It is college basketball game time in the Bluegrass as the 8th ranked Kentucky Wildcats put their long home winning streak (55 games) on the line versus the Baylor Bears. Both teams are 4-2 on the season and are coming off a loss. Baylor was shocked by the College of Charleston and Kentucky was manhandled on the road by Notre Dame. Word is that Baylor sharpshooter Brady Heslip will be playing in the game, just 10 days after an emergency appendectomy.
Kentucky Wildcats
Record: 4-2, 0-0 in SEC
Rankings: No. 8 (AP)/No. 8 (Coaches)
Last Game: Lost at Notre Dame, 64-50
Head Coach: John Calipari
Overall On-Court Record: 551-156 (.779)
at UK: 106-16 (.869)
vs. Baylor: 1-0
Last Five Games: 3-2
All-Time Series: UK leads, 7-0
Baylor Bears
Record: 4-2, 0-0 in Big 12
Rankings: RV (AP)/RV (Coaches)
Last Game: Lost to Coll. of Charleston, 63-59
Head Coach: Scott Drew
Overall On-Court Record: 180-136 (.570)
at Baylor: 160-125 (.561)
vs. Kentucky: 0-1
Last Five Games: 3-2
Last Meeting: UK, 82-70, 3/25/12
Projected UK Starting Lineup
Archie Goodwin
Julius Mays
Kyle Wiltjer
Alex Poythress
Nerlens Noel
Projected Baylor Starting Lineup
Gary Franklin
Isaiah Austin
A.J. Walton
Cory Jefferson
Pierre Jackson
Be sure to visit wildcatbluenation.com for post game analysis and press conference notes.
Final Score: Baylor Bears-64 Kentucky Wildcats-55. UK’s 55 game home court win streak is snapped. They fall to 4-3. Baylor climbs to 5-2.
Coaches meet at half court and that’s all she wrote.
Baylor running out the clock.
McBee 2.0 hits a pair of FT. 9 point game. Wiltjer misses another.
Baylor content to hold the ball now. It looks like Calipari is going to suffer his first loss at Rupp. Wow.
Wiltjer misses multiple shots as do Noel and Poythress. Harrow rims another one out.
Mays 3 rims out. A lot of fight but cold shooting. Now Jackson just runs around until he’s called for the Offensive Foul.
Jackson hits the second and it’s a 7 point game.
Jackson to the line for a 1-1. Hits the first.
Wiltjer replaces him. If ever Chitwood makes an appearance, it needs to be right now.
And Goodwin has just picked up his 5th foul. He’s gone.
Cats extending the D but Baylor is working around thus far.
Oh. My. Lord. Really? How many FT’s can we miss? Goodwin 1-2. UK down 5.
Baylor has decided to hold the gall. Noel wiht the rebound on the miss.Goodwin to the rim and fouled. We NEED these FT’s. NEED THEM!
Poythress misses and it’s still a 6 point game.
Baylor passing around until Jackson fires away. Noel ahead to harrow. Mays to Poythress who follows his miss, the hoop and the harm. Jarrow to the line for 1.
Cats nearly turn it over. Noel misses 1 and has 1 blocked. Baylor the other way.
Jackson hits them both and it’s an 8 point game.
Jackson to the line for a 1-1. 58-52 Baylor
Goodwin is forcing everything now. That being his 4th foul, he should get a rest. Can’t afford to lose him.
Stat calls it a block. It was not. Then Goodwin with the foul the other way. Media Time Out.
Goodwin with the airball on the drive. Baylor bringing it up.
Cats need a stop in the worst way. Austin says no.
Time Out called by Baylor. Still a lot of time left with just under 6 to play and the Cats down by 4.
Harrow with the runner and Noel ovr the back for the slam! Poythress with the rebound the other way and Harrow misses the tear drop.
Noel with the great D, but Poythress fouls on the second shot…which goes in. FT missed. 56-50 Baylor
Harrow to Poythress for the throwdown!
UK in the midst of an 8-4 run. Austin just scored. 54-48
UK shooting roughly 30% and losing every offensive stat…including the score.
