Refreshed by Changes, Calipari Asking for Same Energy from Rupp Crowd
“Coach your team.”
A sign bearing the phrase is on the wall John Calipari’s office, serving as a constant reminder of the unwavering focus he must train on the players entrusted to his leadership. He simply can’t afford to spend time on the many distractions created by his position at Kentucky.
Sunday, he realized he needed to shift his attention away from his team and toward its fans, if only for a moment. The power of the Big Blue Nation is too great to ignore.
“We need you Tuesday to be at your best from the tip to the finish,” Coach Cal tweeted. “If we’re going good, ride it and push us to make the lead unbearable. If we’re struggling some, encourage us and bring us back. The last eight minutes of the game, do not sit down! We need you more than ever now!”
As his team enters the crucial home stretch of the regular season, Calipari is asking fans to add an extra edge to the already formidable home-court advantage of Rupp Arena. That begins with a matchup against No. 15/14 Tennessee (17-5, 7-3 Southeastern Conference) for No. 24/24 UK (17-6, 6-4 SEC) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
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| Kentucky vs. Tennessee | ||
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Tue., Feb. 6 – 7 p.m. ET |
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TV: ESPN |
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| UK | 2017-18 Team Stats | UT |
| 17-6 | Record | 17-5 |
| 6-4 | Conference Record | 7-3 |
| 76.8 | PPG | 77.8 |
| 70.3 | Opp PPG | 67.0 |
| .468 | FG% | .453 |
| .407 | Opp FG% | .406 |
| 39.1 | RPG | 36.7 |
| .335 | 3PT FG% | .398 |
| .289 | Opp 3PT FG% | .333 |
| .692 | FT% | .756 |
| 13.7 | APG | 17.2 |
| 6.0 | SPG | 6.9 |
| 5.2 | BPG | 5.0 |
“I just want them to be really into the game for these kids,” Calipari said. “Be really into the game. I’m not listening to our fans, the loudness, but I know what that building is and what it stands for when our fans are really into the game.”
The Cats are certainly excited about the prospect of returning home.
“It’s great to get back in front of our home crowd after Saturday,” PJ Washington said. “We just have to come out and try to get a win in front of them.”
Thoughts of the home crowd aside, Calipari is heeding that “Coach your team” motto closely. So closely, in fact, that it led to newfound inspiration for him. After returning from Missouri, where the Wildcats lost, Calipari and his staff were in the office until midnight on Saturday breaking down film. After a little rest, it was right back at it on Sunday morning.
“Yesterday was kind of refreshing, exciting for me because I said, ‘Alright, stop, this is what I’m seeing,’ ” Calipari said. “What we emphasized and what they were trying to do, it kind of makes you look different. Not within in one day.”
If that sounds familiar, it should. Just last year, when UK was in the midst of three losses in four games, Calipari made similar changes.
“As a coaching staff, like I said, we came back and spent a lot of time and just looking at it and meeting with the staff, going over things, and talking about ideas,” Calipari said. “You know, we’ve had to do this before. We had to do it last year, and then last year we played a little different.”
That, however, took time. So too will it this year.
“It wasn’t in one day last year,” Calipari said. “We did some things and made us play a little different. Made them think about things. And it took the next two weeks for us to start saying, OK now, and then we took off. So I’m not saying this happens overnight, but I kind of like where we are.”
UK might be well positioned for a breakout, but it’s going to take plenty of work. The first priority is a change in mindset.
“Truthfully with these guys, as I said it today on the conference call, to get them to think the right way is really a struggle,” Calipari said. “Because the first thing if you are not playing well, ‘I am not taking responsibility. That is not because of me, it’s because of you, it’s because of him, it’s because of them, it’s because of something. It’s the weather or if it was the food. It is not me. I don’t care what you saw, that wasn’t me.’ That’s hard for young guys to come in and, look, I got to own this. And get them to think different about how they are playing.”
Tennessee will be a stiff immediate test.
The Volunteers have won eight of nine games – starting with a 76-65 win over Kentucky – to charge into the rankings. Their physical style got the better of the Cats the last time the two teams faced off and Tennessee boasts one of the best players in the league in Grant Williams (16.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg).
