John Calipari has recently said that he would “sink or swim” with his lineup of six players. Well tonight, his Kentucky Wildcats got flooded with fouls and drowned in a sea of red, losing on the road to the Ole Miss Rebels 71-69. Bad thing is, this was supposed the be the easy game of Kentucky’s tough four game stretch and now the Wildcats are in serious trouble in the SEC East with road games at Florida and Vanderbilt looming. If you are wondering how bad Kentucky has played on the road this season, consider this fact. This is just the third time in Kentucky basketball history that they have lost at Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum, Alabama’s Coleman Coliseum and Mississippi’s Tad Smith Coliseum.
The other two times? It was the 1988-89 and the 1989-90 season when the Wildcat’s went a combined 27-33. Yes, our beloved Wildcats are playing on the road like it is the dark ages of Kentucky basketball all over again. Thanks to Corey Price for the assist with the stats.
Kentucky got off to a sluggish start with three early turnovers and hitting just two of their first six shots, and curiously attempting no threes. Chris Warren got off to an early hot start, scoring 5 of the first 7 Rebel points as Ole Miss took an early 7-5 lead. Terrence Jones started to heat up though, scoring six of Kentucky’s next twelve points while Ole Miss started to miss some ill advised treys. Kentucky took a 17-10 lead at the 11:00 mark. Despite Chris Warren getting his second foul early, Kentucky could not take advantage as Ole Miss took a 30-28 lead with 4:11 remaining and Chris Warren on the bench. The fouls situation was not stellar for Kentucky either with Knight, Liggins, and Harrellson with two fouls.
The Rebels actually pushed the lead to 34-30, but Darius Miller hit a trey and Eloy Vargas had a layup and you can say that both teams dodged huge bullets as Kentucky went in at the half with a 35-34 lead. Terrence Jones carried Kentucky in the first half with 11 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks. Both of the blocks were actually on the same Rebel possession. Perhaps the most telling stat for Jones at the half was the two assists. Doron Lamb had seven points for Kentucky at the half.
After a few minutes of stagnant basketball on both sides, Ole Miss made the first move of the second half with a Chris Warren trey. Josh Harrellson turned the ball over on the next possession and Reginald Buckner had his second dunk in three possessions as Ole Miss took a 48-43 lead with 14:30 remaining. Reginald Buckner extended the Ole Miss run to 13 straight points as Ole Miss took a 54-43 lead with 11:43 remaining and DeAndre Liggins, the Cats best defender picked up his fourth foul.
Kenntucky was down and on the ropes and needed a hero and for the moment, Brandon Knight sufficed. Knight went on a personal 8-0 run to single handily put Kentucky back into the game, cutting the lead to 56-53 with 9:14 remaining. Chris Warren answered with a trey, but Knight scored Kentucky’s 10th straight point and to keep Kentucky within striking distance at 59-55. Unfortunately, Kentucky shot themselves in the feet with sloppy play and turnovers as Ole Miss stretched the lead to 64-55 with about 6:00 remaining.
Kentucky could make no progress for a few minutes, but Terrence Jones had a three point play of the “and one variety and Doron Lamb nailed a trey to pull Kentucky to within one at 66-65 with 2:40 remaining. Chris Warren scored unmolested, but Terrence Jones hit two FT’s to bring the Cats to within one again. Terrence Jones had his fifth block of the game on a Chris Warren drive and then Jones calmly sank two FT’s to put UK up 69-68 with 1:14 remaining. Fortunately, DeAndre Liggins was still in the game with four fouls and would not allow Chris Warren to get a shot off and Ole Miss settled for an awkward miss by Trevor Gaskins and Kentucky won the ensuing scrum for the ball and appeared to be in control of the game.
Inexplicably, Kentucky wasted an entire shot clock and could only get off a horrible three point attempt by DeAndre Liggins. Ole Miss inbounded the ball with :10 left and Chris Warren sank an off balance three pointer to put Ole Miss up 71-69 with just 2.9 seconds left. Doron Lamb got off a decent attempt but his three pointer fell short as Kentucky was dealt a sickening loss on the road.
I admit. It’s hard to find too much positive about this game. For a team that needed their veteran players to step up and take charge and provide leadership, Miller, Liggins, Harrellson were sadly ineffective. They combined for 8 points and 12 rebounds. And this is where you need your veteran leaders — on the road kicking off a crucial four game stretch. And they failed miserably.
The freshmen were sensational at times … but they played like freshmen at others. And that is to be expected. Jones (22), Lamb (20), and Knight (15) combined for 57 of Kentucky’s 69 points. I know a lot is made about Kentucky’s lack of depth, but the Wildcats would have walked out of Oxford with a win if more than three players had showed up to play. To be honest, I really don’t remember Harrellson’s name being called all night long, and the same for Miller sans his trey. And when they did get attention, it was of the negative variety. Liggins had an extremely inconsistent night and it showed as Warren torched UK for 22 points.
Unfortunately, Kentucky has put themselves into a hole in the SEC east and realistically need to win the next three games which will be at Florida, versus Tennessee at home, and at Vanderbilt. We know that the Wildcats have the talent to do this, but the question is if they have the heart.
For complete game stats, go here.
photo credit: David Perry, Lexington Herald Leader
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