Cats Looking for Improved Defense in Final Exhibition
The second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats play their final exhibition game of the season on Friday night, facing Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Kentucky won its exhibition game last Friday night, beating cross-town rival Transylvania University 94-66 at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats shot 56.9 percent from the field, despite hitting only one of 13 from behind the three-point arc.
Seven Kentucky players scored in double figures in the contest, led by EJ Montgomery, who scored 14 points. Quade Green, Keldon Johnson and Nick Richards each had 13 points. Reid Travis had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while PJ Washington had 12 points and seven rebounds. Ashton Hagans was the seventh Wildcat in double figures with 10 points.
Kentucky led by double digits less than seven minutes into the game, and stretched the lead to as many as 24 in the first half against the Pioneers before settling for the 28-point victory.
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| Kentucky vs. Indiana (Pa.) | ||
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Fri., Nov. 2 – 7 p.m. ET |
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| Coverage | ||
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TV: SEC Network |
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| UK | 2017-18 Team Stats | IUP |
| 26-11 | Record | 22-8 |
| 10-8 | Conference Record | 18-4 |
| 76.8 | PPG | 76.5 |
| 70.2 | Opp PPG | 70.3 |
| .472 | FG% | .468 |
| .404 | Opp FG% | .421 |
| 38.6 | RPG | 34.5 |
| .357 | 3PT FG% | .384 |
| .301 | Opp 3PT FG% | .316 |
| .698 | FT% | .731 |
| 13.2 | APG | 14.5 |
| 5.6 | SPG | 6.5 |
| 4.8 | BPG | 2.4 |
Now, the Cats get one last tune-up before opening the season with a matchup against fourth-ranked Duke. First, Kentucky will focus on the task at hand.
“Just come out and execute, do what we’re supposed to do,” said Johnson. “Lock up on defense, that’s the main thing. Stay in front of people and not get in foul trouble.”
Assistant coach Joel Justus knows that the final exhibition can be important for the young Cats.
“Our most important thing is to have a really good practice tonight, having a great shoot around tomorrow afternoon and getting better tomorrow night,” Justus said.
The main topic of conversation prior to Friday’s game has been about the Kentucky defense against Transy. Head coach John Calipari thought that his team gave up too many easy drives to the basket, something that the players have taken to heart.
“We gave up too many straight-line drives to the rim,” said Richards. “We need to work on that a little bit more.”
Johnson placed the blame squarely on himself and his teammates.
“I can’t give you any other explanation than just us,” Johnson said. “That’s definitely on us. It’s not Coach Cal’s fault, it’s not anything that Transy did special. It’s very important (to stop) because that comes with uncontested threes. I think we know, as a team, that we can’t have mistakes like that.”
This Friday’s opponent is Indiana University of Pennsylvania, an NCAA Division II opponent. The Crimson Hawks won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) title for the eighth time in nine seasons last year, with a 22-8 overall record. IUP is ranked eighth nationally in this season’s ABCA Division II preseason coaches poll, with three starters returning from last year’s squad.
Justus knows that IUP will present a different type of challenge for the Cats.
“They’re experienced, they have great size, definitely at the three, four and five spots,” Justus said. “They really have some experience in the backcourt, some guys that have won some games and guys that are expecting to win and guys that are expecting to play well, no matter who the opponent is. So I think it’s a great test for us. It’s a great opportunity for us to get better.”
Friday’s game tips off at 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on the SEC Network.
Kentucky Cruises Past Transylvania in First Exhibition Game
Kentucky rolled past Transylvania last week, 94-66, in its first exhibition game. The Wildcats cruised to victory with seven players in double-figure scoring.
UK shot 56.9 percent from the field and used a decisive size advantage in the paint to outmuscle its in-town foe. The Wildcats dominated with a 62-24 points-in-the-paint edge and outrebounded the Pioneers 52-18.
Although sluggish at times, Kentucky led the entire game and led by as many as 29 points midway through the second half.
EJ Montgomery led UK with 14 points on 7-o-10 shooting. He also grabbed nine rebounds. Quade Green, Keldon Johnson and Nick Richards all scored 13 apiece.
Graduate transfer Reid Travis looked the part in his first exhibition game with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Had it been a regular-season game, it would have been his 27th double-double.
PJ Washington added 12 points and seven rebounds, and Ashton Hagans chipped in with 10 points.
The two schools honored C.M. Newton, a national championship player at Kentucky, former UK athletics director and former Transylvania head coach, prior to Friday’s game. Newton died in June at the age of 88.