Apparently Cal got the memo on Wiltjer. Hasn’t been in for a while. Tough for Chitwood because he’s a great shooter, but he’s not feeling it today.
Goodwin called for the foul. Cal is giving him a few things to think about as we go to the media time out.
Goodwin shot rims out. Noel isn’t letting them cross half court easily.
Harrow in amongst the giants for the rebound.
But UK answers with a 2 and it’s a 4 point game!
Jackson hits the FT. Baylor by 6.
3 TO’s by Baylor. Goodwin called for the shooting foul on Jackson. Jackson to the line for 1. 51-46 Baylor
And Mays buries the HUGE HUGE HUGE 3!!!
And a travel by Baylor and Rupp is rocking!
Noel wiht the GREAT steal of the inbound! But Mays slips and turns the ball over on the pass.
Goodwin goes 1-2 from the line. 49-41 Baylor. Cats picking up half court. Noel to Goodwin for 2. 49-43 Baylor
Poythress with the in and out 3. Baylor with it. Jackson blocked by Poythress. Goodwin to the basket and draws the foul on Heslip. To the line for 2.
Baylor with a 3 and it’s back to a 9 point game. Noel with the rebound on the Harrow miss. Ball taken back.
Noel clangs one in and it’s 46-40.
Baylor with the ball after the TO. Noel goes for the steal and #2 travels. UK ball.
Time Out on the floor. I’m not sure how long Cal can leave Pistol Wiltjer on the floor. He’s a huge liability now. Can’t guard anyone and can’t hit anything either.
Cats struggling getting set on Offense. In to Noel who misses a lefty layin/hook.
Time Out UK.
3 by Jackson. 46-37 Baylor
And Wiltjer airballs a stepback 3.
Goodwin misses a wide open 3 but Poythress with the steal the other way. Goodwin to the basket but OOB on Baylor. Noel with the horrible turnaround. Push off on Jefferson of Wiltjer. UK Ball.
Noel set up for, and was awarded the charge. Definitely no flop there.
WCS with the rebound on the Jackson miss but Mays misses a 3 the other way. Jackson fouled by WCS in transition. No intentional foul, as it was incidental contact. WCS out with 4 Personal Fouls.
Wiltjer, Goodwin, Mays, WCS and Poythress back on the floor.
Goodwin with a mini-run of his own to pull UK to within 6. Still some fight left in these boys.
Poythress with the block on the drive. Goodwin the other way with another crafty lay in. Baylor Time Out. 43-37 Baylor
Goodwin across the lane for the lefty layup.
WCS misses both but Mays chases the rebound. Wiltjer blocked on the 3 and a bad pass from WCS leads to a Baylor run out. 43-33 Baylor.
Cats are now just a step behind on tracking the shooters. Isaiah Austin has been shooting 3′s all game, even though he is 7’1″. Tough to defend, even for the uber-athletic WCS.
These boys came out sluggish but have picked it up this half. I guess they don’t want Skylar McBee 2.0 to beat them.
Goodwin in to WCS who is fouled on the turn around. FT’s after the media time out.
WCS in for Noel
Austin buries a 3. 41-33 Baylor.
Wiltjer with a rebound!!!!! Poythress throws a rocket to the second row off court. Baylor ball.
Rupp coming alive!
Poythress with the merciful roll. 38-31. After a Baylor miss, Goodwin spins for 2. UK on a run. 38-33
Goodwin misses the runner. Austin OOB. UK ball.
Poythress taken off the dribble. 38-29 Baylor. Cal isn’t happy.
Ties up Jefferson but Time Out awarded to Baylor. Terrible call.
Noel strong with left hand. Misses that and the put back.
Goodwin wiht the miss and Noel with the tap out of bounds. Baylor turns right around and throws out of bounds. UK ball.
Lot of standing around on O. Goodwin goign to havce to create.
Baylor with the ball to start. Jefferson with the turnaround. 36-19 Baylor
This from Winchester Sun Sports Editor, Keith Taylor
Wiltjer has to know that if he can’t play D, he must hit his shots or his value is nil.
