UK’s SEC Tournament Run Begins with Georgia
ST. LOUIS – Georgia might have been an afterthought to most when the Southeastern Conference Tournament was finalized, but not to John Calipari.
He had taken note of how Georgia had beaten LSU and held leads on both Texas A&M and Tennessee in its final three regular-season games. He remembered how the Bulldogs had played in taking Kentucky to the wire in Rupp Arena in both teams’ conference opener.
“I would not be surprised to see Georgia march through this tournament,” Calipari said on Monday. “Not at all. One, they’ve got a great coach (in Mark Fox). Two, they have an unbelievable player in (Yante) Maten and three, they’re right on the edge.”
The Bulldogs might have made it over the edge.
A day after dominating Vanderbilt, 12th-seeded Georgia (18-14) upset Missouri to set up a quarterfinal matchup with No. 4 Kentucky (21-10). The Cats and Dogs will square off Friday at approximately 3 p.m. ET at Scottrade Center.
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Fri., March 9 – 3:30 p.m. ET |
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TV: ESPN |
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| UK | 2017-18 Team Stats | UGA |
| 21-10 | Record | 18-14 |
| 10-8 | Conference Record | 7-11 |
| 76.9 | PPG | 68.7 |
| 71.2 | Opp PPG | 66.9 |
| .466 | FG% | .424 |
| .411 | Opp FG% | .393 |
| 39.2 | RPG | 39.3 |
| .348 | 3PT FG% | .320 |
| .297 | Opp 3PT FG% | .333 |
| .695 | FT% | .702 |
| 13.3 | APG | 12.4 |
| 5.7 | SPG | 3.8 |
| 5.0 | BPG | 4.7 |
“They’re good,” Calipari said on Thursday. “If you listen to what I said prior to the tournament – they were the team that was playing the best at the end of the year. They lost at home to Texas A&M in the last minute. They lost to Tennessee in the last minute. They should have won both games. They had good leads in both games. Then you saw what they did to Vanderbilt, and now you see what they did to Missouri.”
Georgia is led – as ever – by Maten, the star senior forward. The Associated Press SEC Player of the Year has scored a combined 46 in two games this week and will be eager to beat the Wildcats for the first time in nine tries as a Bulldog. Those eight past matchups include wins for Kentucky over Georgia in each of the past two SEC Tournaments, but current Wildcats played a grand total of eight minutes in those games.
“It’ll be a hard game,” Calipari said. “I mean these are all hard games. We’re going in with guys that are anxious and never have played in a tournament. ‘What does this mean? Is it going to be different?’ Let’s just worry about us and playing better. I like the frame of mind my kids are in, but you just don’t know when they’re this young and inexperienced.”
The other variable Calipari has to contend with is the fact that UK will, in all likelihood, be without Jarred Vanderbilt. The freshman forward and rebounding dynamo sustained an ankle injury in practice this week that has him doubtful to play on Friday.
“What we have to do is make up for his energy,” Calipari said. “Someone’s gotta come in and it’s not one. Let’s all pick it up five percent. We’ve gotta pick up nine rebounds. So where are we going to get those nine? And those nine need to come from a couple—a couple from PJ (Washington), a couple from Wenyen Gabriel, a couple from Kevin Knox, guards get a couple. Sacha (Killeya-Jones), you and Nick (Richards) together get a couple more than you’ve been getting. But he’s also active. We’ll miss him. It’ll be harder to play without him.”
Though UK had finally begun to find a rhythm after Vanderbilt debuted in January, Vanderbilt’s absence does create opportunities for his fellow forwards. They will need to capitalize in order for UK to survive and thrive without Vanderbilt and the 5.9 points and 7.9 rebounds he is averaging.
“It gives Sacha and Nick a chance to play more,” Calipari said. “It gives us a chance to put Wenyen at five. That makes us a different kind of team.”
In Vanderbilt’s absence, Coach Cal is going to push every button available to him. His priority might be the tournament that starts next week, but the one this week can be a springboard into the Big Dance.
“We’re using this tournament to see how good we can be,” Calipari said. “We’re using this tournament to prepare for next week. And we’ll also use this tournament to see if we can improve our seed.”
Calipari, of course, has never hidden his true feelings about conference tournaments. He embraces the way Kentucky fans take over whichever city happens to be hosting it, but the trophy handed out on Sunday isn’t all that important to him in comparison to his true goals.
