This Kentucky team is in for a week of hard work, free throw drills, and more than a few words from Head Coach John Calipari. Neither team played their best game today, and either Indiana is incredibly lucky or they are severely underrated. I will go with the former.
Coach Cal said, “I am proud of my team, they fought hard and played to win”, in the post game press conference. Cal also commended IU, “They played us the way they needed to play us to keep it where it was”. "We went down 10 and I called a time out. I told the guys, This is the best thing for us, now we will find out who we are”. The Cats climbed back and put themselves in a position to win.
Davis played well; up and until his third foul, when he understandably became hesitant to aggressively defend the goal. IU capitalized on Davis’ absence and went on two scoring runs to lead by as much as 10. Fans are still saying bad words about the complete lack of Terrance Jones. Dickie V. could not stop saying, “There is an All-American on the bench”. Jones walked away with one rebound and four points on the night. Marquis Teague hails from Indianapolis, and playing in Bloomington, for UK is treason and the IU faithfuls let him have it. Teague handled the ball well, but could not connect on offense until the second half.
Doron Lamb and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist helped the Cats stay with range of the hungry Hoosiers, putting up 19 and 18 points, respectively. Kidd-Gilchrist led the Cats in field goals with 9 of 12 while Lamb contributed 10 field goal points. Miller added 8 points for the Cats, but missed all 3 attempts from 3 point range.
The three pointers sunk the Cats. The Hoosiers shot 60% from 3 point land while UK put up 28.6%. Christian Watford (F) put up 20 points on the night, 12 from 3 pointers. Total, the Cats attempted 7 shots from 3 point land, yet only connected with 2, both from Lamb. The free throws did not fall for the Cats, shooting 58.8% compared to IU at 82.4%. The Cats beat the Hoosiers on field goals, shooting 55.6% to Indiana’s 43.1%. The laws of numbers say that 3’s are worth more than 2’s.
This trip proved as a learning tool for this team and it is better to lose now than in March. Future road games may come easier when the Cats put on their dress blues for away games. The Cats are back home in Rupp Saturday, December 17 at 8pm EST to play Chattanooga
Photo: Courtesy University of Kentucky Athletics
