Herro, Cats Rely on Defense to Down Wofford

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If there was any doubt about the respect Kentucky had for Wofford, it was erased at the Wildcats’ pregame shoot-around Saturday morning.
 
“We were down there early in the morning walking through,” Ashton Hagans said. “We were like, ‘Dang, we’ve never seen this.’ “
 
Wofford had every ounce of John Calipari and Kentucky’s respect and attention entering Saturday’s second-round matchup. The Terriers, with their dead-eye outside shooting and constant motion to set up those shots, would provide a stiff test. The Cats both embraced and passed that test.
 
Second-seeded UK (29-6) advanced to its eighth Sweet 16 in 10 seasons under Coach Cal with a 62-56 win over the No. 7 Terriers (30-5). Wofford scored its second-fewest points of the season, making 8-of-27 (29.6 percent) 3-pointers.
 
“It was a little bit different because they try to shoot a lot of 3s,” Tyler Herro said. “So we had a similar game plan like when we played Auburn. They shoot a lot of 3s too. Just being attached to the shooters at all times. We knew they were going to make a few 3s, so just trying to limit the things they make.”
 
No one more essential to that effort than Herro, who was tasked with shadowing NCAA all-time 3-point leader Fletcher Magee. The player who has heard since he arrived on campus that he’s “just a shooter” delivered the most compelling proof yet how wrong that label is.
 
“We just gotta take our hats off to Tyler for helping us out a lot,” Hagans said. “He did a very good job of the defensive end. That just goes back to him being in the gym every night, working on defense at practice.”
 
From the moment Wofford advanced, there was never any doubt who would draw Magee.
 
“The coaches told me once we saw that we were playing them that he was going to be my assignment,” Herro said. “I just stayed on him, attached to him and didn’t let him get comfortable.”
 
Magee’s stat line is proof of that. He missed all 12 of the 3-pointers he took and managed only eight points on 4-of-17 shooting overall. Though he was hardly on his own – Ashton Hagans and Jemarl Baker each took turns on Magee and UK’s bigs were effective on switches and screens – Herro took his assignment seriously.
 
“Two competitors going at it,” Herro said. “It was just a fun matchup. Just being the competitors that we are and not wanting to lose, just fighting out there.”
 
For Coach Cal, that was the biggest concern in tasking Herro with guarding Magee. Particularly with PJ Washington sideline for the second straight game, UK can’t afford not to have Herro at his best offensively.
 
“If he’s running around with Magee, running in circles, running out, dribble hand-off, get being bumped, screen down, we’ll do that, like every possession, do it 12 straight possessions,” Calipari said. “It’s like being an offensive lineman in football. And so I worried about it, but he said, ‘Coach, I’ll be fine.’ “
 
Herro didn’t have his best day on offense, scoring nine points on 2-of-11 shooting and dishing out four assists, but he did have legs enough to bury one of the game’s biggest shots. After Wofford scored five straight to cut the UK lead to three points, Herro buried a momentum-shifting 3 with 5:13 to go to help preserve the victory.
 
There was more drama down the stretch, but UK was able to lock down on defense and do enough on offense to survive and advance. In so doing, Coach Cal has taken a team that has one active scholarship player with March Madness experience to within two wins of the Final Four.
 
“It just goes back to practice and competing, competing,” Hagans said. “Conditioning too. Coaches aren’t asking us too much, but just to bring energy and just be there for each other so we can keep this thing going.”