“They are playing efficient on both ends of the court, offensively and defensively,” Calipari said. “They go small at times. I mean, they go with three smaller guards in, two smaller big guys, so they are interchangeable. They still with Williams have someone to throw it to in the post whenever they choose. But they are good. They shoot the 3.”
The Vols have won their last three games by an average of 26.3 points, so they’ll be riding momentum into Lexington. The Cats are working hard to be ready for that. Calipari is asking fans to step up in much the same way.
“We’re getting everybody’s best shot, which is if you can sustain it, learn from it, grow from it and you can get your act together, then you’ll be ready for the end of the year because you’ll know every game is a war,” Calipari said. “That stuff and now we come home, having the fans activated, I’ve done this a few times in my time here and I think it’s time for them to say, ‘Hey, you need our help here. We’re going to be here for you.’ ”
Kentucky Comes Up Short at Missouri
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 15 points, but No. 21/22 Kentucky suffered through a tough shooting day, as the Wildcats lost at Missouri 69-60 on Saturday. It was Kentucky’s first-ever loss to Missouri. The Wildcats had won the previous 10 meetings between the schools.
Kentucky (17-6, 6-4 Southeastern Conference ) hit just 21 of its 67 field-goal attempts (31.3 percent), including just 2 of 20 (10.0 percent) from 3-point range. The Wildcats won the rebounding battle, 40-36, as well as points in the paint, 26-16. Kentucky also forced 20 Missouri turnovers, but could only turn those into 15 points.
Jarred Vanderbilt had a career-high eight points and added a game-high 10 rebounds for Kentucky, while Hamidou Diallo and Wenyen Gabriel each had eight points as well.
Missouri closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a 28-18 advantage into the locker room. The Wildcats struggled mightily on offense in the first half, making just 6 of 30 shots (20.0 percent) from the field, including 0 of 9 from behind the arc. Kentucky made six of its 11 free-throw attempts while committing six turnovers and scoring a season-low 18 points in the first 20 minutes.
Kentucky started the second half on an 14-5 run to cut the Missouri lead to 33-32. However, the Tigers scored the next eight points to lead 41-32 with 15:07 left in the game. Kentucky would cut the lead to seven points, 41-34, on a jumper by Sacha Killeya-Jones with 14:36 left in the game.
Missouri continued with a comfortable lead until the game’s final minute, when Kentucky’s trapping defense allowed the Cats to get within five, 65-60, with 42 seconds remaining. However, Kentucky would get no closer.
NOTABLES:
• The 18 points are UK’s fewest in a half under John Calipari and the fewest for the Wildcats since scoring 16 vs. West Virginia on Nov. 29, 2008
• UK shot 20 percent in the first half (6 of 30), UK’s worst shooting half of the season. It is UK’s lowest field-goal percentage in a half since 17.2 percent vs. South Carolina on March 1, 2014
• UK extended its streak of 1,036 consecutive games with a 3-pointer when Wenyen Gabriel connected from long range with 2:51 left
• The Wildcats are now 15-2 this season when outrebounding the opponent. UK claimed 20 offensive rebounds, one shy of the season high, but was only able to manufacture 11 points from the second chances
• Missouri shot just 30.4 percent from 3-point range, 7 of 23. UK entered the game fourth in the nation in 3-point defense at 28.8 percent
Bounce Back
The Wildcats don’t lose very often during the John Calipari era, but when they do, they almost always bounce back. UK improved to 42-9 under Calipari following a loss after its victory over Mississippi State. The victory came after a rare set of back-to-back losses at South Carolina and Florida, the first consecutive losses since falling to Tennessee and Kansas in 2016-17.
The Wildcats have only lost back-to-back games nine times during the Calipari era and they’ve never lost three in a row with Calipari on the sidelines. The last time UK lost three games in a row was in February 2009, when the Wildcats dropped four straight games to end the regular season.
Kentucky’s average margin of victory following consecutive losses under Calipari is 14.7 points.