Breakdowns galore by both teams. UK fortunate to be down only by 5. They have to tighten up their Offense. They look like a bunch of drunk walkers playing basketball. They’re erratic on D but they are playing their tails off. Can’t fault their effort. Still Freshmen execution on both sides though.
31-29 Baylor who misses 2 shots. Cats ball. Final shot.Goodwin loses it. Heslip for 3. Baylor leads UK 34-29 at the half.
Goodwin hits 1-2.
Goodwin with some Cirque de Soliel to the basket and going to the line for 2 on the foul by Jackson.
Jefferson with the put back dunk. 31-28 Baylor.
Austin misses but Poythress and Polson fall over themselves for the rebound. Ball to Baylor.
Poythress with the slick move but lefty miss. WCS missed the putback. WCS called for the foul on the rebound attempt. Terrible call.
No idea how that lob was drawn up for Baylor but it was horrible. Cats ball. Polson brings it up.
Strings on the first. And the second. 29-28 Baylor.
Poythress inbounds to Goodwin. Mays for 3 and Baylor the other way for 2. 29-26 Baylor. Block on Gathers. Goodwin to the line for 1-1.
WCS catches the pass too deep. Heslip the other way for 3. Time out Cats. 27-26 Baylor. 2:24 left in the first half.
Goodwin brings it up.
Jefferson hits 1. Hood in. Jefferson hits the second. 26-24 UK
26-22 UK as Poythress comes back in. Foul on Wiltjer, his second. Jefferson to the line for 2.
Goodwin with the lob to WCS for 2!
Harrow misses and 3 but pukes the ball from Baylor on their run out.
Isaiah Austin misses the FT and rebound by WCS.
Baylor answers with Austin the hoop and the harm. Going to the line for 1. Second foul on Noel.
Poythress to Mays for 3!!!! 24-20 UK
Gathers miss taken by WCS but Poythress missed the dunk. Miss by Baylor on the other end and Mays has it.
Poythress with teh sweet baseline drive and lay in. 21-20 UK.
A 3 finally falls for Baylor and they take their first lead of the game at 20-19.
Noel out. Baylor bringing the ball up.
Remains 19-17 on the 8-2 Baylor run.
Polson to Poythress with the disconnect and another UK Turnover.
And Wiltjer just keeps chucking up bricks. Baylor the other way but Noel with the rebound.
Goodwin up top. Around the right. Screen from Noel and Archie lets fly a 2. Noel to the line on the rebound foul. Misses the first. Poythress with the Rebound and a Jump Ball is called. UK ball.
Illegal Screen on Walton #22 and it’s now UK ball.
Both teams have 8 Turnovers. A little sloppy.
The effort is there so far, but shots are not falling. We would be up big if our open looks were going in. Defense is not terrible so far.
Baylor answers. 19-17 UK. Ball thrown off Noel. Media Time Out.
Heslip to Austin for 3 and Goodwin with the LOB TO WCS!!! 19-15 UK
Goodwin slips on the cut but gets it back. Noel misses the 1 hand jam and Baylor the other way.
WCS has the ball stolen as it was inbounded to him. Foul on the other end. 17-13 UK. Heslip at the line. Hits the first. And the Second. 17-15 Cats.
WCS in for Wiltjer. Harrow in as well.
Goodwin rejected and Baylor the other way for 2. TO Cats.
Austin for 3 but Wiltjer saves and Cats in the half court.
And Wiltjer clanks another 3.
Wiltjer just got picked on the lob. Bad D. Polson in.
WCS out after the awkward landing on the putback.
WCS with the rebound. Mays for 3 but WCS comes out of NOWHERE for the monster TWO HAND FLUSH! Baylor calls TO! 17-9 UK
WCS with a terrible miss. He’s just throwing at the basket.Solid D with the poke on Jackson and hustle but Baylor keeps possession.
Heslip back in for Baylor due to an injury. WCS misses the lay up byt Poythress is fouled on the drive.
WCS back in the game. Defending well outside the post and with the rejection on Austin! Wiltjer misses another 3 but Poythress skies for the Rebound.
