SEC Tournament about Small Steps, Big Goals for UK
Matthew Mitchell knows Kentucky is facing an uphill battle, but it’s one the Wildcats won’t stop fighting.
Entering this week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament, UK’s mandate is clear: win or, in all likelihood, see its season end.
“As long as we have life in the SEC Tournament that’s what our focus will be on, just trying to play winning basketball,” Mitchell said on Sunday.
Kentucky (14-16) enters the league tournament on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA Tournament and NIT. A bid to the Big Dance would surely only come by winning four games in four days to claim the SEC Tournament title. UK is also only likely to reach the NIT by making it to Sunday’s championship game to move its record to .500.
“Every year somebody does something special in the conference tournament and that’s what our mindset’s got to be,” Mitchell said. “We got to go in and try to get a victory on Thursday and then just survive and advance.”
On Thursday at 1 p.m. ET, ninth-seeded UK will match up with No. 8 seed Alabama (17-12) in Nashville, Tennessee’s, Bridgestone Arena. The game will be rematch, as the Cats outscored the Crimson Tide 25-5 in the fourth quarter of a 79-54 win on Jan. 25. The victory started a three-game winning streak for UK, which ended SEC play by going 5-5 in its final 10 games after starting just 1-5.
“Alabama – who is our opponent – has played really good basketball down the stretch,” Mitchell said on Tuesday. “We played them about a month ago and I think they’ve really made progress since then and both of us fighting for postseason right now. So, really tough game and we’ll have to really prepare well to get a victory and that’s what we’ll be intent on doing.”
Though multiple victories are no doubt the goal, Mitchell isn’t dwelling on that fact because he knows neither he nor his team can afford to. UK wants to play into the weekend, but there’s no path to doing so that doesn’t start with a win against Alabama.
“It’s not a secret in this day and age where we stand and what needs to happen,” Mitchell said. “I know the team wants to make a run here at the SEC Tournament and it’s really something that we’ve come close to a bunch of times at Kentucky and it would be just a real great accomplishment, but it’d be awesome for this team.
“So, everybody understands what needs to happen and you have no shot at it unless you beat Alabama on Thursday. So, you’re right back in the same place you start. You have to go prepare well today and tomorrow and play really good basketball on Thursday.”
UK has played progressively better basketball as the season has gone on, developing by leaps and bounds since losing eight straight and 10 of 11 games in December and January. That growth is what’s making the Cats want to prolong their season as much as possible.
“We kind of looked back at where we were at MTSU and just how far we’ve came from there and just how much improvement we’ve made,” said Maci Morris, who was named Second-Team All-SEC on Tuesday. “We know who we’re going to play, so we just got to get a game plan down for them and just try to give it all we have for the tournament and try to make something happen.”
That kind of attitude is exactly what Mitchell is looking for.
“Every year somebody does something special in the conference tournament and that’s what our mindset’s got to be,” Mitchell said. “We got to go in and try to get a victory on Thursday and then just survive and advance.”
