Wall, Bledsoe lift listless UK with late game heroics in 73-65 OT win over Stanford

This whole “Montezuma’s Revenge” thing may have something to it. With Patrick Patterson sitting on the bench in the first half with two fouls, and a very well coached, supposedly overmatched Stanford team matching the Cats bucket for bucket, the only explanation was some kind of Mexican curse (either mythical or intestinal). When DeMarcus Cousins went down in the first half with an apparently tweaked hamstring, it felt like the Wildcats were definitely cursed.

In the first half, the Wildcat’s ran into a very well coached, fearless Stanford team that refused to blink or fold, and as a result, UK was in for a game. Stanford too advantage of a very cold shooting Wildcat team and a two person wrecking crew of Landry Fields and Jeremy Green and the Cardinal had a 38-32 lead going in at half. For the second straight game in Cancun, the Wildcats were disjointed and disorderly and were developing a unhealthy habit of playing down to the level of their competition.

The second half brought more of the same cold shooting from UK but Stanford cooled down a bit. Landry Fields was impossible to control and even with Patterson back in the game, UK still seemed strangely disinterested in the proceedings. And that is when a team like Stanford gets dangerous. Landry proved too quick for a player like Patterson and too big for the guards and he had 16 points and 11 boards at the 8:00 mark and Stanford up 53-49.

A Miller 3-pointer and a Patterson layup gave UK the lead and woke up the Blue contingent with UK up 54-53. The little flurry seemed to deflate Stanford and the game got even sloppier on both ends. A Cousins layup boosted the lead to 3, but neither team played with focus or with a will to score as the game entered the last 4:00. Stanford got a quick layup and then with his team clinging to a 1 point lead, Cousins took a very badly advised 3 pointer which the Cardinal rebounded and missed a shot, and then managed to get a blocking foul while UK defenders watched them move in and get the rebound. An exchange of free throws between the teams left the score 57-57 with 3:00 left.

Stanford did an excellent job of grabbing a lead and milking the clock and they stopped the hearts of the Big Blue Nation with a drive to the basket while leading 61-59 with about :45 seconds left. That resulted in an offensive foul and UK had new life. Eric Bledsoe missed a 3-pointer and it was rebounded and tossed back to Wall who thought about a 3 pointer, but then drove in for a smooth 15 foot jumper that knotted the score with :30 left.

UK fouled on the inbounds play and Brandon Fields calmly sank two free throws to put the Cardinal up 63-61 and DeMarcus Cousins was unable to convert down low on the other end but found himself at the line with :10 left. DeMarcus missed the first free throw, and then apparently, took it on his own to purposely miss the second and then fouled a Stanford player while trying to get the rebound. This second bad decision by the freshman earned him a spot on the bench with his 5th foul and a full berating by Calipari. Stanford missed both the free throws and John Wall went in for a one on one layup and missed but was fouled in the process. Wall calmly sank both FT’s and Stanford was unable to get off a decent look.

Despite the best efforts of Stanford to give the game away in OT with poor FT shooting and horrendous shot choices from 3 point land, the game was knotted at 65 with 1:30 left. Ramon Harris missed a FT and UK led by 1. Ramon Harris was the unlikely hero of the overtime period, having scored all 3 points and grabbing a key rebound. Eric Bledsoe then put the game out of reach with a NBA distance 3-pointer, and Darius Miller sank two throws. Stanford’s sudden incompetence from the field resulted in a long pass to Wall who then dunked it for the final margin.

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