Halfway through the First Half and I’m just praying this is not GU-UT Part Deaux.
Baylor is shooting 3-10 while UK is 5-15. Defense is not the reason.
Cats are in a lull on all levels right now. Calipari may stroke out if he doesn’t watch it. He is dying for his team to have his intensity.
Poythress with the sloppy pass to Noel in the paint and the ball squirts away. Wiltjer goes to the deck by Baylor recovers and calls TO. 15-9 UK
Foul was on Mays. Bello hits both. 15-9 UK.
Log snuffed out by Baylor. Sick bounce pass in transition. Baylor goes to the line for two.
Goodwin for Harrow.
Noel missed a couple gimmes as did WCS. Baylor ball, but the Cats force a jump ball. Baylor retains.
Intentional Foul by Jackson on Goodwin. Goodwin hits the first. Misses the second. 15-7 UK. Mass substitutions for Baylor.
14-7 UK and a steal by Goodwin and the foul.
Harrow misses the Jumper but Bello fouls WCS. Cats Ball. Dump to Noel, cross to Poythress and scores!
Heslip clanks another 3, but the Offensive Rebound goes to Gathers who misses the first FT. Hits the second. 12-7 UK.
Poythress in for Mays.
Baylor missed another 3, but rebound is off Wiltjer. 12-6 UK
Baylor drives, poked by Noel, picked up and ran out, but layup an d follow missed.
Second is good for Goodwin. 12-6 UK
Goodwin misses the first.
Steal by the Cats and Goodwin to the basket. Foul on Heslip. Goodwin to shoot 2.
Wiltjer inbounds to Goodwin. Harros to Wiltjer for 3!!! 11-6 UK
The effort is better for the Cats thus far, but no WCS yet, but Noel is holding down the post with Poythress.
Harrow in for Poythress. Baylor scores. Goodwin misses the return. 8-6 UK. Under 16 Media Time Out.
Baylor with the lob? Misses and here come the Cats. Poythress steps on baseline during drive. Baylor ball.
Heslip is walking. No call.
Baylor misses, so do the Cats, and Baylor misses the gimme on the run out. Ball stolen from UK, Baylor misses another. Cats with the ball. Poythress buries a 3! 8-4 UK
Mays dumps to Noel. Wiltjer misses the 3 and here come the Bears.
Poythress to Mays for 3 but misses. Baylor rebounds, loses to Mays. Scrum ensues. Bodies flying. Goodwin corrals it from his back and Mays calls TO. Cats ball.
Baylor right back with a jumper. 5-4
Steal by Goodwin! 5-2 Cats on the dunk!
And just like that, Noel with the cut (pass from Poythress), hoop and harm. Noel with the FT. 3-2 UK
Noel took the bait on the pump and Baylor up 2-0.
Lot of movement up top. Dump in the middle to Noel who misses the cutting Poythress.
Baylor wins the tip and Heslip fires a 3 that missess off a Baylor player. UK ball.
Nation, the ND hangover should be gone by now. Starting lineups being announced, and here’s the tip.
The day we get Goodwin playing his natural position, the 2, then we will be able to turn a lot of things around.
It’ll be crucial to get Harrow in there and running the show as soon as he’s able. We need him mentally.
Somehow, they showed March Madness highlights, and I missed..oops, never mind. I didn’t miss the shot. I hate Duke.
We’re just a few minutes…or commercials away…from tip off, BBN.
Programming Note: Gary Franklin has been replaced in the Starting Lineup by Brady Heslip.
It’s always odd to see an unemployed coach being interviewed or providing analysis, but Darrin Horn is a Lexington guy so at least it fits.
As always, rebounding will be key, as Noel and Poythress will be counted on heavily. WCS will have to contribute off the bench. The bigs must rotate smoothly on Post D and communicate constantly.
Afternoon, Big Blue Nation. After the tough loss to ND, our boys in Blue will be in bounce back mode. I’ve heard it said that there is no better coach in the country after a loss, than Calipari. Expect some fire from these guys today.
Topics: Basketball Articles, Baylor Bears, Kentucky Wildcats
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