Notebook: Cats Thrive in First Tourney Experience
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tyler Herro bounced around and smiled. Reid Travis soaked it all in. Keldon Johnson smacked the stanchion in excitement.
After Kentucky broke the huddle for the final time before the tipoff, it was clear the Wildcats were anticipating their NCAA Tournament debut.
Considering all five UK starters were playing in their first March Madness game, it’s no wonder.
“You kind of just want to see what it is, what the difference is,” Travis said.
As it turns out, the difference isn’t as big as you might think.
“It’s just another game,” Travis said. “We’ve played in a lot of big games this season. That’s a special part of being at Kentucky, is you play in so many big games. It’s just great to get the first one out of the way.”
No. 2 seed Kentucky (28-6) did a little more than get the first one out of the way, dominating No. 15 Abilene Christian (27-7) to the tune of a 79-44 final score to advance to the second round. The Wildcats showed no sign of nerves in scoring the game’s first eight points and building an 18-3 lead.
“We just came out focused,” Johnson said. “We didn’t try to underestimate them or anything. We came out focused and ready to go.”
In spite of the focus borne out of plenty of big-game experience, the Cats still found time to enjoy themselves on the big stage.
“This has always been a dream of mine playing college basketball, is to be in the tournament and advance deep in it,” Travis said. “This is the first step. I’m just glad I can enjoy it with my teammates.”
Washington Staying Engaged
Keldon Johnson saw PJ Washington roll in for the first time – literally, on a scooter – and did a double-take.
“I looked at it and I was like, ‘What in the world?’ ” Johnson said. “Because it had the big old wheels on it. It looked like it was an all-terrain vehicle.”
Washington is wearing a hard cast and riding that ATV as he recovers from a sprained foot suffered against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament. The scooter’s wheels, at first glance, do seem a little bigger than they need to be, until you remember who’s riding the thing.
“He’s a big guy though,” Johnson said. “He’s not a little dude, so you can’t just give him a little scooter.”
It’s a credit to Washington that he’s allowed a scooter he needs to ride due to an injury that kept him from playing in an NCAA Tournament game to become a source of amusement. His teammates are in unanimous agreement that the sophomore forward is making the best of a situation that’s far from ideal.
“I don’t know if he can enjoy being on the scooter, but he’s definitely having a great attitude about it,” Travis said. “It’s great to have him on the bench around the team and he’s definitely shining a lot of light on guys. I give him a lot of credit for his attitude. It’s easy to get down with an injury like that, but he’s been great for our team so far.”
Washington was on the bench Thursday night, engaged in every second of UK’s first-round win. Just because the lone Wildcat with any NCAA Tournament experience can’t play doesn’t mean he’s not going to keep leading.
“We feed off of him,” Travis said. “He’s a great leader. He brings energy no matter what, if he’s hurt or if he’s playing on the floor. So it’s been great just having him with the team and just the way that he was leading in the huddles and things like that. I give him a lot of respect for that and it’s definitely something to look to as far as somebody that could really just come out and affect the game even though he’s on the sideline.”
Now, the natural next question is whether Washington will again be on the sideline for UK’s second-round game. The answer, at this point, is uncertain.
“Well, first of all, the option was a boot or the cast,” John Calipari said. “The cast would speed up the healing, so we said, put the cast on. Whether they’ll take it off tomorrow to check it, I don’t know. If they don’t, he won’t play Saturday, and then they’ll probably try to take it off Tuesday or Wednesday of next week to see how his foot feels.”
Coach Cal elaborated on Washington’s injury in an interview with ESPN’s Alyssa Lang, saying “my guess is he won’t play this weekend. The Cats, if that’s the case, will have to make do without him.
“We’re a great team with him, so it’s tough not having him out there,” Travis said. “I think me being out the last couple games down the stretch and guys having to step up and build their conference like EJ (Montgomery) and Nick (Richards) really helped with PJ being out.”
Wofford Awaits
Kentucky will face a stiff test in its quest to advance to the Elite Eight for the eighth time under Coach Cal.
No. 7 seed Wofford – ranked No. 19 in both polls entering the NCAA Tournament – took down Seton Hall in the nightcap in Jacksonville, Florida, 84-68. The Terriers closed on a 17-2 run behind Fletcher Magee, who drilled seven 3s and became the all-time leading 3-point shooter in NCAA history in the process.
The game will be the second of the day Saturday, tipping at approximately 2:40 p.m. on CBS after the conclusion of the LSU-Maryland game.