“This is our opportunity right now to do what we need to do,” Calipari said. “But, again, guys I’ve been this way when I was at UMass, when I was at Memphis and now here. I have not changed. I’ve been the exact same way and I’ve approached it the same way. Those teams haven’t taken my negativity the wrong way. I think we’ve won a lot of these tournaments. I think.”
In his eight seasons at UK, his teams have won five SEC Tournament titles and made it to the championship game twice more.
Just like he was about Georgia, Calipari is right again.
We love March. #SECTourney #UGAvsUK
A post shared by Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@kentuckymbb) on Mar 9, 2018 at 9:38am PST
Wildcats’ Regular-Season Finale Ends in Loss at Florida
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 points and dished out four assists, but No. 23/25 Kentucky lost at Florida 80-67 on Saturday at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
Kentucky (21-10, 10-8 Southeastern Conference) also got 14 points from Kevin Knox, while Quade Green and PJ Washington each had 11. Washington also had a team-high seven rebounds for the Cats.
Florida (20-11, 11-7 SEC) hit 28 of its 57 shots (49.1 percent) from the floor, including 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Kentucky made 24 of its 58 attempts (41.4 percent) from the field, including six of 16 (37.5 percent) from behind the arc. The Gators made 14 of 20 (70 percent) at the free-throw line, while Kentucky made 13 of 22 (59.1 percent) from the charity stripe.
Florida scored the first four points of the game, but Kentucky scored the next five to take an early one-point lead. The game would be tied 9-9 and 14-14 before Florida went on a 6-0 run to lead 20-14 with 10:09 left in the half.
Kentucky would cut the lead to three, 20-17, but Florida scored the next eight points, taking a 28-17 lead with 6:06 left in the half. The Wildcats cut the lead to 30-22 on a 3-pointer by Quade Green, but the Gators answered with a 15-6 stretch, taking their biggest lead of the half, 45-28, in the process. Florida would lead 48-33 at the break.
Florida made its first six shots from the floor in the second half, extending its lead to 62-39. But Kentucky tightened the defense and began to make shots of its own, assembling a 17-3 run to cut the Florida lead to 65-56 with 6:48 left in the game.
However, Florida had the answer, in the form of a 10-1 run that put the game away. Kentucky would get back within 11 points, 76-65, on a jumper by Knox, but the Wildcats would get no closer.
NOTABLES:
• Florida’s 80 points were the fifth most by a UK opponent this year
• UK blocked two shots, tying its season low for the fourth time
• Kentucky’s six assists were a season low
• Gilgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 17 points, reaching that total for the second game in a row, while reaching double figures for the fourth game in a row.
• Green netted 11 points, including going 3 for 3 from 3-point range. He’s made at least two 3-pointers in five straight games. He’s scored in double figures in five consecutive games, the best stretch of his career.
• Washington scored 13 points to reach double figures for the sixth straight game, all off the bench
• UK’s 13-point loss was its biggest of the season
Wildcats Seeking Fourth Straight SEC Tournament Title
Kentucky will be the No. 4 seed in the annual Southeastern Conference Tournament when action begins Wednesday in St. Louis. The Wildcats, who earned the coveted double bye, will play the winner of Missouri and Georgia-Vanderbilt game on Friday in St. Louis, at approximately 3:25 p.m. ET in the quarterfinals.
Kentucky has never earned a seed lower than two (conference or division) under John Calipari and will play as the No. 4 seed for the first time during his tenure. The last time UK was the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament was in 2009.
The Wildcats went 1-1 vs. the Tigers, 1-0 vs. the Bulldogs and 2-0 vs. the Commodores. Missouri is the No. 5 seed, while Georgia is the No. 12 and Vanderbilt the 13th seed.
UK’s quarterfinal SEC Tournament game will be televised by the ESPN. If Kentucky wins Friday, it will play Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. Sunday’s championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. Both of the semifinals and championship game will be televised on ESPN.
Kentucky leads the league with 30 SEC Tournament titles, including five under Calipari. UK has captured each of the last three titles. The Wildcats are 130-25 all-time in the SEC Tournament, including 43-11 in the quarterfinals. Kentucky is 11-1 all-time vs. Georgia in the SEC Tournament and 4-5 vs. Vanderbilt. The Wildcats and Mizzou have never met in the SEC Tournament.
It’s the first time in the history of the SEC Tournament that the city of St. Louis will host. Kentucky last played in the Scottrade Center during the memorable 2014 NCAA Tournament run. UK beat Kansas State in the opening round, before knocking off previously undefeated and the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed in Wichita State to advance to the Sweet 16.
