Kentucky Wildcats: The Cardiac Cats No More!

After needing a total of 3 overtimes to win their first two SEC games, the Kentucky Wildcats bounced back with a dominating win over the Missouri Tigers last night in Rupp Arena.

The first two games of SEC play were games that most fans would like to forget. The defensive greatness that the Cats had boasted in non-conference play seemed to have disappeared. And, since christmas day, the Cats actually shot the worst 2-point percentage out of any team in college basketball shooting only 33-percent.

But, as most fans expected, the Cats went on to make a statement Tuesday night when they dominated Missouri 86-37.

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It was the first game in a while that just about everybody seemed to be playing well. Aaron Harrison led all Kentucky Wildcats in scoring with 16 points, making 5 three pointers. Willie Cauley-Stein started to look a little more like himself with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks. And Karl Anthony-Towns ended his night with a double-double, putting up 12 points and ten rebounds. Towns also commanded Kentucky’s defense with 5 blocks. Here’s the full boxscore on ESPN.com

This game was important because of the two overtime games that Kentucky had struggled in the week before. This was a chance for the Wildcats to show their dominance once again.

Jan 13, 2015; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Karl-Anthony Towns (12) dunks the ball against the Missouri Tigers in the first half at Rupp Arena. The Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Missouri Tigers 86-37. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

“We just had to get back to the basics, get back to what Kentucky basketball was all about and what we pride ourselves in (defense). We’re trying to be the best defensive team we can be and we did that tonight.” Karl Towns said when asked what the team was missing in the two overtime victories the week before over inferior opponents(Ole Miss and TX A&M). When asked how much a ‘bounce back’ factor played in the game, Towns replied “It just made us more determined. We have to get back to the fundamentals, the way Kentucky basketball has always been played. (We’re a) defensive minded team and we came out tonight and showed that. We went back to holding opponents under the points per game that we wanted to and we did a great job of that today.”

Calipari spoke with Buccigross and Robert Flores of SportsCenter after the game and he had a few interesting points to make.

When asked about how he and the team measures success as of this point in the season, Coach Cal responded “I keep telling them that I’m not worried about them being great right now. I just want them to play hard. I want them to have great energy. I want them to guard. I really want them to talk to one another. It’s January 15th, so what if you lose a game, it doesn’t matter! It’s about building towards march.” and when Buccigross asked Cal what exactly he learned from the Cats in the bounce back win, Cal emphasized “They feed off of one another. They celebrate each other. We may not do it every game, but that’s what we want to have.”

It’s nice to see another dominant game by the Cats. Let’s hope they bring the same kind of intensity into Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

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