When it comes to Thanksgiving time basketball tournaments, the Kentucky Wildcat’s have had their share of interesting venues. Two years ago, the Cats packed their bags for Mexico and played on a cracked, warped floor in a hotel ball room. This year was a jaunt to toe middle-of-nowhere, Connecticut, as the Cats did battle in a half empty casino. In both cases, the out-of-the-way journey led to interesting results on the basketball floor as Kentucky found themselves tested in unexpected ways. Two years ago, Kentucky needed overtime to beat an unheralded Stanford team in Mexico. Today, Kentucky was pushed to their limits by a solid Old Dominion team and escaped with a 62-52 win.
It was back and forth early and Marquis Teague saw himself pulled and then re-instated in the opening five minutes as ODU took an 11-9 lead after the first five minutes. The Monarchs continued to press the tempo and continued a 12-2 run which saw them take an 18-11 lead at the 11:34 mark. ODU attacked the UK front court and Kentucky did not contest the shots. On offense, it was simply a matter of the shots not falling for Kentucky.
The Wildcats seemed very disjointed for much of the game and out of sync, but when push came to shove, Darius Miller was the one that stepped up. Down 25-20, Kenucky went to their seniors to spark the team. Darius Miller hit a trey and added a jumper, Eloy Vargas scored on a tip in, and Miller added a three-point play of the “and one” variety and sank a couple of free throws to close out the first half. Behind Miller, Kentucky took a 32-27 half time lead.
Second half was more of the same lackadaisical play by Kentucky. Both teams started ice-cold from the floor and Kentucky did not grab their first double-digit lead of the game until the 13:44 mark when a pair of Anthony Davis FT’s put Kentucky up 42-31. For Old Dominion’s part, they took it right to Kentucky and played toe to toe and physical. On defense, they played plenty of zone and forced Kentucky to try to beat them from outside.
Kentucky held a 50-43 lead after a Miller basket with around 8:00 remaining, but a pair of treys from Trian Iliadis brought the Monarchs to within one, at 50-49 with 7:11 remaining. It was a good test to see how Kentucky would respond and you have to say the results were mixed. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, and Anthony Davis responded and got “and one” opportunities, but missed the extra FT on three straight possessions. Darius Miller ended the missed FT streak with a pair at the 4:44 mark and then Miller assisted on a Kidd-Gilchrist dunk that sealed the game at 60-49 with 2:35 left.
In the end, you have to chalk this whole weekend up to as a learning experience. Keep in mind that this was the third game in six days on the road for a very young Wildcat squad. And the competition has been pretty good. Kansas was a top 15 team, but Old Dominion is a very solid mid major and won 27 games last year. In the end, Kentucky got wins over two teams that will be in the NCAA Tournament this year.
Secondly, do not dismiss Darius Miller’s role on this team. True, he is not starting, and unlike the majority of college players in this situation, Miller is not going to sulk about coming off the bench. Miller is the calming influence this team needs and he is the one to teach this team how to pay against a zone. Miller had 13 points, 5 assists, and sank all 5 of his FT attempts. So much has been made about the lack of leadership on Calipari’s teams due to all the youth, and Miller has taken that bull by the horns. He may not fill up the stat sheet every night, but Miller will be the unsung hero on this team.
Finally, don’t read too much into Marquis Teague’s struggles. Teague obviously knows the lineage he is expected to follow as a Calipari point guard and is pushing things early. In all the games, he has been better in the second half, but he has to realize that he does not have to carry this team. This is John Calipari’s best passing team at Kentucky. Darius Miller, Doron Lamb, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and even Anthony Davis can pass the rock for this team, and Twany Beckham is going to take the pressure from him when he can play in December. Teague does not have to be John Wall. He just needs to play in control.
Michael Kidd Gilchrist also had a very good game with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Gilchrist always seems to have a solid game and you have to love the poise on the kid just four games into his college career. Anthony Davis had 11 points and 9 boards but fouled out with about 4:00 remaining.
There were a lot of warning flags today for Calipari’s team, most notably the 58.8% FT shooting and the 20 turnovers. Granted, this was just the fourth game of the year and like I said earlier, the third game in six days. The setting did not help as it was played in a almost empty arena and was akin to a high school crowd. You have to realize with this team, there will be growing pains and I think Kentucky fans are used to this drill by now. A Calipari coached team in March is indefinitely better than the same team in November.
In the spirit of the holiday, I am going to be thankful for the win and the 4-0 start and not nitpick a 10 point win over a solid opponent. Happy Thanksgiving.