by Andrew Hardison
Wednesday’s game against Long Beach State was anything but spectacular and a far cry from what was seen Monday night in Kentucky’s bid to become the first Division-I basketball program to win 2,000 games.
The idea that this could potentially be a ‘trap-game’ was put into question, not only because of Monday’s historic game, but because of the holidays coming up and players wanting to get home to be with family. With a week like this, a Wednesday 1:00 o’ clock start doesn’t always bode well for teams even the #3 Wildcats.
Storming out to a two-point lead early in the action, Long Beach State made it known that this game was going to be much tougher for the Wildcats than what they faced earlier in the holiday week against Drexel.
The story of the first half was Long Beach State and their ability to keep the game close throughout the first half. Timely three-point shooting and a willingness to get to the basket kept the game in reach, with more than five lead changes and six ties headlining the play between UK and LBS.
Long Beach State pressed the issue, driving and penetrating doing everything they could to get to upset one of the nation’s top teams. They also made a point to play a strong 2-3 zone that sagged heavily on UK’s post players. At various times, it looked as if All-American Patrick Patterson was being guarded by the entire Long Beach State team, making it impossible to get any offensive momentum going for the junior.
On the Kentucky side of things, both DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall were hampered by early foul trouble, when each received their second foul thus having to sit out the rest of the first half. Some of Cousins immature ways that were seen at the start of the season showed its face once more, as one of his fouls was a technical, something you don’t often see in college basketball.
The 7:14 mark of the first half saw Patrick Patterson get his own second foul which sent him to the bench. At this point, three of Kentucky’s star players; Cousins, Wall and Patterson, were all sidelined to foul trouble which allowed others to step up and try and produce.
Guys like Josh Harrellson, Darnell Dodson, and Darius Miller were able to contribute while the other big guns were out, but weren’t able to push the lead to a wider margin.
As the second half started, the intensity level had clearly changed from the first with Cousins getting UK’s first two baskets of the half as well as taking a charge on the defensive side of things. Teammate and fellow freshmen Wall also picked up the intensity levels and began to push the ball down court more, trying to get teammates involved.
Despite the increased intensity, Long Beach State head coach Dan Munson had his team prepared for the Wildcats halftime adjustments so much so that the 49ers took a 46-44 lead with 15:27 left in the second half and brought the game to a 49-49 tie at the 13:50 mark of the second half.
Even with a pesky Long Beach State team keeping Kentucky in check, the Wildcats were able to push their own lead to eight points at the 9:49 mark of the second half all coming during a 14-6 run that would eventually put UK ahead for good.
If there was one theme to this game, it was the back-and-forth momentum that each team brought to the table that made it difficult for either team to overcome. With that said, it was only a matter of time before Kentucky was able to push their lead to double digits, eventually putting the 49ers away by the tune of (86-73).
With Kentucky’s next game on Tuesday against Hartford, it would be a good idea to use this game as a reminder of the potential pitfalls that could lie ahead for a Top-5 team in the nation. The talk of going undefeated has been recently brought up, but the season still goes game-by-game. Hartford is up next. Let’s focus on them first and foremost.
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