UK Faces Marquee Matchup with UCLA in NOLA Return
John Calipari has warm memories of New Orleans, and understandably so.
Since his arrival at Kentucky, his Wildcats have won six games in seven tries in the Crescent City, including four NCAA Tournament games and the 2012 national championship.
The lone loss – to Vanderbilt in the 2012 Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game – is maybe the most memorable of all of them. Coach Cal will never forget Michael Kidd-Gilchrist giving up his starting spot to help snap Darius Miller out of a slump.
“The biggest game in the history of this program may have been that loss because that lesson will go on and on and on because of what he did for his teammates,” Coach Cal said. “And what happened? We won the national championship because of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.”
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| Kentucky vs. UCLA | ||
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Sat., Dec. 23 – 4 p.m. ET |
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| Coverage | ||
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TV: CBS |
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| UK | 2017-18 Team Stats | UCLA |
| 9-1 | Record | 8-3 |
| 0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0 |
| 81.3 | PPG | 82.8 |
| 69.2 | Opp PPG | 76.2 |
| .503 | FG% | .469 |
| .398 | Opp FG% | .420 |
| 40.1 | RPG | 41.3 |
| .371 | 3PT FG% | .349 |
| .398 | Opp 3PT FG% | .420 |
| .679 | FT% | .672 |
| 16.6 | APG | 15.7 |
| 6.6 | SPG | 6.2 |
| 6.3 | BPG | 4.8 |
On Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, UK will return to New Orleans for the first time since 2012. There, the No. 7/6 Wildcats (9-1) will take on UCLA (8-3) in a CBS Sports Classic game pitting the two programs with the most national championships in men’s college basketball history.
It’s the second marquee, blue-blooded matchup of the season for UK, coming a little more than a month after the Cats took on Kansas in Chicago. UK will also hit the road for only the third time this season, this time to the Smoothie King Center.
“I love going on the road,” PJ Washington said. “I like going places and playing other people. We play so many games here already, so we’re anxious to go out and see other places.”
The Cats have played well in both their road trips so far this season, but they’re still mostly freshmen with only 10 games of college experience under their belts.
“This is a young team,” Calipari said. “This is a bunch of freshmen. When you say to me, ‘How do you think they’re gonna play,’ your guess is as good as my guess. I mean, they’re young. I can only tell you that they’re trying every day. I’m walking out of practice feeling good. Don’t know what that means. Does that mean we’re good enough to beat UCLA? I don’t know.”
The Bruins, like UK, are a much different team than the one who downed the Cats in Rupp Arena last season before falling in a Sweet 16 rematch. UCLA’s three losses have all come to quality opponents – Creighton, Michigan and Cincinnati – so the Bruins come into Saturday well tested, led by returners Aaron Holiday (17.4 ppg and 5.4 apg) and Thomas Welsh (13.2 ppg and 10.6 rpg).
“They really create havoc in their spacing with pick-and-rolls, and they’re different,” Calipari said. “They’re more of a pick-and-pop team. But their big kid (Welsh) now is way stronger. They’ll go four around the post and throw it to him. He’s a terrific passer but maybe their best shooter. So now, he’ll step out on the floor for 3s, they’ll put him in pick-and-pops, they’ll run cuts off him to step him back. They’re going to create havoc for us.”
The havoc will come, so it’s all about how the Cats handle it when it does.
“I’m watching games and it’s just like, OK, I can’t go over everything with this team,” Calipari said. “There’s things that are going to happen in the game and we’re just going to have to react to it and do our best. That’s the issue with where we are. I’m trying to zone in on three or four things in the last couple of days. That’s it. I can’t do 12 things, so there are three or four things that I’m trying to do.”
If the Cats can handle that shorter to-do list right now, that’s all Coach Cal can ask for.
“Like I said, we’re getting better,” Calipari said. “When I say we, I’m saying individual players are improving, which means our ceiling continues to rise. And again, I know we’re not getting the respect nationally. That’s OK, I get it. But as each of these players gets better, the ceiling for this team starts to get higher and higher.”
“Two of the most stories programs in the country.” Maybe THE most storied programs in the country. We meet tomorrow. #UCLAvsUK pic.twitter.com/4yBpaCFrWQ
— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) December 22, 2017
Kentucky Tops Virginia Tech 93-86 for Marquee Win
Needing every point possible to compete with high-scoring Virginia Tech, No. 8/5 Kentucky generated offense from all over the court off numerous opportunities created by a disruptive defense.
Kevin Knox scored 21 points, Hamidou Diallo added 20, including a big 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining, and the Wildcats outlasted Virginia Tech 93-86 on Saturday for their most significant victory this season.
The Wildcats won their seventh straight and hit a season-high 11 3-pointers, with six players making at least one. Kentucky (9-1) finished 11 of 22 from behind the arc. Quade Green added 17 points with a pair of 3s while wearing shaded protective glasses after injuring his eye last week against Monmouth.
