Cats Have Chance to Sustain Momentum vs. UIC
“We got better,” John Calipari left Kentucky’s win over Fort Wayne saying.
Improvement being the main goal of the early-season, the No. 8/8 Wildcats (5-1) will look to sustain the momentum they built last time in hosting Illinois Chicago at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
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| Kentucky vs. UIC | ||
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Sun., Nov. 26 – 6 p.m. ET |
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| Coverage | ||
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TV: SEC Network |
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| UK | 2017-18 Team Stats | UIC |
| 5-1 | Record | 2-2 |
| 0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0 |
| 73.5 | PPG | 73.2 |
| 64.5 | Opp PPG | 65.8 |
| .479 | FG% | .407 |
| .380 | Opp FG% | .375 |
| 41.7 | RPG | 38.2 |
| .384 | 3PT FG% | .375 |
| .276 | Opp 3PT FG% | .305 |
| .627 | FT% | .747 |
| 15.5 | APG | 14.0 |
| 6.0 | SPG | 8.0 |
| 5.8 | BPG | 6.5 |
After Fort Wayne took advantage of lax early defense by UK in a 3-point outburst, the Cats locked down and surged past the Mastodons behind Nick Richards’ breakout performance in an 86-67 win. The 6-foot-11 freshman became just the third Wildcat of the Coach Cal era with a 25-point, 15-rebound performance.
“It was a good win for me and my team,” Richards said. “We just came out here trying to have a ball, trying to have fun, and I just happened to have 25 and 15.”
But even as they turned arguably its best performance to date, the Cats left room for improvement. Leading by 30 with less than seven minutes remaining, UK allowed yet another late-game rally and only won by 19.
“I’m telling you, in most cases either someone was not engaged defensively or someone got selfish,” Calipari said. “Instead of making an easy play, they tried to make the hardest play or they just missed free throws, like missed them all.”
Kentucky was anything but selfish the day after the game. As a team, UK players and coaches served Thanksgiving dinner at the Salvation Army on Thursday.
“This is a good time for a young team because these kids most of their life to this point — what have they thought about?” Calipari said. “Themselves. What did they dream about? Themselves. Now all of a sudden you’re put in this position where you can have an impact.”
Calipari’s primary aims in encouraging service is to open the minds of his players and to make a difference in the community. There’s secondary value as well, with the Wildcats stepping outside of themselves and learning servant leadership lessons that can pay off on the court as well.
UK will be looking to apply some of those lessons on Sunday in the final game of the Adolph Rupp Classic. The Wildcats’ opponent, Illinois Chicago enters the game with a record of 2-2 after the Flames lost 67-51 to the same Fort Wayne team UK beat last time out. UIC has been solid on defense through four games in allowing 65.8 points per game and 37.5-percent shooting. The Flames are balanced on offense, with Dikembe Dixson (14.3 points per game) leading five players averaging 9.3 points or more.
The game will be UK’s seventh in two-and-a-half weeks to start the season, giving the Cats little time between for extensive work on themselves. That will change after Sunday when Kentucky plays only one game a week all the way through the end of December.
Calipari’s goals for his team won’t change.
“We’re the youngest team maybe ever trying to do anything, trying to win games,” Calipari said. “Let’s play like we have nothing to lose.”
Calipari One Win Away from 700 On-Court Victories
If Kentucky can defeat UIC on Sunday, head coach John Calipari will become just the 39th coach to reach 700 on-court wins, regardless of classification. Only 27 coaches have done it with at least 10 seasons at the Division I level.
With a win Sunday, Calipari would become the fourth-fastest coach to 700 on-court wins ever. Only Adolph Rupp (836 games), Jerry Tarkanian (876 games) and Roy Williams (879 games) will have done it faster.
When the Wildcats defeated No. 5 Kansas on Nov. 18, 2014, John Calipari claimed his 600th on-court victory as a Division I head coach. At the time, he became the 13th active Division I coach to achieve the feat.
Richards’ Big Night Powers Eighth-Ranked UK Past Fort Wayne
Nick Richards had career highs of 25 points and 15 rebounds, and 70 percent first-half shooting propelled No. 8/8 Kentucky to an 86-67 rout of Fort Wayne on Wednesday night.
Kentucky’s 19-of-27 shooting before halftime countered the Mastodons’ eight 3-pointers that kept them close for a while. Once Fort Wayne started missing, it couldn’t match the length or speed of the young Wildcats (5-1), who eventually led 78-48 with 6:50 remaining on the way to their most decisive win this season.
Richards thrived in both halves and on both ends, making 9 of 10 from the field and all seven free throws for his first career double-double. His 9-of-10 outing from the floor was the best shooting performance (minimum 10 field goals) since Alex Poythress made 90 percent of his shots vs. Lafayette on Nov. 16, 2012.
The 6-foot-11 freshman’s previous highs were 10 points against Utah Valley and nine rebounds against Kansas last week. He became just the third UK player in the John Calipari era to post at least 25 points and at least 15 rebounds in a game (Terrence Jones and DeMarcus Cousins being the others).
Although Fort Wayne poured in 3-pointers in the first half, the Wildcats countered with its best offensive game of the season. In addition to a season-best 86 points, Kentucky shot 60.0 percent from the floor, the best shooting numbers for UK since a 64.7-percent performance vs. Auburn on Feb. 21, 2015.
And when the Wildcats missed, they often grabbed their own rebound. UK collected 44 rebounds, including 12 offensive boards, to just 21 total rebounds for Fort Wayne.
Quade Green, Kevin Knox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each added 11 points, and Wenyen Gabriel just missed out on a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
• Both teams came out hot, with Fort Wayne making six of its first 12 3-point tries, and an 8-0 run gave the visitors a 27-23 lead
• UK shot 70.4 percent in the first half, the Wildcats’ best half since shooting 75.9 percent vs. Stony Brook on March 17, 2016
• Kentucky held Fort Wayne scoreless for the first 2:21 of the second half, extending the scoreless streak to 6:11. In the meantime, the Wildcats got the first two baskets and two free throws of the second half, extending the run to 15-0 and the lead 51-37
• UK led by as many as 30 points in the game and is 219-4 in the John Calipari era in games that the Wildcats have led by at least 10 points
• It’s the 10th time in the Calipari era that UK has shot at least 60 percent
• It’s the fifth consecutive game that the Wildcats won or tied the boardwork. The plus-23 margin ties for the 11th-best game of the Calipari era. UK has had a plus-23 rebounding margin in two games in a row
• UK’s board dominance led to a 16-4 lead in second-chance points and a 44-22 edge in points in the paint. It’s also a season high for points in the paint
• Two Wildcats (Richards and Gabriel) pulled down double-digit rebounds, the first time that has happened this season
• UK had a season high 24 bench points, winning that stat 24-10
