Listless Cats wake up in second half, bury the Terriers 91-57

Blame it on the jet lag.

Playing in their first game since the Maui Classic, the Kentucky Wildcats showed all the signs of jetlag combined with a long Thanksgiving weekend.  They were listless, lethargic, slow, and uninvolved for the first half of their matchup against the Boston Terriers at Rupp Arena.  It all made for some sloppy basketball as the Wildcats sleepwalked their way to a 40-33 lead over the Terriers.

For much of the first half, the Wildcats resembled the team that was blown out by Connecticut in the Maui Finals and the signs of a letdown were evident as John Calipari called a quick timeout with his team trailing the Terriers 5-2.  Darius Miller later caught the ire of Calipari as he wracked up two fouls in the first six minutes and go some one one one attention of the unwanted kind from Calipari.

It’s evident six games in that Calipari is not 100% sure of his lineup as he continually tinkered, bringing Doron Lamb in for DeAndre Liggins and the subbing them again minutes later.  Calipari likes the instant offense that Lamb brings but you can not match the defensive intensity that Liggins brings to the lineup.  So the experimentation went on through the half and the Cats could not put away the pesky Terriers.  Kentucky would get the lead up to nine in the first half and appear to be on the verge of breaking away, but the Terriers scrapped their way back into the game, hence the surprising seven point halftime lead.

And then came presumably what had  to be the mother of all half time speeches by Calipari as Kentucky came out bright eyed and bushy tailed, with no signs of a hangover and they blitzed the Terriers out of Rupp Arena.  DeAndre Liggins, Darius Miller, and Brandon Knight all nailed three pointers in the opening five minutes of the second half.  The intensity continued and the Cats were off to an 18-3 start to the second half that saw Kentucky go up 58-38.  The blitzkrieg continued as Josh Harrellson scored two quick baskets, and Doron Lamb and Darius Miller nailed treys and normalcy was restored to college basketball with Kentucky up 68-38.  All in all it was a 51-24 second half for the Wildcats as UK rolled to the 91-57 romp.

First half aside, there was a lot to like about tonights game.  Brandon Knight rebounded from his mini-slump in Maui and had 23 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.  The good thing is that his shooting eye has returned as he was 8-12 from the field, including 4-6 on his treys.  Terrence Jones brought home another double double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.  But for tonight, the performance of the game went to Josh Harrellson who went 6-7 from the field and had a double double of his own with 12 points and 11 rebounds in just 23 minutes.  One of the highlights of the season thus far has been seeing Harrellson grow in confidence and tonight was a testament to his hard work this season.  Doron Lamb also hit double digits with 13 points and 5 assists on the night.

DeAndre Liggins always seems to offer the most compelling statlines.  Tonight he went for 9 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and three blocks.  About the only negative of the night was Darius Miller, who due to foul trouble did a true disappearing act tonight, but he did manage to hit all three of his shots for 8 points.

After Maui, a bit of a letdown was expected due to the holiday and the long layoff, but Kentucky really came through in the second half and put this team on the level they need to be heading into North Carolina on Saturday.

For complete game stats, go here. 

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