However, Diallo’s two 3-pointers late in the game were the difference. Ahead 75-71, Diallo made a 3-pointer with 4:54 to go to give UK its then-largest lead of the game at 78-71. Then, clinging to an 85-83 advantage, Diallo swished another 3 with 48 seconds left to keep the visitors at bay.
Diallo made a career-high four 3-pointers overall to go along with a career-high three steals.
Most important for the Wildcats was their pressing defense that forced 19 turnovers leading to 36 points. Coach John Calipari has stressed that kind of aggressiveness all season to his young team, and they responded by holding the Hokies 10 points below their nation-leading average of 96.2 per game despite allowing them to shoot 58.2 percent.
Ahmed Hill had 20 points, Justin Robinson 19 and Kerry Blackshear 18 for Virginia Tech (9-2), which had won its previous seven.
A back-and-forth game featuring 11 lead changes, eight ties and plenty of perimeter fireworks eventually swung Kentucky’s way down the stretch thanks to Knox and Diallo. Diallo’s free throw with 13 seconds left provided an eight-point edge and Knox’s two free throws five seconds later sealed the outcome.
UK trailed 47-41 at halftime and 51-44 early in the second half but stormed in front on a 10-0 run. Early in the that second-half spurt, Knox scored 11 of UK’s 13 points. Tied at 60, UK went on another 5-0 spurt and never trailed again.
NOTABLES:
• Kentucky scored 93 points for the second game in a row. The last time UK scored at least 93 in back-to-back games was Jan. 3 and 7, 2017, vs. Texas A&M (100) and Arkansas (97). After averaging 71.0 points in the first fives games of the season, the Wildcats are averaging 91.6 points over the last five
• Virginia Tech made 58.2 percent of its shots, the second-highest clip a Calipari team has allowed at Kentucky. It was the highest percentage a Kentucky opponent has shot in a Wildcat win
• UK commited only 11 turnovers, one off its season best
• Kentucky won the battle of the boards, the ninth consecutive game the Wildcats have won or tied in the rebounding column
• It was the second game in a row that two Wildcats scored at least 20 points
• Knox’s 21 points marked his team-leading fourth 20-point game of the season. He’s scored 20 or more in three of the last four games
• Diallo has scored 19 or more points in four straight games. He’s averaging 20.3 points over the last four games
• Washington totaled 11 points to go along with a career-high five assists and a crucial block late in the game
• Green tied his career high with five assists
• Nick Richards posted eight points, six rebounds and three blocked shots. He’s made at least 60 percent of his shots in seven straight games
Another Blueblood (CBS Sports) Classic in the Making?
No matter how you slice it, all signs appear to be pointing towards a great game in New Orleans between Kentucky and UCLA.
The obvious parallels are the tradition. Kentucky owns more wins than any other program in college basketball while UCLA owns more national championships than anyone else. UCLA is the only school with more national titles than UK.
The recent head-to-head history between the two schools makes this one intriguing as well. The Wildcats pummeled UCLA 83-44 in the inaugural CBS Sports Classic in 2014, but UCLA answered by defeating Kentucky in back-to-back years (2015 and 2016) in the regular season. In both of those regular-season games UK was the top-ranked team the country.
However, the Wildcats got the last laugh last season by eliminating UCLA in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament thanks to a historic performance from De’Aaron Fox.
And then there is the history of the event. Kentucky’s game vs. North Carolina last season in the CBS Sports Classic was billed by many as the best game of the regular season. Behind Malik Monk’s UK freshman record 47 points, the Wildcats outlasted North Carolina 103-100 in Las Vegas.
So, what will this year’s edition of the CBS Sports Classic, now in its fourth season have to offer? In all likelihood, it should be a good one. Kentucky is currently tied with North Carolina for the best record in the CBS Sports Classic with a 2-1 record. UCLA and Ohio State are 1-2 each.
Diallo Wins SEC Freshman of the Week
Hamidou Diallo was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week after helping propel Kentucky to a 93-86 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Diallo filled up the stat sheet for the Wildcats in their best victory of the young season. He scored 20 points, had five rebounds, knocked down a team-high four 3-poiners and corralled three steals.
He was particularly clutch for UK down the stretch. Ahead 75-71, Diallo made a 3-pointer with 4:54 to go to give UK its then-largest lead of the game at 78-71. Then, clinging to an 85-83 advantage, Diallo swished another 3 with 48 second left to keep the visitors at bay.
His four 3-pointers and three steals were all career highs. He’s posted three consecutive games with at least two steals and four consecutive outings with at least 19 points.
Diallo is averaging 20.3 points over his last four games and made 30 of 56 shots (53.6 percent) during that stretch.
The honor is the first of the Queens, New York, native’s career and the first weekly honor of the season for the Wildcats. It’s the deepest into a season Kentucky has gone without winning an SEC honor in the John Calipari era. UK has won more SEC Freshman of the Week honors and more total SEC weekly awards than any other school during Calipari’s nine seasons.