Wildcats Turn Up for Tune-Ups
Friday’s game won’t officially count in the official records, but the Wildcats have a knack for taking care of business in exhibition games nonetheless. UK improved to 135-12 all-time in exhibition games with its win over Transylvania last week and has won its last 14 scrimmages, daiting back to Nov. 2, 2014, vs. Pikeville.
The Wildcats have never played Indiana University of Pennsylvania in an exhibition or regular-season game.
UK-IUP Connections
When scheduling exhibition opponents, Kentucky’s staff generally looks for two things: one, an in-state opponent, or two, a program connection. Indiana University of Pennsylvania checks the latter.
With coaching roots in Pennsylvania, Kentucky head coach John Calipari has known IUP head coach Joe Lombardi for 25 years. Although they’ve never crossed coaching paths, they both have strong Western Pennsylvania ties, and both coached at Pittsburgh as assistants.
Joe’s son Dominic, who played three seasons at IUP, was an assistant video coordinator for two seasons (2012-13 and 2013-14) at UK. Dominic Lombardi followed former Kentucky assistant Orlando Antigua to South Florida and served as the video coordinator for two years before a stop at Duquesne. He’s now the director of basketball operations at Morehead State under another former UK staff member, Preston Spradlin.
Kentucky Picked to Win 49th SEC Title
With a mix of seasoned veterans and another crop of talented newcomers, Kentucky will once again be the hunted. Of course that’s the same mantra every season, but a select panel of media confirmed the standard for 2018-19 when it voted the Wildcats to win their sixth regular-season title under 10th-year head coach John Calipari.
Should Kentucky achieve the feat, it would mark the program’s 49th overall regular-season title.
It’s the 14th time since the 1998-99 season the Wildcats are the overall preseason favorite. Calipari has directed his teams to regular-season SEC crowns in 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Kentucky has claimed the SEC Tournament title in each of the last four seasons and six in all, winning in 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Each school selected media members that cover their team and additional media from across the nation were selected by the conference office to comprise the voting panel. Points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for two All-SEC teams.
Travis, Washington Tabbed Preseason All-SEC by Media
In a league as talented as it’s ever been, Reid Travis and PJ Washington were tabbed preseason All-Southeastern Conference picks by the league’s media.
Travis was picked to the first team while PJ Washington was tabbed to the second team. Both players, along with Keldon Johnson, received at least one vote for the preseason pick for SEC Player of the Year.
Travis is joined by Arkansas’ Daniel Gafford, LSU’s Tremont Waters, South Carolina’s Chris Silva and Tennessee’s Grant Williams. Williams was the choice of the media for the preseason player of the year. Joining Washington on the second team were Auburn’s Bryce Brown and Jared Harper, Florida’s Jalen Hudson, Mississippi State’s Quinndary Weatherspoon, Missouri’s Jontay Porter and Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield.
UK Starts Season No. 2 in AP Top 25, USA Today Coaches Poll
With what appears to be a dangerous blend of talent, unusual (for Kentucky) experience and the momentum of a powerful preseason showing in the Bahamas, UK will start the 2018-19 season ranked No. 2 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll. It is the sixth time under John Calipari the Wildcats will begin the year ranked among the top three in both polls.
Kansas was the only team voted ahead of the Wildcats in both polls. UK picked up 19 of the possible 65-first place votes in the AP Top 25 and 12 of the 32 votes in the Coaches Poll. Kentucky just missed out on the No. 1 ranking in the Coaches Poll with 761 points. Kansas received 771.
It’s the ninth time in 10 seasons the Wildcats will begin the season ranked among the nation’s top five to begin the season.
The AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll aren’t the only preseason rankings that are showing confidence in the Wildcats. The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and Andy Katz of NCAA.com tabbed UK No. 1 in their preseason rankings.
Seven Kentucky opponents — three of which UK will play twice — enter the 2018-19 season ranked in the AP Top 25, including four top-10 opponents in Kansas (1), Duke (4), Tennessee (6) and North Carolina (8). Four more teams sit just outside the top 25 and received votes.
In the Coaches Poll, six opponents are ranked, four are in the top 10 and six others received votes.
Showcasing the league’s strength, fellow SEC members Tennessee (6), Auburn (11), Mississippi State (18) and LSU (23) were ranked among the AP Top 25. Additionally, Florida, Alabama and Missouri earned votes.
