home state’s flagship institution comes to you?
Kentucky freshman guard Malik Monk is about to find out Saturday.
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| Kentucky vs. Arkansas | ||
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Sat., Jan. 7 – 8:30 p.m. ET |
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| Coverage | ||
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TV: ESPN |
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| UK | 2016-17 Team Stats | UA |
| 12-2 | Record | 12-2 |
| 2-0 | Conference Record | 1-1 |
| 94.0 | PPG | 82.6 |
| 71.1 | Opp PPG | 70.9 |
| .488 | FG% | .464 |
| .401 | Opp FG% | .403 |
| 41.7 | RPG | 39.4 |
| .354 | 3PT FG% | .373 |
| .300 | Opp 3PT FG% | .325 |
| .694 | FT% | .775 |
| 19.2 | APG | 15.9 |
| 7.4 | SPG | 8.0 |
| 6.6 | BPG | 5.7 |
“We’re looking at that game just like it’s tonight,” Monk said Tuesday following UK’s win over Texas A&M. “Same game. We’re going to focus just like we do every game.”
UK head coach John Calipari frequently warns that when players travel to their hometowns they often put too much pressure on themselves to perform in front of their family and friends. Recent history can offer a number of examples of Wildcats struggling in such games, but there have also been success stories.
Isaiah Briscoe, for example, played well in both of Kentucky’s games in New York this season. The sophomore guard from nearby Newark, New Jersey, scored 21 points against then-No. 13 Michigan State at Madison Square Garden, and later had 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting and six assists against Hofstra at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Monk’s brother Marcus was a star football player for the Razorbacks and also played basketball at Arkansas. Factoring that in, along with Malik being one of the premier basketball players in the country, and one of the most highly regarded ever to come from the Natural State, it’s easy to understand why the Razorbacks wanted him to stay closer to home.
When Malik’s home-state school visits Rupp Arena Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. ET, all eyes will be on the Lepanto, Arkansas, native. Coach Cal’s message to him will be to try to temper his emotions.
“When he gets too hyped he’s not at his best,” Calipari said of Monk. “I thought, when he gets too hyped he doesn’t shoot it as well, mind starts racing a little bit. He’s not the calm, athletic, attack player that he needs to be, when he’s at his best. He and I will talk about it before the game, but right now it hasn’t been discussed.”
Through 14 games, Monk has been one of the most impressive players in the country – regardless of class. He’s leading the Southeastern Conference in scoring (22.6 points per game) and 3-point field goals made (49). Against North Carolina he set a school freshman scoring record with 47 points. There isn’t a statistical category for jaw-dropping dunks, but he’d probably be at the top of that list as well.
Coming out of Bentonville High School, the narrative said Monk was a streaky shooter. In college, he’s been pretty darn consistent. He’s hit four or more 3-pointers in half of UK’s games, and has shot 50 percent or better from beyond the arc in six of UK’s 14 games. His 3-point field-goal percentage (.434) is fourth in the league.
“The best thing that he’s done is he’s transformed himself into a defensive guard more so than he’s ever been, and the second thing is he’s becoming an efficient scorer,” Coach Cal said. “He took 11 shots and he had (26) points last game. He doesn’t have 40 shots to get 25 points. He’s not that guy.”
Monk and the rest of the Wildcats should have plenty of opportunities to get up shots in what figures to be a fast-paced game with a number of possessions.
According to Ken Pomeroy, Arkansas runs the 18th-quickest offense in the country, with each possession averaging just 15.0 seconds in length. Kentucky ranks seventh nationally in that same statistical category, logging just 14.0 seconds per possession.
If the Razorbacks, which like to dub their brand of basketball as the “Fastest 40,” want to play fast on Saturday, the Wildcats will be more than ready.
“I think that plays to our advantage,” freshman forward Wenyen Gabriel said. “We’re a fast team. If they want to play fast with us, then let ‘em.”
Moses Kingsley, the preseason SEC Player of the Year, enters Saturday’s game averaging 11.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-10 Kingsley will provide the latest challenge to UK freshman forward Bam Adebayo and the rest of the UK frontcourt, which has already faced the SEC’s leading rebounder in Sebastian Saiz, and highest percentage shooter in the conference in Tyler Davis.
The Razorbacks also have senior guard Dusty Hannahs, who leads the team with 14.5 points per game, and junior college transfer Daryl Macon, who is scoring 14.0 points per game and knocking down nearly 91 percent of his free throws.
“It’s going to be a hard game,” Calipari said. “They’re good. They trap. They scramble up the game. They play reckless, which means they can come in here and make a bunch of 3s and beat you because that’s how they play.”
Kentucky will counter with an offense that’s clicking as well as it has all season. The Wildcats scored 199 points in their first two league games, shot 51.1 percent from the field and outscored Ole Miss and Texas A&M by 32.5 points per game. Defensively, they’re beginning to trust each other more on the court and are playing with more discipline, only adding to their immense potential.
