By Mitch Howard
Seems everyone predicted a Kentucky loss Tuesday night. To a man, when asked about the game, the response was either “They will lose” or “I’m worried.” Commentators prior to the game said the Wildcats were in jeopardy. How did Kentucky lose if everyone knew South Carolina was a trap game?
Coach John Calipari said this team is young. They didn’t listen. Or other generalizations of why the unbeaten Wildcats are now the once-beaten Wildcats. The death of the Wildcat fans’ long-awaited No. 1 team deserves an autopsy.
1. Devan Downey: Here is quote from Patrick Patterson on Scout.com before the South Carolina game. “We know (Downey) is the number one factor on that team, so wherever he is on the court it is going to take a total team effort and all five of us to stop him.”
Some of the shots he hit had only been seen previously in Nerf basketball. Kentucky tried to stop him with a 6-foot-10 player and slow him with speed. Neither worked. It may have been a good time to shake things up with a zone defense. Bottom line, no matter how good Downey played, Kentucky has to be able to stop a 5-foot-9 guard. Their only offense was basic: hold the ball and let Downey score.
2. Energy: South Carolina had more energy than Kentucky. It showed on the offensive boards and it showed on loose balls. I really thought when Kentucky took the lead in the second half, the Gamecocks would lose some swagger. Maybe they did. But when South Carolina was able to inbounds the ball to Downey and get a shot off with two seconds left on the shot clock, they found it again. When you play away from home in the SEC, you have to suck the energy out of the building or match the intensity of the other team. Kentucky did neither. The Wildcats are not accustomed to playing in front of a sellout crowd not dressed in blue.
3. The ranking: It is not coincidence that the No. 1 team has lost four times in the last 16 days. Teams play better against the No. 1 team and if you are Kentucky, they play better still. There is probably a reminder on the UK bulletin board that the opponent will find their greatest incentive when you are the biggest target. Regardless, the Wildcats did not seem prepared for the effort South Carolina displayed. Teams can’t play at this level all the time or South Carolina would be 20-0 instead of 12-8. South Carolina will have a hard time in its next games with Georgia and Tennessee, because those teams are not No. 1 and the Gamecocks can’t play at that level every week.
4. Blocks: Or I could have put missed layups. The Wildcats missed shots around the rim that they usually make. Most painful were two layups that were not even contested. The only way I can explain Eric Bledsoe’s doink and Darnell Dodson’s boink were they must have been thinking the shot will get swatted. The Gamecocks contested every shot around the rim and the Wildcats seemed to be affected. That brings us to the next point…
5. Kentucky has never lost a game that was directly or indirectly related to the officials. That is not a true statement, but one we all believe. The officials did not call a bad game or favor the Gamecocks, but the tone they set for the game favored South Carolina. When Kentucky players tried to grab a rebound, they had so many players climbing up their backs it looked like chicken fighting. Pun intended. The Wildcats never seemed to adjust to how the game was being called. Instead, they seemed prepared to use it as an excuse.
6. Darrin Horn: If Calipari leaves, we may have to hire Horn just so he won’t beat us. The former Western Kentucky player and coach now has three straight wins over Kentucky. This time, he didn’t beat Billy Gillespie. I even think the Wildcats were outcoached. Calipari seemed so accustomed to UK coming back with wins over Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Louisville, Stanford, Connecticut, etc. that he coached like he expected it to happen again. I often heard Tubby Smith criticized when the Wildcats lost this kind of game. Then we have to criticize Calipari as well.
After the loss, Calipari spoke of lessons. “A lot of times, until you take an ‘L’, they don’t want to believe you,” he said. I am sure the Wildcats listened a little better Wednesday and Thursday. They will beat Vanderbilt Saturday and might even look like the team that drilled Arkansas. I am just not sure the lesson is strong enough to get them past road games at Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
Mitch Howard can be reached at mhoward@sentinel-echo.com.