Monk said he’s happy Saturday’s game is at Rupp Arena instead of Fayetteville, Arkansas, but he’s looking forward to the reaction either way.
“Here is better because I won’t get as much boos,” Monk said. “But seeing how much they’ll boo me, I think that’ll be fun too.”
Defensive Charge Sparks Another Offensive Onslaught
The saying has always been, “defense leads to offense,” but for the number of eye-popping offensive displays the 2016-17 Kentucky Wildcats have showcased this season, their defense has been inconsistent. Well, playing in front of a home crowd for the first time in nearly a month, the Wildcats found their spark from a suffocating defensive effort en route to a 100-58 win over Texas A&M on Tuesday. UK flustered the Aggies into 25 turnovers — the most in the Billy Kennedy era at Texas A&M — which resulted in 35 points for the Cats off the visitors’ mistakes.
In a series that featured overtime games in four of the last five matchups, a 3-0 lead by the Aggies was a misleading sign of what was to come for the 23,455 fans in attendance. Kentucky compiled a 15-0 run over the next three minutes, which saw six consecutive turnovers lead to six straight baskets for a 15-3 advantage that would never again be threatened.
Malik Monk led four Wildcats in double figures and UK topped 100 points for the fifth time this season, the most by a John Calipari-coached team and the most since the 1995-96 season. Monk poured in 26 points and has scored 60 points on 19 of 27 (70.3 percent) from the floor and 10 of 14 (71.4 percent) from 3-point range in his first two career SEC games. He’s averaging 30.8 points over his last four games.
Isaiah Briscoe and De’Aaron Fox combined for 28 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and three steals, while Bam Adebayo contributed 10 points, three blocks and three steals.
Every Wildcat saw action as the team dropped 13 3-pointers, the most since also tallying 13 in a win vs. Alabama in the SEC Tournament a season ago. Kentucky shot 52.4 percent from the field, its second-highest mark of the season and the ninth time this year the Wildcats made more than half their shots. It was the second-most lopsided win in league play in the Calipari era. Additional notes include:
• Kentucky’s points per possession was a season-high 1.41
• UK made 21 of 26 at the foul line, a season-best 80.8 percent
• The Wildcats grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and won second-chance points 21-3
• Kentucky has won each of their first two SEC games of a season by at least 23 points for the first time since 1996-97
• The Wildcats scored their most points in an SEC home opener (100) since Jan. 4, 1994, vs. Vanderbilt (107)
• UK has scored at least 99 points in consecutive SEC regular-season games for the first time since Jan. 23 and 26, 1993
• Monk is the first freshman in program history to score 26 or more points in his first two career SEC games
• Monk is the first UK player to score 26 or more points in consecutive games to begin the SEC season since Dan Issel on Jan. 3 and 5, 1970
• Kentucky improved to 139-5 under Calipari when holding the opponent to 63 points or fewr
• It was Monk’s ninth 20-point game of the season and hte fourth time he’s made at least five treys. He’s scored in double figures in every game this season
• Sophomore Jonny David scored a career-high five points, including his first career 3-pointer
Briscoe, Monk Haul in SEC Weekly Honors
For the second time this season, the Kentucky men’s basketball team swept the weekly SEC awards. Sophomore Isaiah Briscoe and freshman Malik Monk were tabbed the player and freshman of the week, respectively, by the league’s office on Monday following UK’s season-opening SEC win at Ole Miss.
Briscoe and Monk made history and led the Cats to a 99-76 victory in UK’s SEC lidlifter at Ole Miss on Thursday. It’s the first honor of the season for Briscoe and the third honor for Monk.
Briscoe became the third player in program history – and second this season – to register a triple-double when he amassed 19 points, a career-high 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the win. After only having one triple-double in school history prior to this season, Briscoe and freshman De’Aaron Fox accounted for two in a seven-game span. The duo is the only pair of teammates in the history of the SEC to have a triple-double in the same season.
Monk poured in 34 points against the Rebels on 11-of-16 shooting, including 5 of 7 from behind the arc and 7 of 8 from the free throw line. The 34 points are the most a freshman has ever scored in program history on the road. He’s scored 30 or more points twice this season, becoming just the second freshman in program history to achieve that feat. Jamal Murray had three such games a season ago.
S-E-C! S-E-C! S-E-C!
Kentucky has the unquestionable reputation as the league’s gold standard. Since the SEC’s inception in 1932-33, the Wildcats have been the most dominant team in the league, recording a 958-268 mark (.781) in conference play. Only two other teams have won more than 700 regular-season SEC games (Alabama, Tennessee) and no other team has a better winning percentage.
• UK has averaged 11.5 wins and only 3.2 losses per season in 83 seasons in the SEC
• Kentucky has won 47 SEC titles and 29 SEC Tournament championships
• The Wildcats have won 14 of the last 24 SEC Tournament titles
• UK has won at least a share of four of the last seven SEC regular-season championships under head coach John Calipari
• Kentucky has played in the championship game of the SEC Tournament in six of Calipari’s seven seasons following its 2016 title
